Chalk Creek Campground & RV Park

Pro: closest park to Mt Princeton Hot Spring. Con: numerous.
We stayed in the lower camp by Chalk Creek. The majority of the camp is dirt. Fine, white chalk dirt. As I was filling my tank (the site does not have water), a wind kicked up and engulfed me and the RV in a dust cloud. Every vehicle that drove by kicked up a cloud of dust. The grass area is reserved for tents. We kept our windows closed and ran the ac to keep comfortable. After checking in, the woman said there was no Wi-Fi in the camp, only at the office. TMobile was no service. Paid for two nights but left the first morning. I would have had a similar experience boondocking at Ruby Mountain and paid much less.

We had an overflow spot which was perfect for us. We liked it, even though it was electric (50/30) and water only, but the lots seemed wider than the regular spots. There was also a large open space for my kids to ride their bikes around without any traffic.

The customer service was spectacular. I called to make reservations and Debra was extremely helpful and I could tell she cared about the customer. When I checked in, someone escorted us to our spot and helped us back in. The moment someone departs, they are there cleaning and raking the spot to make it ready for the next customer.

There was a lower campground along the creek which had lots of trees and a playground. The upper campground had fewer trees. Our overflow lot was near the highway but the noise didn't bother us. We were backed up against a wooded irrigation ditch. There were 2 dump stations and convenient.

Beautiful location, easy access to lots of recreational activities. Highly recommend for the customer service.

We stayed here on the first leg of our journey. The staff were very friendly and were busy as bees keeping up with the inflow of campers. The park has lots of shade and is situated between Salida and Buena Vista. Lots of things to enjoy in the area. We chose to be in the lower section with only electricity. They let us fill up our fresh water tank before getting settled in. The creek wasn’t too noisy as runoff had ended. The noise from the highway was drowned out by the creek noise. I caught a few trout in the creek, so that was a bonus. We liked it so much we spent an extra night before heading north towards Leadville. They have a very nice dump station with spectacular views that make that chore more enjoyable. I highly recommend this park, especially after seeing some of the other ones in the vicinity.

What a difference a few miles makes. From the time we left New Mexico and headed more north the traffic gets heavier and faster. Colorado seems to be in a big rush to get somewhere. Dangerous drivers on the road after leaving southern Colorado. The road outside our campground is Hwy 285 and the vehicles fly by making it dangerous to get out, or in, either direction.

Chalk Creek Campground seems to be graded and leveled as often as the typical ballpark is. Sites are clean and well-maintained. Showers and laundry room are security code protected. Both showers and laundry are coin-operated in restroom buildings that are also clean and maintained.

We arrived around noon, an hour early, and were charged an extra $5 for early check-in. Our overnight rate does not include this little fine, and the creek-side sites were a premium. Only 30 amp service at these sites along the creek. No water except at the spigot up by the restrooms. The dump station has two sides and is better than most.

AT&T service ranged from two to three bars and was reliable. Not much for us to do here and the reason we stayed for two nights was to get another full day of hot springs action, but we were too relaxed from the last two days to take another day of the mineral spas. Instead we visited the little town of Buena Vista and their history museum on a free day due to the birthday of Colorado. We also ate at a great little food truck downtown called The Buena Viking. Nice people preparing good food for both vegetarian and carnivore alike. The food truck sits in a nice empty lot full of picnic tables that opens to the Deerhammer Distilling Company. Good times.

Our site #28 backed up to Chalk Creek. A little louder than our last campsite situated on the same creek about six miles away as the crow flies at Cottonwood Hot Springs. Our camper was sitting down closer to the creek and that probably explains why it was so loud. But “creek” loud is good when the busy Hwy 285 is on the ridge above you. Regardless, charging a premium for a campsite next to a loud and busy highway is really not right. The creek was so loud that mornings I could barely hear myself sing and play my guitar, which may have been a good thing.

We wanted to camp near running water, and in the area of Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, and this fit the bill on both fronts. There are 3 sites that a trailer/motor home can be parallel to the river, all other creek side spots are back in, and a bit closer together. Many tent only sites are creekside.

We were guided to water fill up, then our site by a friendly gentleman.

All facilities are in good condition, well maintained and clean. They run a tight ship there it seems. The laundry, showers and nice bathrooms are up the hill, so a bit of a walk from the lower campground, though there are porto-potties on lower level.

Propane is sold on site, though only sold in 1/2 and full tank increments. We were there in mid April, and there were only a handful of campers on each night. They charge $5 per hour to park temporarily in their short term lot (I found this out as our laundry wasn't done by 11:00 am check out time). Also, showers are coin operated. There is a quarters change maker machine at the bathrooms.