Camping Colorado, Pikes Peak / Colorado Springs area

[outdoors5]

Any recomendations for a campground in Pikes Peak / Colorado Springs region?  We will be there in August.

(Any input on Pikes Peak RV Park & Campground or the Garden of the Gods Campground both in Manitou Springs...saw their web sites.)

[SpeakEasy]

One thing to say: Meuller State Park.

-Speak

[Dunnfamily4]

I can recommend Lone Duck Campground in Cascade, CO (just a few miles outside of Colorado Springs).  We stayed there last summer and used it as a base camp for tons of sightseeing.  If you are looking for something farther out, check out Diamond Campground near Woodland Park, CO.  Still very close to the area for sightseeing but more out in the country and more separation between sites.  And, Woodland Park is a nice town with all the supplies you would need.  They have numerous restaurants, a movie theater, and nice public library.  We preferred going there over Colorado Springs due to the ease of getting around. I noticed the campgrounds in Manitou Springs were mostly asphalt parking lots.  

Below is a review I posted last year on Lone Duck:

We spent eight nights ($265) at the Lone Duck Campground in Cascade, CO and had an awesome time. We chose this area as a base camp for all the sights around Colorado Springs (Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, etc.). I found this cg on the internet and had one response on the forum by a guy that had driven by it once.

The owners, Steve and Lisa Mack, love the pop-up, tent, and small camper folks and they have a great cg (it's been in the family since the 60's). The kids loved the heated outdoor pool, fishing pond, arcade, and the cg is located on a beautiful, babbling mountain creek. We had site 47(electric only) and fell asleep listening to the creek. Lone Duck is located on Highway 24 and we were concerned about the road noise, but we didn't seem to notice it once we settled in and truly enjoyed the cg.

As said earlier, we used this as a base camp for visiting multiple places around Colorado Springs. We made a drive to the San Isabel mountains to pick up our Boy Scout at his summer camp. This is a beautiful area and the drive was very pleasant. We took in the Royal Gorge Bridge and then headed back to base camp. For the rest of the week we did short trips for a visit to Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, Colorado Renaissance Festival, and local hiking trails. There are cliff dwellings, a cog railroad (to Pike's Peak), Cave of the Winds, and Seven Falls - waterfall all within a 10-minute drive from Lone Duck CG. We hiked around Helen Hunt Falls and Mt. Culver since those were free and recommended by the cg owner.

So we highly recommend the Lone Duck Campground. Other amentities include: laundry room, wifi, stocked trout pond (fishing fee applies), a very helpful and knowledgable staff on the sights to see and area history, and of course, a lone duck (Snowball is her name). They offer an all you can eat pancake & sausage breakfast every morning ($3 each). Their website is //www.loneduckcamp.com.

I think the sites were average on size for Colorado CG's - a little tight and close. I would pick one of the sites on the outer edges and away from the entrance. We liked sites 47, 29a, and, I think it was, site 16 or 17 near the office. In site 47 we had a pop-up on one end and tent campers behind us (tent only site). This is in a corner on the creek, so it and 29a, seemed to offer more privacy.

I think the other CG (Diamond Campground - //www.diamondcampground.com) has more separation between sites and has a more "in the forest" type of feel. We generally prefer that, but the pool and other activities at Lone Duck were very attractive to us on this trip. Also, the central location for multiple sights was a big plus for us trying to save gas. We actually spent 2 days just hanging out at the CG. Great for everyone since the adults could relax, read, nap! And the kids had plenty to keep them occupied.  

This is just a beautiful part of the country - enjoy your trip, Dunnfamily4.

[outdoors5]

Thanks for the information.