I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. - John S. Burroughs
I consider this state park in Colorado an outdoor gym on the Western Slope. It is surrounded by 360 breathtaking views of mountain peaks and ranges. There's much to do here from boating, paddle boarding, fishing, biking, hiking, off roading, and exploring some of the beautiful towns in that area.
It is also a 30 minute drive south to Ouray and a 30 minute drive north to Montrose so you have restaurants and stores close by. https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Ridgway/Pages/default.aspx
Ridgway State Park offers 3 campgrounds and I found each one serves a different purpose. If you are interested in spectacular mountain views along with quick access to a beach area lake, Dakota Terraces Campground is the place for you. We recently stayed here with our RV ad enjoyed breathtaking views and found easy access to the lake. It happened to be monsoon season while we where there and we saw daily thunderstorms pass through. The most surprising aspect was one night as the sun set, the mountain range to the west turned bright purple. It was the first time any of us had see this and we will always remember that image.
This campground has easy access to several bike and hiking trails which we were able to explore. Here is a map to the campground: https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Ridgway/Documents/RidgwayDutchCharlieMap.pdf
Elk Ridge Campground is on top of the mesa and the views are beautiful of the lake ad surrounding mountain peaks.
If you are interested in fishing, Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground the best option for you. This campground is located past the reservoir dam along the Uncompadre river where the fishing is fantastic. There is also a fishing pond at this campsite as well. We have stayed here several times so my husband can fish and I found the showers and facilities to be clean and well maintained. There is one issue here and that is the presence of cactus throughout the campground. My boys tried to run freely around the campsite and ended up with some cacti needles in their legs and feet.
Here is a map to that Campground: https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Ridgway/Documents/RidgwayPaCoChuPukMap.pdf
We have traveled here from Golden for over 7 years and each time we find a new experience in the state park. This is well worth the time to explore and drive to. This year, we spent several days on the side of the Ridgway Reservoir near the Dakota Terraces Campground. We set up a canopy and paddle boarded, kayaked, and fished. The weather allowed us a couple hour "window" to enjoy the water. We visited in July which is the mountains monsoon season so we had some big storms roll in and waited them out in our RVs.
Hiking and Biking. There are several trails that provide an option for mountain biking or hiking. You have to be willing to climb on these hikes but the views are worth it. The first trail to Pa-Co-Chu-Puk is 3.5 miles between campgrounds and it is a beautiful hike around the Reservoir. The other hike is the Trail to Dallas Creek and trail will take you all the way to the town of Ridgeway. We really enjoyed the ride and the views it provided.
We have gotten used to our RV that we can take around Colorado and set up camp easily. I also like the yurt option for those who don’t have a travel trailer or want to camp. But these book up quickly so plan on booking 6 months out in order to get them.
We love to cook with our dutch ovens when we have time while camping. Here you will see Chicken Pot Pie, which can be created and frozen before and easily cooked while camping. We also love to make cinnamon rolls and peach cobbler over the charcoals. These meals are as tasty as they look and a great way to fill up after a long day of outdoor sports.
