By:
Submission
This Campground is First come First Serve only for the 2021 Season.
Monarch Park is nestled at the base of Monarch Ridge, a short drive north of Monarch Pass on Highway 50. Some campsites at the family-friendly destination are located on the banks of the South Fork Arkansas River, while others lie along a creek. Popular activities in the area include hiking the Colorado/Continental DivideTrail and fishing. Beaver ponds near the entrance to the campground make a great fishing spot for families with young children.
Monarch Pass is a high mountain pass along the southern part of Colorado's Sawatch Range. The pass crosses the Continental Divide at an altitude of 11,312 feet.
Popular trails near Monarch Park include Waterdog Lakes, the Monarch Crest Trail and the Hunt and Boss Lakes trails. Wildflowers are abundant on these trails in late summer. The river and nearby ponds provide quality fishing for all ages. Brook trout is the most likely reward for fishing efforts.
Drinking water from a hand pump is available. Vault toilets are available and one is wheelchair accessible. All sites come with picnic tables and campfire rings. Firewood is sold onsite. No electrical or sewer hookups are available.
The nearest RV dump station is at the Poncha Springs Visitor Center located at 7001 Highway 285 (near the intersection of US Highway 285 and US Highway 50) in Poncha Springs, CO.
The elevation is 10,500 feet, and visitors should plan for cool nighttime temperatures. Some campsites are located near the south fork of the Little Arkansas River.
The city of Salida is only a short drive away where visitors can enjoy unique restaurants, shops, art galleries, and antique shops. The area boasts more than 100 miles of Arkansas River to raft, fish, float or kayak, as well as fifteen 14,000 ft. mountains. Visitors can choose from recreational activities like hiking, biking, ATV/UTV riding, kayaking, rafting, fishing, horseback riding, zip lining, and swimming.
Cancellations
Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee.
A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite.
Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service 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, travel west on Highway 50 for about 15 miles, then turn left on County Road 231 and drive south to the Monarch Park Campground.
Great medium-sized campground! Had a blast with the family and doodle. There is a creek that runs through the campground which is nice. Beautiful views from all lots.
My friend and I really enjoyed our stay here! The camp hosts are incredibly friendly, helpful, kind, and generous people. I love that it is family run and the environment they have created is really special and perfect especially after you've been hiking along the CT like we were. I am extremely indebted to these camp hosts because they went out of their way to help me and my friend when we needed it on the CT. I will definitely return when I am back in the area and especially recommend it to CT hikers for a quiet and peaceful stay!
Monarch Park Campground was really nice. The campsites were spacious and spaced far enough apart from one another that we only caught glimpses of our neighbors. The place was clean and the hosts came by and checked on us the first night. It was in a good location, far from the city but only 30 minutes from Salida, a cute town with delicious ice cream. Hiking options nearby. But my favorite part was the stars. So many stars you can see, 100% worth the drive.
We stayed there 2 nights with kids. Nice location with some shades and small creek with beautiful mountains view. BUT need a lot of TLC..I mean A LOT No host present... there are 3 restroom locations however one site was locked the other site is closed due to tree falls on it, this will leve you with ONLY 1 restroom which get really crowded also you have to walk a lot to get to the ONLY 1 working toilet depend on your campsite. It's not quite at all due to Hwy traffic noise aspesilly at night...
