By:
Submission
Angel of Shavano Group Campground is considered one of the area's best kept camping secrets. It is situated next to the North Fork South Arkansas River and offers a variety of recreational activities, including hiking, biking and fishing. Reservations are REQUIRED at this facility.
The Colorado Trail begins within the campground and provides excellent hiking, horseback riding and biking opportunities. The trail stretches 487 miles across Colorado from Denver to Durango, with segments ranging in elevation from 5,500 to 13,300 feet. The North Fork South Arkansas River flows next to the campground and it offers rainbow and brook trout fishing. Fun facilities like a volleyball court, baseball field and horseshoe pits are available within the campground. Visitors must bring their own equipment.
Angel of Shavano offers one group campsite best suited for tent camping. It can accommodate up to 100 people and 12-14 vehicles. Parking is not available for large RVs. The site is equipped with a picnic shelter, tables, six pedestal grills and a campfire circle with benches. Vault toilets and trash collection are provided. No drinking water is available within the group site, but it is available at the nearby family campground.
The campground is named after an image of an angel that appears as winter snow fall on Shavano Mountain. The site lies at an elevation of 9,200 feet along the North Fork South Arkansas River. A forest of aspen and pine covers the area. Beaver ponds dot the landscape at the base of nearby Shavano Mountain.
From the Angel of Shavano Group Campground the road continues west for 6 miles to the North Fork reservoir and campground. The road is extremely rocky and rough and high clearance vehicles are recommend. The reservoir is regularly stocked with rainbow trout and it offers anglers a chance to fish one of the area's most popular high elevation lakes. It is situated at 11,000 feet so anglers should be prepared for all types of weather. The Monarch Crest Scenic Tramway is located on the top of Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet (3.45 km), which is on the Continental Divide at the southern end of the Sawatch Mountain Range. The Monarch Crest is along the border between Gunnison and Chaffee counties, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the town of Salida.
Group Sites
Group Facility (including Cabins and Lookouts): A visitor who cancels a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.
No-Shows
A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date.
No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.
Refunds
Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended.
Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay.
For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.
In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
From Poncha Springs, Colorado, take U.S. Highway 50 west 6 miles, then right on County Road 240 and travel 4 miles to the campground.
Quiet, SHADY campground. Must not be near ATV trails, because I wasn't subjected to noisy machines driving back and forth all day. Very well kept, at least in 2022 - the host rakes every site between campers; it looks a little like one of those Japanese gardens.
Hand pump for drinking water. I had to work a lot to get a modest amount of water. Centrally located pit toilet. My spot (#4) was close to the toilet, and I did get a little whiff of it a couple of times.
There is a large group picnic area next door to this campground. Sites near the entrance might hear those picnickers if they got rowdy.
We camped at Angel of Shavano Campground a couple of weeks ago and stayed in spot #8...
This campground is off of CR240 in Salida we were going up the road looking for a camping spot and found this by kismet and it was AWESOME! I did fail to ask for the Hosts name in which I feel horrible about because he was so AMAZING! Whoever he is...I want to say how kind and welcoming he was! He maintained and kept this beautiful campground AMAZING! I keep saying these keywords in capitals because that’s how AWESOME this host and campground was!!! It was not only in a beautiful location! With a river nearby it was kept unturned almost like if there was no human activity! The restroom facilities were kept nice and clean and equipped! No running of water course in the restroom facilities however there is a nearby water pump to get water on site. I can’t express how awesome this place is! And the overnight fee is only $20 or Day Use $7!!! Great PLACE and GREAT PRICES! We can’t wait to go back!
This is a first come first serve camping ground. It has 2-3 trails but is next to a small creek, with strong water. We really enjoyed it. Ranger was on duty always so it felt so safe.
