Baby Doe Campground

I stayed in late July and it was a bit chilly. The lake is gorgeous, had three bars on the T-Mobile home internet router and no problem working until I mashed the adapter and had to rent a desk at the co-work space in Leadville which was close by and super convenient. Had very little service without the router and the booster though.

There are no services and the dump station is an additional $12 or $13 (can't remember) but the sites weren't on top of each other and had some trees which was nice. I started at Tabor, but it was really just a big parking lot. I was able to get enough sun through the trees to keep my batteries charged with 100W on my roof and an external solar panel I placed in the sun away from the RV.

I went with short notice and had to call the park to see about availability since you have to have 4 days notice to reserve online but Sue was amazing. She found me a spot for a few nights and came by to get payment and make sure all was good.

Definitely enjoyed my time and will be back.

I’ve noticed a trend in reviews for this site across all platforms. Any sites close to the camp hosts have had a terrible experience. The further you are from them, the more enjoyable your stay will be. Keep that in mind when booking a stay here.

2 stars because my family had a wonderful time at the lake. There’s enough beach that you’re not crowded together with other groups. Our daughters loved paddle boarding here.
The hosts ruined it. Quite condescending and as another reviewer put it, just plain rude. We are Colorado natives and polite, law abiding campers. The hosts had our whole family on edge once quiet time started for 3 nights in a row. Won’t be back.

Love this place. 10,200 feet up in the Rockies, big sites, clear Alpine lake full of trout. Been going many years but this was our best trip. 2 beachside sites. Lake recently stocked with trout, caught 2 salmon in the runoffs. The camphosts Sara and Roy are awesome. Clean bathrooms, clean sites, great tips, warm, fun and welcoming. Grandkids loved the Junior Ranger activities from them. Best hosts experienced in all of our 7 trips there. Book in advance, sites get locked in 6 mos in advance for good reason!

This campground is best suited for campers that have no children or pets, people who will spend zero time at their campsite or folks who are in their tent/camper by 9:30 pm.

**This campground has zero tolerance for children**

Our first impression wasn’t that great. Our site was clearly not cleaned up after the last campers departed. The remnants of their half burnt logs and ash soup was still in our fire pit. The wrong name was written on our site which left me quite anxious until we could confirm with the camp host that our spot was not given away to someone else. We got that squared away. Then the craziness began.

Our group occupied 4 sites, with roughly 4 people per site. We were clearly targeted from day 1 of a 3 night stay. Sara and Roy, the camp hosts, creep around on their bikes looking for something to discipline you for. They showed up EVERY NIGHT with only a power trip in mind. Some of the ridiculous things we were talked to about:

- Our awning lights need to be turned off. They might be bothering people. (Even though the only people around us were our friends campsites)
- Your dogs can’t be leashed to a tree. They can’t be left alone in the camper or outside, even if you’re just running to the restroom.
- We should go into the woods if we want to play any games such as Cornhole so we don’t bother other campers. (Meanwhile a neighboring campsite was throwing knives and axes at a log on their site and they were never told to go elsewhere)
- They WILL yell at your children. Sara screamed at a little girl for going too fast on her bike. Absurd.
- Quiet hours between 10pm - 8am mean: No more than 8 people around the fire, even if you’re quiet. You cannot ride your bike from one campsite to another because your headlamp might bother someone. No talking. No music, even if it can’t be heard outside your campsite. No laughing. (We seriously got yelled at for laughing when they told us there were 6 minutes and 33 seconds left until quiet time).

Sara and Roy showed up at 9:52 pm on night 3 to notify us that quiet time was approaching and only 8 people could remain around the fire. Their aggressive and confrontational tone left the kids afraid that we were in trouble. It was obvious to them that this was not a friendly reminder. So if you want to camp with friends, DO NOT CAMP HERE! They are NOT group friendly! NOT kid friendly! NOT pet friendly! We have 100’s of years of camping between our families and we have NEVER been treated this way in Colorado. Their treatment bordered on psychotic.

So friends, know before you go. The lake itself is gorgeous and had it not rained, we would have spent much more time there. Sandy beach area with rocks. Bring your sunscreen and stay at a different campground!

First time visit to turquoise lake and it did not disappoint! Our only complaint was that getting into the site was extremely difficult with our 30ft trailer and the site was very unlevel. But once we were in it felt like we were all by ourselves in a sold out campground! Lake was beautiful and great for kayaking, paddle boarding and fishing! Highly recommend!

We came in on the July 4th holiday with no reservations. The hosts were helpful in helping us get a site figured out. They do a great job keeping the sites clean and the bathrooms “spectacular” (for a public camping restroom). Great location for hiking and swimming! Leadville is a bust for anything to do/ food. Head to Minturn or Vail. We also came in under a fire ban - that was no fun, but what are you gonna do...