This is a very private and peaceful National Forest Service campground close to Salida and Poncha Springs. It is 4 miles off US on a well maintained FR. It is poorly marked. You can't see the sign for the campground until you turn off US50 so most people don't even know it is there. It is mostly used by tenters but RV's under 30 ft should have no problems provided they are good at backing and don 't mind a little leveling. The 4 pull through sites are really just wide spots in the road. Since they are on the creek they generally are chosen first. Roads in the camp ground are dirt. All sites have fire rings and picnic tables and some have tent pads. There are no hookups. Water has to be hand pumped so fill up before you get there or bring suitable containers and strong, willing arms. Dumping and showers are available at Heart of the Rockies RV Park. The main attractions at Angel are the Colorado Trail which runs right by the CG, fishing, and relaxing. Most of the sites have shade. Mountain goats often visit the park. There are no reservations but the park hardly ever fills up. The host is very nice and the vault toilets are spotless. I have camped here twice once in a tent and again in a trailer. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The website definitely oversold this park. There were no prices listed online and the pictures indicated an A++ park. What we found was basically graveled sites situated on the side of a hill in a park that has seen better days. But we were tired of looking for a park, so we took it. The manager was nice enough, nothing special, as was the park. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stayed one night without a reservation, but it was a weekday. Seemed to be a popular place to stop, and reservations are recommended normally. It really is in the heart of the rockies, with beautiful scenery all directions. Good showers, and Wi-Fi would work at the closer full-hookup sites, but we stayed further back in a W/E only site, so Wi-Fi did not reach. However, they have a lounge room with couches, TV, books, games, etc where we used the free W-iFi. Would come back again! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stopped here without a reservation on a holiday week. We got the next to the last pull through site and were happy to pay the price. This is a rustic campground with gravel roads and parking spaces. It was hot and everyone was running their a/c's. With only 30amps, it was necessary to watch your voltage meter carefully. We would stay here again if we were passing through. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Not sure what some reviewers saw. This campground needs lots of TLC. Sites are hard to get in and out of if you are very long. Roads are rough and the campground it terraced so there are humps to go over. Staff was friendly. Several full time residents here. Price was out of line for this park. There is a laundry and showers, but we did not use. Just okay for an overnight stay. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great people, easy access! Water pressure very low though. Office staff stated that water is gravity fed. They said owner was aware of the problem. We've stayed here before and the pressure was never that low but there were many more RV'ers this time. Power tripped when we first hooked up. Really nice gentleman came and helped us find the correct power box and, once reset, no problems for two days thereafter. Water hookup also leaked upon hookup, didn't notice it but another gentleman noticed and came by with tools to fix it. Corrected in 5 minutes and all was good. Stream was dry this time. First time we've seen that. The park doesn't have much in trees but makes up for it in space. So many of the full-hookup campgrounds around that area pack RV's in like sardines. This one doesn't. We would stay there again just for the great people! However, they really need to do something about the water pressure. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I would consider this a stop over park. The water pressure in almost nonexistent. WI-FI might work if you are close to the office, but we had trouble and were about 3 rows from the office. The staff was very friendly. Campground policy is to make a copy of your Drivers License, which I don't like. Nice views and a stream runs between RV sites & tent sites. Would stay here again as a stop over only. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice manager, Deanna, gave us a private site in back. Gravel pull thru was perfectly level and hookups were good. Small trees offered no shade but was cook and rainy so didn't matter. Baths are old, but clean. Was a very quiet night's sleep and we will return. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Park was in much need of repair. Outdoor heated pool was a joke. There was a miniature golf course that hadn't had any maintenence in a long time, and it still cost to play it. Office staff only there a few hours in the afternoon. Absolutely love the area, but many other campgrounds in the area rate much higher than this one. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
1998
$23
Very nice campground in the heart of "fourteener" country -- incredible views of the mountains and the Upper Arkansas Valley. Terraced sites with some shade, there's a small stream running thru that separates the tent area from the main area. Good, level sites, some a bit close together, though. Nice clean restrooms, very well maintained. They also have the only outdoor heated pool in the area. The campground is located about 10 miles west of Salida, and there is a hot springs pool in Salida, as well as up the valley at Mt Princeton Hot Springs. Heart of the Rockies is a very good base camp area for the sites of the Upper Arkansas Valley, the Monarch Pass/Ski area, and the upper San Luis Valley. There are incredible hiking and 4x4 trails in this area, probably the best in Colorado. And if you are in to river running, this is absolutely the place to be! We camped here in a camper.
Sites and interior roads are gravel. Sites are very, very tight and extremely unlevel. We camped here in a 40 foot motorhome with four slides. It was very difficult to manuver in and out. We ended up with scratches down the side of our rig. Sites have no area around your coach to sit outside to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Each site does have a firering and we just prayed no one would start a fire as the ring was located right next to our coach. No cell service. WiFi was okay. Owner and workers are very nice. The surrounding scenery is beautiful. You are within walking distance to a pond which is regularly stocked with trout. We would not stay here again unless we had a much smaller rig. We camped here in a Motorhome.
VERY TIGHT GETTING IN AND OUT OF SPACES. We were going to use the community room & found a tenter asleep on the couch. Lots of tenters in the back across stream, we were afraid to leave our stuff out. Pool is closed. Wi-Fi is so so. This is really just a stopping place when you have no where else to stop. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We picked this park because it was the only one in the area on our trip from Chama, NM to Gunnison, CO. Unfortunately, we were disappointed because the interior roads were narrow and very dusty. The sites were even narrower, with very little space between them, and very unlevel. Our front tires were way off the ground!!!! There was no AT&T cell signal, so I had to borrow the phone in the office to make a call. The wi-fi was “iffy” at times, but the 50A was very good. I really don’t think that we’d stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Nice location for park. Stream running quickly with spring run off. Very helpful and friendly young couple run the park. Restrooms and showers very clean. We would stay there again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We picked this camp because of dog rules. It turned out to be a great place. We had the top teired site number 30 and it was great. There where no permanent campers or loggers. If you atv there are trails right outside the campground. Monarch Pass was just up the road. The aspen where turning and the views where outstanding. The owner took over from her brother who died. She lived on the site when she was a kid, and spoke of all the history. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park was almost filled with permanent people working in the logging industry. The spaces were very narrow and where our door opened was a fire ring, never could position the RV away from that fire ring. The logging trucks start up very early in the morning and there is barely room for them maneuver around the RVs. The showers were very muddy. They are building some new sites so possibly it will get better but we would not stay there again. We camped here in a camper.