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Big Meadows is located in the San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado, about 11 miles west of South Fork. The campground is lightly wooded with spruce trees, creating a beautiful meadow atmosphere. The Rio Grande National Forest spans 1.86 million acres in south-central Colorado. The Continental Divide runs for 236 miles along most of the forest's western border, presenting a myriad of ecosystems from alpine desert to dense wilderness. Recreation An accessible fishing pier, located on the north shore of the reservoir, allows anglers to cast for rainbow, brown and brook trout. Hunting, boating and hiking are also popular pastimes. Hikers and horseback riders will enjoy the 6-mile Archuleta Trail. The trail accesses the Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado's largest wilderness, which boasts the headwaters of dozens of major streams and rivers that feed into the Rio Grande and San Juan rivers. Facilities Each site has a campfire ring and picnic tables. Drinking water is available. The nearest dump station is 13 miles away, and a boat ramp is located on the north shore of the reservoir. Natural Features The campground meanders up a mountainside above Big Meadows Reservoir in a series of loops. As a sub-alpine region, the campground gets more rainfall than the opposite side of the lake, resulting in plentiful wildflowers and aspens surrounding the campsites. Nearby Attractions The surrounding area has plenty to keep visitors busy, with attractions like Great Sand Dunes National Park, Native American ruins, remnants of the Spanish Conquistadors and gold rush ghost towns. The Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Ranges are laced with trails for avid hikers. ADA Access: N
From South Fork, Colorado, take Highway 160 for 13 miles west, turn onto Forest Road 410 SW, and go 1.8 miles to Big Meadows Campground.
Stayed here two nights and WoW! At about 9500ft this is an awesome alpine lake, campground, and fishing spot. Caught a limit of trout, hiked to cascade falls, and just relaxed in our very secluded camp sight (37). Vault toilets were immaculate and camp hosts were superb helping us know which sights were available when we arrived. We pulled our 25ft camper in no problem on the semi bumpy dirt road. Lake fishing is good from the dam and also from boat. It does not get more pretty than this place.
Beautiful camping area. The trees look sad due to bark beetles and fire damage, but it's still a wonderful place to go.
This campground was the best one out of 4 campgrounds that we stayed in Colorado. What makes it great? First, when compared to private/ commercial places, you are not piled in tight with other people. Here, we were at about 25 feet from the nearest site and there were trees between us. Second, the view from our site (A23) was great- even though we could not see the lake. If you look at the photos, our RV was above the table and fire pit. Other sites were reversed (the table and pit are above the road). Third, the cost was $26. Finally, the lake area, while being about half a mile away, is beautiful with lots of trees and there were a lot of people fishing. There is a ramp to launch boats. The road to the campground is paved for a few hundred feet and the dirt part was maybe a mile long but very flat.
Very nice campground. We were there in late August and were able to find a spot for our 27' 5th wheel easy.
Beautiful and amazing campground! Camp sites are well defined and easy to find. The bathrooms are very well kept. However, there are no showers. That's just fine to experience such a gorgeous reservoir!
