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Submission
Don't want to camp in a developed campground? There are many places on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests where you can pitch a tent and practice low impact camping techniques. Dispersed camping is primitive, undevleoped, frontcountry "car camping".
Remember: when dispersed camping, no toilets, trash service, or potable water, are available. Store all food and trash securely, and pack out what you pack in. Practice Leave No Trace.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/responsible-recreation
We stayed in site H with a 32 ft. trailer, we read the reviews for this site being tight to get a trailer in, so we call the Ranger there and were told it shouldn't be an issue. Well, it is an issue, it took 4 people to get the trailer in that spot. You have a narrow road with trees along the road which limits for backing in, you have trees on each side of this site and boulders on the side in front of the bathroom. It is a beautiful campground, clean bathrooms but listen to the reviews if you have a large trailer for this spot.
Nice campground-workers nice-but major pot holes through out. Over $1000 damage to my suspension on trailer. Also, many spaces that say they fit larger trailer do not.
Joslyn (spelling?) is an AMAZING camp host! She is super kind and helpful and so great at what she does. She was helping all kinds of people have a great experience when we stopped by. Also the bathrooms are SPOTLESS. Thanks Joslyn! 😊
Fantastic location, close to rafting (strongly recommend American Adventure Expeditions full day Numbers).
Camp hosts A+J are absolute sweethearts! Firewood usually in stock, bring your own water! It's kinda bear country, just lock your stock in your car and don't leave anything out. Saw some moose and all sorts of wildlife, I'll certainly be back 🤙
We have stayed at CP something like 4 times now and generally have greatly enjoyed it. The campground is at 9,500 feet (or so) of elevation, so if you're not coming from elevation you might have trouble sleeping great the first night or so (or maybe this is just in our minds!). It's roughly a 9-mile, 15 minute drive into the town of Buena Vista, and less than a 5 minute drive to the popular Denny Creek and Avalanche trailheads.
We have tent-camped here, but our last two stays have been with a 20 foot travel trailer and we've had no issues finding a site even though showing up without reservations. There are no hook-ups at all, and unfortunately there's not even a water source except for the beautiful creek running adjacent to the park. It feels like maybe the campground is at the bottom of the National Forest maintenance list, as the roads (potholes) haven't seen a grader in a while. If you're parked or are camping near the road, you're going to get dusty as unfortunately folks tend to speed along the roads even with the potholes. There are water spigots, but they're not functional, and haven't been since at least 2020.
We've never had a hint of cell coverage (T-Mobile) while staying there, as you're kind of recessed between the mountains. But if you climb Mt. Yale from the nearby trailheads you pick up a good signal near the top as you gain line-of-sight down into the valley where the antennas are.
This is a nice, off-grid campground if you're really prepared to be off-grid. We will definitely stay here again the next time we're around Buena Vista.
