Campground Review: Ridgway State Park, Ridgway, Colorado

Introduction:

A beautiful state park offering spacious sites and a range of hook-ups just minutes from downtown Ridgway.

The Basics:

Overall Rating: 4.4/5

Price per night / Discounts: $26 / Colorado charges a daily fee (usually $7.00) in addition to the nightly camping rate. If you are staying in the system more than a week, it is worthwhile to buy an annual pass which costs $70.

Campground website: Ridgway State Park

Our Site #: 221

Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):

4/5: Like most state parks, the sites here were quite spacious. Sites are arranged around loops and most are parallel with the road. Sites on the exterior of the loops tended to be a bit more private than ones on the interior of the loops, but all were pretty good. The sites have nice sitting areas with picnic tables, grills, and fire pits. We were in the full hook up Pa-Co-Chu-Puk campground in Loop F. We noticed that Loop G had somewhat better sites in that there was more mature vegetation throughout the loop that made it feel a bit less open. However, Loop F was fine. As for the park's other two campgrounds, Elk Ridge and Dakota Terraces, those have more trees and some sites were a bit more private, but they were W/E only and site quality was quite mixed. Check the details of available sites carefully when booking.

Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):

5/5: The state park itself has a number of nice walking trails as well as access to the reservoir and a beach. Additionally, it is located just down the street from the little town of Ridgway, and within very easy distance of Ouray and Telluride. The location offers visitors a nice combination of quiet solitude and access to all the normal conveniences. It was hotter than we expected it to be, so be careful of mid-summer visits if you're not a fan of super warm weather.

Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):

4/5: Our site was level, easily accessible, and the roads were wide and well maintained. I will say, however, that not all sites are created equally. It pays to do your research and read up on the various sites. Some, especially in the Dakota Terraces and Elk Ridge loops were not level at all. Our utilities worked fine, but electricity is 30 amp only.

Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, and staff):

5/5: Colorado State Parks allow visitors to book their own reservations online, which is awesome, and everyone we dealt with at the park was extremely friendly and helpful.

Internet Availability Rating (Verizon coverage or campground wifi):

4/5: No wifi here, as expected, but our AT&T hotspot worked well.

Summary:

We were very happy with this park. The only thing we would do differently on a return trip is try to get into the G loop rather than the F loop of the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk campground. Both loops offer full hookups, but we found the G loop to be a bit more spacious with mature vegetation that created a better sense of privacy. The other two campgrounds, Dakota Terraces and Elk Ridge offer W/E only and may be less suitable for big rigs, but they also offer more mature vegetation. It is worthwhile to carefully review the details of the various sites and check out campsitephotos.net for pictures of the individual sites before booking.

Campground Photos (Click for larger image):