roadtripper8019211

Needed to find a place to sleep overnight and stumbled upon this gem managed by the BLM. The beautiful, clean, and quiet spot was literally right next to the Snake River. So peaceful yet felt very safe with other families also in the area. Tons of room between sites.
I drive in from the east and the roads were great and freshly paved. The campground/rec area itself is on a gravel road but it was in good condition. There was a underpass so if you have a large rig read up on the size. For me this was exactly what I was looking for.

Saddlehorn Campground is a well kept campground with beautiful views of the nearby canyon overlooking Fruita. If you are driving through the area and need a place to stay i’s worth it. But make sure you have enough time to drive the 19 miles through Colorado National Monument and leave time to take in the magnificent views.

The sites aren’t generally well suited for large RVs so make sure to check the size limitations before booking. Site 41 was big and conveniently located next to the nice bathrooms (well maintain with automated flush toilets but no showers). It took some maneuvering to back in. The slight slope worked for my trailer but I wouldn’t want to try to park an RV there or many of the other spots.
The weather was comfortable during my mid May stay but there was lots of wind most days (up to 50mph gusts). Be prepared for wind. I felt bad for the people in tents.
There was a fee to enter Colorado National Monument park so add that $25 to the camping fee. Also, I’d disregard the campground website suggestion on how to get there. Follow your car’s navigation directions. They’ll likely send you through the west entrance near Fruita; that is much faster than the east entrance followed by 19 miles of crawling along the canyon’s edge. The 19 mile drive is lovely, but you don’t want to hurry through it as you head to your campsite. Lots of people stay just one night. If you are one of them, I’d still suggest you make sure you have time to take in some of the short hikes and sightseeing as you drive through the park.
If you stay longer, know that internet (Verizon) was surprisingly good.

My dad and I found this campground at the last minute and it had availability. If you have a choice go for the lakefront spots as those look great. We both appreciated that he got a Veteran discount too.

There were lots of RVs but the grounds were quiet, with very clean bathrooms, and helpful staff. We arrived after 5pm so the campground office was closed but some staff saw us wondering around and helped us out make a reservation (online works too). We learned that we could have called the golf course part of the park after hours (the number ending in x1230) and they could have helped us 24 hours).
I would have liked better signage to find the campground part of the park, but since the campground folks were willing to drive us right up to our camping spot, I couldn’t have asked for more. I would have like time to boat, fish, hike, and relax as the grounds look beautiful, but we didn’t have time. Would be worth coming back though.
Their wireless worked well for us.

Nice flat concrete pads. Most sites require back-in so I learned how to do that in the dark. Love the sound of the lake hitting the shore and groups having fun during the day. Nights are relaxing and quiet.
My site 24 was a medium distance walk to the showers and toilets. The bathrooms are dated but the cleaning crew does a nice job at keeping them clean. I like that I wasn’t right at the entrance so I didn’t have too many cars going by. Would recommend this place to a friend and looking forward to coming back. It is a longer drive out of the way versus some other campgrounds otherwise I would visit more often.

This was exactly the type of campground I was looking for - I got to ease into primitive camping. The bathrooms and shower were right around the corner from my site. Right on lake Lanier, campsite #14 is also more secluded than most of the spots so I got to let my imagination take off with some of the night noises from the surrounding woods. The parking spot hovered over the associated picnic table and tent area that was right above the lake. It made for a beautiful view when parked in my teardrop but tent campers would have been happy to be that much closer to the lake. The campground road did circle by so I got to meet passers by and there weren’t many cars given its such a small campground, so the road didn’t bother me. On Friday night I could here fireworks (or gunshots?) from distant hills and on Saturday morning i heard cars racing and google showed me that a racetrack for test drives was a couple of miles away. Other than that, it felt like all the types of noises I want to hear when camping in the woods on a lake. I loved it so much I made another reservation already.

I heard about this place through the grapevine. While there isn’t electricity some of the sites are big enough for medium sized trailers/RV, and my small teardrop would work well at any of the sites. I can’t believe more people don’t know about this place.

This was my first stay at McKinney campground and I think much of my experience was driven by my campsite’s location. While site 129 overlooks Lake Allatoona, and I loved the serenity of the trees, overall the site wasn’t as peaceful as I’d expected. There was a house across the lake that had bright outdoor lights at night that shined right into my site (and into my trailer’s window). My camping neighbor mentioned she was bothered by it too. Also my site had a fair amount of I-75 traffic noise that bounced off the lake. Lastly, while I was near one of the sets of bathroom/showers, more campers seemed to share that particular set of facilities than in other sections of the campground, and the toilets always seemed to be busy when I swung by. While it was a nice campground, it wasn’t as quiet and relaxing as my other recent stays at COE campgrounds.
This is one of the few (only?) COE campgrounds in the area that will be open this winter. I look forward to staying here again and trying out a different section of the campground.

This is the case 3rd COE campground I’ve stayed at in recent weeks. And Old Federal impressed like the others.
Site #42 might be the only site without trees; but I loved the full view of the lake! The site is at the end of a cove and it was so peaceful to hear the little waves lapping against the shore.
While I loved the site, it wasn’t as secluded as others in the campground and my neighbor was very close. The walk to the bathroom was also farther than most other sites, I believe.
On Friday and Saturday night I could here music in the distance till maybe 9 or a bit later. I’m not sure if it was from within the campground or across the lake. It was nice to be able to hear and know that people where enjoying the evening.

While Paddy’s Creek doesn’t allow RVs it was a nice location for camping in my teardrop. It’s a relatively newer campground so the bathrooms were very nice and the sites were very well maintained. I picked a spot in the back so that my parking spot didn’t have any stairs between it and the picnic table, fire pit, and tent camping area. If I were to do it again I would have picked a spot closer to the lake even if there were stairs. Note that cell phone reception was poor so I’ll try bringing a booster next time if I have to be access the internet much.
I do plan on coming back as it’s a beautiful area with hiking and mountain bike riding. The problem was that I camper there right before Thanksgiving and it was (literally) freezing. In the spring or summer I’ll bet it is a wonderful place to stay.

Its nice to have camping options in the winter and this is a good one. Sites have good locations relative to the lake. Site 75 was right off the lake which I liked but there were some disadvantages. We had stormy weather and the winds off the lake were strong and cold. Most families packed up early and headed inside where it is warmer. Secondly, this particular site had an odd entry. In hindsight I’ve realized that there was a drive through dirt path that went past 3sits including #75. The trick to parking is to continue on the dirt (after the pavement ends) and then there is a better approach angle for backing into the site. I’m glad I had a small trailer that was easy to maneuver versus a large RV. Most sites had more straightforward access.