I so can't believe this place has been here so long (owners bought the property in '73) and not a…read moresingle review on Yelp? Far and away, one of the better camping arrangements we had on our 2,000 miles thus far... $18 tent site, free showers, wifi, coffee and tea, as well as honor system soda and ice in a common room, great value and super nice owners - highly recommended if you're passing through. Close to the Great Dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, to name a couple. :)

This campground is a hidden jewel! It is surrounded my majestic mountains with postcard perfect…read moreviews. Very quiet and private campground. Lots of trees to offer shade and privacy. Million dollar views!! Also has full hookups. Highly recommend!!

Wow, this place was great…read more 50 campsites nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Range just 20 minutes west of Westcliffe, CO. We had a tenting spot, #2. Right at the entrance. Next to the stream. Afternoon shade and near a restroom. This site is well manicured, with flat hard packed spaces for tents and for table/grill. They have garbage service and easy access to the trailhead to Phantom Terrace, Venable Falls etc. The downside is being surrounded by motor coaches with generators that run nonstop even when no one is inside. Camps full of kids running around like little crazies from sun up past sun down. Small annoyances really. I would gladly Return some time.

What a hidden gem! Campsites are spaced out to provide plenty of privacy. The only sounds we…read moreheard were birds chirping & the Alvarado Creek gushing nearby. The trailheads to the Comanche & Venable Trails were a short 3-minute car ride away. The tiny town of Westcliffe was 10 minutes away, where a grocery store, gas station, & Subway restaurant are found. 75 minutes to the cute town of Salida with riverfront parks & river rafting. 60 minutes to Canon City (Royal Gorge Bridge). This place was so special & provided the peaceful, relaxing vacation spot we needed as tent campers. Steve, the campsite host, was nice & friendly. It's nice to experience a clean campsite that can be reserved ahead of time. (Site 29)

Such a fun little spot close to the Sand dunes and such a gem in the valley for locals and tourists…read morealike. This spot has plenty of parking, camping and lots to offer. The pool/hot springs are split into 2 primary areas. One big area that is meant for all with a kids pool, large hot springs pool with diving boards for all to have fun, a snack bar with lots of goodies (but you can bring your own food in too if you want, which is great for families on a budget), a grassy picnic area, basketball court, and a small toddler friendly slide area as well. You can also rent cabanas. The other area is for 21+ in the greenhouse. It's fully separated from the family area and is an adult atmosphere. There is a bar, snack bar with a limited menu, dense lush greenery, and numerous hot pools of varying temps. There is also a sauna for sweating it out. We spend a lot of time here relaxing and enjoying the pool and cocktails. This is a great place to spend the day or evening. This is not a high end spa but a mid-tier budget friendly option that is well worth it. My only criticism is that the locker rooms could use some updating, but I'll still take it!

This is a oasis/spa in the middle of the Colorado plains and just on the outskirts of Great Sand…read moreDunes National Park. Definitely recommend this resort as at least a two (2) night base camp for your ultimate planned NP excursion. Arrive/check-in then rent your Sand Boards for your next day use at the NP (and arrive early at the NP before the sand gets too hot!). After your Sand Dunes park play, return to this resort to unwind and relax in a natural, therapeutic spa fashion. Be aware: There is good, tasty food on-site (breakast, lunch and dinner) and the selection is varied but not elegant! And, there is no other food locations in the area. BYOB and mixers - you can buy ice upon arrival. Finally, get to the Adult Greenhouse before 11am to secure a lounge chair as there is not many. Kudos to all the facility and concession personnel, most of whom live nearby, that do their utmost to ensure that your stay is memorable.

This short hike to the falls was one of the most worthwhile mini adventures taken in a long long…read moretime... The reward was this magical ice covered masterpiece of nature... We got super lucky with our timing and caught the falls in one of the most amazing moments.... Do not pass this one up...

A 30 foot frozen falls await you up a fairly steep one mile trail that has lots of rocks and plenty…read moreof ice/snow melt in late March. Be sure to wear shoes/boots with good grips for the trail. The hike is well worth it. As I approached the falls, the sound was just surreal as I could hear the water flowing below the frozen ice from the falls. There is also a beautiful blue glow from the frozen falls. A must see if you are near the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Excellent service. Awesome waterside campsites, fire pits, water views, bathroos, showers (with hot…read morewater), trees everywhere, small cabins available as well..... A MUST if you're a fan life peraon, car camper, or RV no d of peraon. This place is LOVELY.

My fiancé and I had a wonderful time camping here over Labor Day weekend. The tent sites are first…read morecome first serve and we got in a little late so we had to camp across the river. Definitely takes some work to get camp set up over the bridge but definitely worth it for the privacy! We brought our dog and she had a wonderful time. Gavin was an amazing host and even sells firewood for a reasonable price. Bathrooms are average for camping sites. Overall we had a phenomenal experience with an unbeatable price tag!

Along the 'Cosmic Highway' is the UFO Watchtower. It is in the middle of nowhere but close to hot…read moresprings and Great Sand Dunes Park, don't miss it. The UFO Watchtower is an observation platform and campground where tales of UFO sightings have been reported. Located below the platform is a "healing garden" where visitors leave objects to hopefully receive some sort of healing. The garden has "three vortexes that several psychics say are in her front yard. The vortexes are guarded by two invisible beings. You can feel the power when you move close. Larry the supper nice owner and his informative trusty ex military assistant Lee and his rescued Lab Rats regale us with UFO stories. There have been many sightings here and when you climb the watchtower you can see why. The tiny indoor museum houses the remains and story of the mutilation and death of 'Snippy' the horse in 1967 which gained headlines due to unusual circumstances. The head was stripped bare to the bone. The precision cuts on the flank could not have come from a coyote or even a pack of them. A strong chemical smell akin to acetone lingered in the air. Indications of an aircraft landing on the terrain featured "circular exhaust marks", "squashed bushes", and circular indentations in the dirt. A geiger counter alleged reported high radiation counts around the exhaust marks and flattened bushes. Beginning in the 1970s, the US experienced waves of cattle mutilations which were likened to Snippy's death.Mutilation investigator Linda Moulton Howe revisited the Snippy case, interviewing witnesses for her 1989 book An Alien Harvest. A must for UFO fans and roadside attractions and the small entrance fee is worth it. Ask lots of questions and you will get lots of interesting answers.

This place is absolutely absurd in all the right ways, if you enjoy quirky roadside attractions as…read moreI do. It's got a little history about mutilated livestock and strange sitings by campers through the years but, otherwise, it's just a great place to stretch your legs and enjoy a little fun. It's minutes from the highway, a little bit of a drive from the Great Sand Dunes. At a $5 cover and easy parking, with a menagerie of handcrafted oddities representing aliens and saucerships and other such things out of this world, why would ya pass it up?

As home to the tallest sand dunes in North America, this place is absolutely worth checking out. We…read morecame over Memorial Day weekend and we had been hearing rumblings in town that this is typically one of their busiest seasons of the year so we were really nervous we would have to wait in long lines, it would be crowded, and we wouldn't be able to enjoy our hike up the sand dunes. It was actually totally chill, it took maybe 15 minutes to get situated and pay for our park pass, drive to the dunes, and find parking but nothing outrageous. I will say the park rangers here are not friendly and fairly rude if I'm being honest. The dunes themselves were super fun, we had never been to anything with this much sand before so it was a blast sledding down the hills! All of the visitors were really nice and friendly to one another which is always great to see. We specifically rented a 4x4 jeep so we could go on the Medano Pass Primitive Road and probably only made it about 5 miles. THIS was actually crowded and unruly as it's one lane and you have to park on the side every now and then to let cars from the opposite direction come through. It was bumpy, not scenic at all, and rather annoying having to stop so frequently so we ended up ditching it and leaving to go to the visitor center instead. If I were to redo this part, I would have just rented a cheaper car that wasn't a 4x4 and saved loads of gas. Because the park is open 24/7, we were especially excited to come back at night though and see the dunes. We returned around 10:30pm and although there were some really annoying people blasting music in the dunes parking lot that ruined the ambiance, the stars were absolutely magnificent. Since it's a certified International Dark Sky Park,they were absolutely stunning and radiating from the night sky. We got so lucky it was a clear night so we could see them so well! That was the highlight of our trip for sure.

A truly remarkable landscape that must be experienced. These are the tallest sand dunes in North…read moreAmerica. Yes, in Colorful Colorado!!! My first trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park was in February of this year. It completely exceeded my expectations. No, it's not classic Colorado. Yes, I visited in the off season (more people should do this!) Minimal crowds meant having most of the park to myself. I rented a sandboard in Alamosa and sandboarded down the dunes. Only $20 at Kristi Mountain Sports! Talk about a thrilling experience! Totally recommend doing this if you're craving an adventure. All you have to be cautious of are the weather conditions, specifically wind. I watched the forecast like a hawk and tailored my visit accordingly. The two popular hikes to experience the dunes are High Dune and Star Dune, with the latter being the tallest. Now you know I'm a hiker and that I grew up near the ocean...but hiking on sand??? Not for the faint of heart! I made it up to High Dune and ran out of water and decided it was best to head back. Incredible views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. At a few points I was completely surrounded by dunes and that was a feeling I never thought I'd experience! Visiting at sunrise the following morning was spectacular. I was the only one in the trailhead parking lot! The pink skies over the dunes and mountains was a special combination. I hiked the Dunes Overlook Trail afterwards and I'd recommend it since you get to see the park from a higher vantage point. I also saw 25 deer on trail, no I'm not exaggerating! This was the adventure of a lifetime. Go play in Colorado's sandbox, you'll be surprised how much you enjoy it! Can't wait to come back!

This place is crazy cheap, 11 bucks a night, and just beautiful. The campsites are spread out, so…read moreyou are not on top of each other, there is no tourist traffic to the Falls because the campground is off to the side, and the views of the mountains and Great Sand Dunes is just beautiful from here. And the sunsets.....stunning! The campsite itself is very clean. There are vault toilets which we didn't use due to having an RV, so I cannot speak to those. There are no dump stations or amenities, but when you come prepared you don't need that. Definitely come prepared because the nearest store is Alamosa. We absolutely would come back and stay here!

This campground is about 9 miles from the Great Sand Dunes national park. You'll have views of the…read moredunes from up there. To get here from the main road will take about 15mins/3.5miles uphill. Camp sites are first come first serve. We arrived during sunset at around 6pm on Labor Day weekend and was able to secure the last spot. Get there early for awesome sites with amazing views. The one we stayed at did not have views but we were able to stargaze as the location is pretty dark. This is walking distance to the Zapata Falls trailhead so expect a lot of people arriving to hike by early morning.

This was a great spot for us to have our base of operations for our Southern Colorado adventure. We…read morewere lucky to have the bunk-house for the weekend and it was more than enough room. Les and Deb made sure we had everything we needed for the stay as we flew in and were not traveling by our own car from home. The rest of the staff were friendly and made sure we were comfortable. The facilities were great and there was a lot of fun things to do for the kids. Our son and his friend liked the playground, the giant Connect Four, playing corn-hole, and riding on the four wheeler bikes. For our accommodations, we had great hot/cold running water and the WiFi was running at a speed where we could run Netflix and Disney+ streaming. The kitchen was stocked with the basics that we were able to prepare breakfast every morning and we could have prepared bigger meals if we needed to. The bathrooms were clean and stocked with basics (towels and toiletries). The rooms were big and could fit 2 to 3 families in the entire bunk-house comfortably. The KAO is located near Great Sand Dunes National Park and close to the town of Alamosa. The sunrise over the mountains was beautiful in the mornings.

This place is perfect for your glamping needs. We enjoyed our stay. It's not too far from the city…read moreand not far from the Great Sand Dunes either. We did not utilize all the amenities but the gift shop is great and the service from the hosts is excellent. Highly recommend.

Stopped to check out what appeared to be an abandoned park in the middle of nowhere on the way to…read moredunes. I found an abandoned park on the way to the dunes, with exceptionally clean, well stocked restrooms and picnic areas shaded against the worst of the NM sun. The plan when establishing the park: Nice place for locals to spend A Day At The Beach. Reality, the water becomes poisonous to fish, dries up quickly, and the beach is on the edge of a mud hole. Still, possibly worth hiding a tent on overnight...

Beautiful, scenic, peaceful place to relax & recharge!!! Note: This is no longer a Colorado…read moreState Park - "State Park Passes" do not grant admission!! The Park falls under the authority of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife, as a State Wildlife Area. We stayed here 3 nights in Aug. '25 - The Lake was completely dry, but park is still open & provides a nice restful stop for travelers near the Sand Dunes, with nice large campsites and 30/50a Electric!! John - the new camp host is extremely helpful & friendly, and works incredibly hard (all by himself!) to help insure the Park's future by making sure that all guests have the proper State Wildlife Area pass (or CO Hunting/Fishing license) to help support the ongoing capability of providing free electrical campsites to guests. Seniors can obtain an SWA Annual pass for $11.73 online at cpwshop.com (each guest needs a pass!). We can't thank our host John enough for his hard work & dedication to help keep this park open!!