JKJenn

Stayed: 09/26/15 to 09/30/15

I was back for my second stay and had the grounds to myself, except for the hosts. The hosts are fantastic and the facilities great.

Clean and quiet with central access to Gunnison, CB, Ohio Creek Rd. And Taylor Canyon and Reservoir.

No dump facilities but free dump at municipal facility in CB or for fee at Tall Texan CG, near Gunnison

First and foremost, Google Maps cannot be trusted here, unless you care to take your rig on the actual Oregon Trail.

We tried this CG based on Campendium reviews The CG appears to be a CG designed for the Mormon Missionaries who are at the Martin's Cove site but it is open to the public. We were greeted by Elder Taylor who gave us the information we needed, but not a lot of other details. We chose a full hook-up site, which was a gravel, pull through site with wide open views of the Rattlesnake Range. When we inquired about snakes, Elder Taylor said we should be OK because they had just cut the grass near our site but mentioned they do find snakes. Elder Taylor was not extremely friendly, but he was polite.

There are pronghorn and deer all over the CG and they seem comfortable with people. We also had a bunch of red ants when we first arrived.

The CG is very quiet and the views pleasant. There were neither fire rings nor picnic tables at the sites, but there did appear to be a large picnic area. It was not clear of we could use that area.

Convenient to Bernalilo, ABQ, and Santa Fe, at $25 a night, this campground is a real bargain. As a history need, this was one of the coolest campgrounds I have visited, as I learned that Coronado explored this area in 1540. The Rio Grande is less than impressive, here, but the mountain views are nice.

I chose to camp here, to ride out a storm and catch up on rest and Internet tasks. Door Dash delivers here and the campground WiFi was solid.

You are right in Bernalilo so there is some city noise.
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This location seemed ideal when I first settled into my site. It was easy access, along a scenic creek and I had the,whole area to myself. I enjoyed the site for several days until summer arrived.

This area receives a lot of, traffic from people accessing trails, camping, and fishing. There were a number of other campers who moved into adjacent sites for a day of two and then moved on. One afternoon a group of boys and adults pulled up in the adjacent site. The boys would not stay out of my campsite, even after speaking to the adults. They left that night, thankfully. However, the next day (unrelated) I had a Goal Zero solar panel stolen.

Verizon service is OK, but inconsistent at this site. Speeds varied throughout the day. I could, only get consistent speeds with a booster.

Like other sites in this area, dust prevails. There was a ton of broken glass left around the fire ring and site, in general.

I would stay here, again, if there were no other sites open, but there are much better sites up on the hill near Lakeview or up along the road going up the mountain at Lost Canyon.

It is a typical KOA Journey where you are close to your neighbors, but get a consistent KOA experience.

PROS:
Trash pickup
Good wifi
Hunt Brothers Pizza
Proximity to I-80
Friendly staff

CONS:
Packed on weekend
Sites are very close

This is a large NFS campground, above Twin Lakes Reservoir and close to the many boondocking spots in the area. I arrived late on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and was able to find a spot, so the mere size of this campground is a bonus.

The sites vary by size. I secured a small site in the G loop. This site was set amidst the pines and offered some nice mountain views in the rear of the site. I was able to get enough solar productivity to recharge my batteries before pulling out at 11:00 for checkout.

The campground was very quiet and clean. Apart from trash and vault toilets, there are no facilities. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table.

If you can't find a boondocking spot or just want to able able to pull into a site, this campground is the way to go.

I received 2 bars of 4G on Verizon without a booster.

This campground is conveniently located near Central City, Idaho Springs, and Golden Gate State Park.

Our site was fantastic! It featured a concrete pad and patio, a wooden deck with table, umbrella, and Adirondack chairs, and a swing. The Aspens and mountain views were the flourishes that made this an awesome stop.

We chose this site because we needed a site with wifi and cabel not far from Denver and where we could catch up on laundry.

Palo Duro Canyon has a real rugged beauty and photos do not do it justice. The campgrounds in this park are spread through out the canyon loop road.

I camped in Juniper campground with water and electric sites, which is surprising to be able to have both considering how remote this campground is.

There are some things to look out for, especially if you have pets. The park has both rattlesnakes and tarantulas and is prone to flash flooding. There are signs throughout the campground warning of flooding risk and there was evidence that flooding had recently occurred.

There is no cell servixe in the park. You need to leave the park and drive down the road to get service.

I stayed here while visiting Bryce Canyon and the western part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The location is about 30 minutes from Bryce and about 15 minutes from the main road (UT12.) The rate was $28/night and an $8 reservation fee (what a ripoff.)

This is a very nice campground, featuring levlel, paved sites, full hook up sites, very clean bathrooms, beautiful scenery and amazing night skies. I don't recall having cell service, at all, here on Verizon. It was in and out on Cottonwood Canyon Rd.

An odd note: driving from UT12 to the campground after dark until sunrise is quite an experience. I felt like I was playing a cruel video game with rabbits insisting on running under my tires, even though I was driving terribly slow. They seemed to be there by the hundreds - literally! I have been to this park before but never encountered this situation. I am not sure if it is new, due to a recent lack of predators or if it is unique to this time of the year, but now you've been warned. It might be upsetting for little kids.

This is a really convenient location to tour Bryce and the Cottonwood Canyon area of the Grand Staircase. You are relatively close to Grosvenor Arch. You can easily spend an afternoon driving down Cottonwood Canyon, exploring the old Paria Town site, just off of US89, and then heading back up the canyon.

What I liked:
Location - close to Bryce and Grand Staircase
Sites are very nice
Full hook-ups
Modern, clean bathrooms
Night skies
Rock formations

What could have been better
Nothing

I have had my eye on this KOA for a few years and it did not disappoint.

The sites are above average. Although they are gravel, my site had a patio and shade. This KOA has a huge dog park, very nice bathrooms, a walking path, and it situated near Mt. Sopris, McClure Pass, and the Crystal River.

My sister-in-law encountered a bobcat along the walking path, so please be situational aware.

Although it is located right off of the highway, I don't remember hearing any noise.

WiFi was good at this location.