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Graham Creek Campground is situated above Vallecito Lake, in the scenic San Juan National Forest of southwestern Colorado. Visitors enjoy the area for its beautiful scenery and wide range of recreational activities, including boating, fishing and hiking.
Vallecito Lake is a very popular fishing destination, where anglers cast for German brown trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon and northern pike.
The lake offers great boating, water skiing and canoeing opportunities. Boat rentals and fishing licenses are available at various locations around the lake.
A variety of hiking and horseback riding trails are found in the area. The North Canyon Trail begins across the road from the campground and leads through ponderosa pine and aspen forests on its way through the canyon. A shorter trail leads to a scenic overlook of the lake.
East Creek Trail begins a quarter-mile up Forest Road 852, just northeast of the campground. The trail provides access to a lightly used, scenic drainage where fly-fisherman cast for brook trout. Both trails are popular with horseback riders, however, horses are not allowed in the campground.
The campground offers single-family campsites, a few of which have lake views. Sites are each equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. The south side of the campground is adjacent to private property.
Vallecito Lake, Spanish for "little valley," sits at an elevation of 7,900 feet. Scattered ponderosa pine trees tower over the open campground, offering limited shade. Hillside sites are about 100 yards from the high-water line and offer nice lake views.
A thick understory provides privacy between sites. Thickets of willow separate the camping area from the lakeshore. Several short trails lead to the lake from the campground. High peaks of the San Juans are visible to the northwest of the campground.
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 Bayfield, travel 14 miles north on County Road 501. Turn right on County Road 501A at the fire station; travel over the dam and continue just over 3 miles to the campground.
Amazing and clean, could not have been to a better spot, highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Children friendly and well kept grounds and restrooms.
Great place to camp.. Certain spots offer more convenience than others. Some are more secluded than others. #4 is a spacious lot with lots of privacy. #23 is right by the restrooms and water, plus a decent view of the lake. Videos of the campground are on YouTube so do your research. The Camp Host, Paul, is great and keeps the campground looking good.
Beautiful campground. We came here in early June as part of our honeymoon. Lovely location and nice hosts. Can’t wait to come back. If using GPS making you go the correct way around the lake when you first get there. One way is longer and takes you on a road through another campground and the other is more direct
Just wanted to give you some pictures as to what the signs look like. If you are larger than 30’ this place is not for you. It was tight at 29’ and most of the spaces are small and uneven. The road coming in is not very wide and you will be on your brakes the whole way. All three of the campgrounds up here are very similar in that they are all down hill & tight spaces. There are also a lot of cow patties EVERYWHERE! The campground host seems nice and keeps it nice and tidy here. We did swim and the lake is about waste deep for the first 30’ & very rocky.
