Arkansas Point Campground

Our low rating for this campground reflects our disappointment over the poor quality of the campground and sites, which makes us unhappy with the prices charged (electric only for $34 + daily use fee of $8/day or purchase annual pass for $80). This is basically an Army Corps of Engineers campground, with spartan bath facilities with water that was never more than lukewarm, paved sites that are quite unlevel, and very poor site separation. There are no trees in this desert environment so no foliage between sites, and sites are pretty close together. Ours was terrible -- it was one of several long pull-throughs that the campground has turned into two sites, so our "separation" from our neighbor was merely a yellow line painted down the middle of what was formerly one long site. Beware when making reservations to avoid these double sites, since Reserve America does not indicate anything unusual about the site. We would have preferred a back in as those were generally quite long and has better separation than the pull throughs.

We did like that the campground has views of the lake, and it is easy to stroll from the campground down to the marina and the boat ramp. There is also an extensive network of hiking/mountain biking trails that can be accessed right from the campground. Utilities worked fine, though it was impossible for our AC to keep up with the heat when temperatures soared past 90 every day. Our favorite aspect of the campground was the blazing fast internet service on AT&T (AT&T Download 28.62 Mbps, Upload 17.62 Mbps). It was also fairly close to Colorado Springs (about an hour's drive to the airport or to Costco), and gas/groceries in Pueblo are 15 minutes away.

Let’s be clear, even though our beloved Campendium clearly states under their heading for “amenities” in Arkansas Point that there is “laundry” available, there is not. Still, I rode my bicycle to the guard house and asked them to look into their books at every campground in Lake Pueblo State Park and determine whether or not there is a laundry machine on site anywhere. They promptly reported in the negative. Bummer. Sad to say I picked this campground based on erroneous information. And there is no denying the need for us to now do some laundry. A twenty minute drive did get me to a suitable laundromat called Lady Fair Coin Laundries. There are several locations throughout Pueblo. I showed up at 6AM and pretty much had the facility to myself. An abnormally clean operation, with many new machines. And a change-maker that works!

AT&T cell service here is an unbelievable four bars. I suppose a city sitting a mile high, smack inside a plain instead of mountains, and being close to a significant population, can finally afford AT&T a bit of good press. And there is also a good power source here at camp with 20-30-50 amp service. The water spigots are spaced fairly around the loops. One dump station with two sides. A trip for more water and a dump is in the cards at some point in a six night stay. In short order we shall see how conservative we have become. The two bathrooms near us w/showers are marked for use by either sex, and the two single bathroom/showers in the rear of the building are marked for use by specific gender. The hot water is abundant, but the nozzles spray wide and mostly miss the mark. There is no charge to use the showers here in contrast to Trinidad Lake State Park. For the most part the rooms are kept clean.

But the overnight camping price is much too steep for what you get. $34 per night to camp plus the required day pass or out-of- state yearly park pass which costs $80. Having already purchased this yearly pass back in May the more I use the Colorado State Park system the more affordable is the final clerical outcome. But we are generally National Forest campers. My National Park lifetime half-price geezer pass cost $10 and has paid for itself more times than I can even recall.

The views here are nice, rather stupendous in places, but too much traffic and too many big rigs for our tastes. We are high, on top looking down from site #12, across from the restrooms and a dumpster. Both convenient, but ugly. An unobstructed lake view would have been better. I am probably to blame. And here you have to drive everywhere, even to the swim beach. But the swim beach is worth visiting. Beverly has taken a good one-hour swim every day we have been here. The swim beach is only open from 11AM to 6pm and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It is like having an Olympic-size pool all to herself at 11AM. However the beach fills up pretty fast beginning around 12PM.

There are plenty of slight to medium grades here, enough that riding a bicycle is not a lot of fun, just exercise. Here in Lake Pueblo State Park the winds can pick up just like they do near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. On our first night a beast of a wind blew in just as the sun was going down, and the howling seemed to never want to quit. Afternoon storms seem the norm here in late July. Black flies are also present, bite hard, and are irritating.

There is a Walmart within about five miles or so, a Natural Foods grocery store about thirty minutes away on the other side of Pueblo, and a couple public swimming pools all within another twenty minute drive in another direction. There is a hot spring location about thirty miles away to the north which we passed on the way down on Hwy 50. “Clothes-optional” Dakota Hot Springs would be sure to add another story to go along with the great health benefits we are now both addicted to these days. However, Cottonwood Hot Springs up in Buena Vista looks more promising, and their many different hot pools appear to be made of natural rock. Looks like another reservation change is in order. In the food department, as in eating out, Tacos Navarro at 223 E Northern Ave is an authentic Mexican restaurant. They are only open for lunch from 11-3, and well worth the visit.

Hiking trails are many here at Lake Pueblo. There is also a cool place to take your dog swimming off Juniper Road called Sailboard. You are allowed to wade in the water there with your dog on leash. No swimming is allowed, but not surprising, there are some who do.

$33.50 includes daily fees.
Camp hosts were very nice and helpful. There are two clean dump stations with potable water. It's a very quiet campground and well maintained. We used this campground a basecamp to visit Colorado Springs and the Royal Gorge appx. an hour away each. There are tons of trails for hiking and biking. There is also boating and fishing. We really enjoyed our stay. The only down side is there is not much shade.

We took our 17 foot travel trailer on it's maiden voyage to Arkansas Point. At this time of year it was not busy and we did the self-serve check in. We arrived Saturday morning to lots of available sites. By late afternoon, the sites started to fill up with visitors. The convenience of trails was our favorite part of this campground. You can access multiple trails from the parking lot or just out the backside of the campground. The views were spectacular and we loved waking up to a water view with the awesome rock formations all around us. We will definitely return to this campground in the spring or early fall- it is probably a little to hot in the summer (unless you're on the water)!

We brought our 32 foot airstream and two dogs. The views were nice with the mountains in the distance and the lake. It was very hot while we were there (99 degrees) so it's a shame they don't have any shade. The bathrooms were clean and the camp host and ranger were very friendly. We didn't like that there isn't a gate or attendant to enter the park. We had some stuff stolen from our site when we were dumping our tanks. We had electric only, but there was a dump/fill station in the same campground. Just be careful with your belongings since anyone can enter the park without an attendant.