By:
Submission
CPW is no longer accepting reservations as the rules for camping have changed. Camping sites in the campground are now walk-in only (first come, first served).
Campers will need to plan to bring their own potable water, ice, and firewood.
CPW provides free electrical hook-ups at some sites and will continue to do so until costs become prohibitive. Please be judicious in your use of electricity so that we can continue to provide this service for no additional cost.
CPW provides free electrical hook-ups at some sites and will continue to do so until costs become prohibitive. Please be judicious in your use of electricity so that we can continue to provide this service for no additional cost.
A valid hunting or fishing license OR SWA pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing this state wildlife area. For more information, read the frequently asked questions.
Nice and quiet place. They have specific spots for tents. During spring, we had strong afternoon winds. Almost ripped our tent away a couple times. Restrooms were closed during our visit in early June.
Need a Colorado fishing or hunting license or swa permit, but then the camping is free. Most of the sites are more suited for RVs, but we found a great site in loop A that had plenty of room for our tents. Only 2 pit toilets for the 51 sites, 1 in B loop, and 1 in C loop, so be prepared for a long walk or a drive to get there.
All sites have covered picnic tables they do a wonderful job of blocking the sun. We were lucky that the lake was pretty high this year, although we didn't spend much time there as we came to go to the sand dunes, especially since Medano Creek was still running there.
Just a heads up, if you are tent camping and bringing your dogs, there are red ants and sand fleas around. They are most active at night. All 3 of our dogs got bit up pretty badly, but a quick talk with our vet helped us out quickly and easily. If this happens to your dog, basically all you need to do is give them 1 mg of Benadryl per lb of body weight and you can repeat every 8 hours. This won't solve the problem, but it will reduce their symptoms and once you are away from the sand for good, the bites should resolve themselves. Even the next day after the benedryl, our dogs were looking much better!
Awesome campground if you're looking to go to the Dunes. It's free (!!!) & each campsite has a charging station - it's an outlet with multiple sockets that work for RV charging or your phone! Some sites had picnic tables & others had canopies - from what I gathered all of them had firepits with grates. The only bummer was the ants, but we didn't notice them in our tents just at the picnic table. You can walk around to the San Luis lake too. The view of the stars is absolutely breathtaking at night - it feels like a map of the constellations is 50ft from your head. This campground was maybe a 10min drive to the entrance of the Great Sand Dunes park? I recommend it to every friend when they go to the Dunes.
