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Mount Princeton Campground is located in beautiful Chalk Creek Canyon in central Colorado. This popular facility is within 4 miles of a private hot springs resort, making it an ideal location for rest and relaxation. Recreation Stream fishing is best above Cascade Falls, about 2 miles west of the campground. Nearby Chalk Lake is heralded as a great family fishing lake with rainbow, brook and brown trout. Nearby ATV/UTV and 4X4 rides include Mount Antero, Baldwin Lake, Tincup Pass, Hancock Pass, Pomeroy Lakes, Hancock Lakes. Facilities The campground offers single-family sites, a few of which are wheelchair accessible. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. Wheelchair accessible vault toilets are provided. Firewood is sold on-site. Parking spurs are gravel. Sites #1, and 14-17 are "walk-up", first-come, first-served sites. All other sites are reservable. Site #2 is used by the host from mid-May to Labor Day weekend, after that it is available as a "walk-up", first-come, first-served site. Natural Features The campground is situated at an elevation of 8,600 feet in Chalk Creek Canyon, which gets its name from the soft, white, chalk-like kaolinite canyon walls. Kaolinite is a clay mineral that was deposited by percolating hot springs. A stand of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir offers partial shade in the campground. Chalk Creek can be accessed from the campground. It flows 27 miles eastward from the Collegiate Peaks before joining the Arkansas River. Chalk Lake is about a mile west of the campground. Nearby Attractions Take a day trip to the historic ghost town of St. Elmo, just 15 minutes from the campground. An old saloon, county courthouse and many other historic structures remain from the days of its mining glory. Rock hounds come to the area in search of quartz and aquamarine. The city of Salida and Town of Buena Vista are only a short drive away where visitors can enjoy unique restaurants, shops, and art galleries. 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, ziplining and swimming. ADA Access: N Note: campgrounds do not have phone service.
From Buena Vista, Colorado, take Highway 285 south to Nathrop. Turn west on County Road 162 and travel 7 miles to the campground.
Spent the day on Mt Princeton, my family found the drive up to the towers a bit harrowing, but we are from the Midwest, and it was their first adventure on dirt road switchbacks. The trip takes some planning, since we got a late start we thought we would drive up to the second trail head at the radio towers. The road continues but the trail actually veers off the road at rock stairway, which a local hiker pointed to to us. This is at the top of the treeline. Since it was past noon, we decided to call it a day at about 12,000' to avoid possible storms. The day was challenging and we know we will be back and better prepared since we learned a lot.
Mount Princeton is the best Hot Springs Resort & Mary Murphy Steakhouse never disappoints!
