Paonia State Park

Mid-August 2020 one night stay. I did not plan on staying here but needed a place to sleep during a cross country drive. When I arrived I noticed clear signage that a reservation is required either over the phone or through the state's website. The site has no Verizon phone or data coverage along with a 10-mile radius or so around the site. I had to drive 10 miles down the road and pull over when I finally had enough cell service to call. This was frustrating and caused me to arrive at the campsite in the dark, but at the end of the day, I didn't prepare or do any research on the site beforehand.

I stayed at the Spruce campsite which is right up against a nice creak (Super cold, but refreshing). The campsite was level and had a picnic bench. A well-maintained vault toilet and trash were nearby. The sites are very accessible and close to the road, so I did hear the occasional truck or vehicle, but not at an unbearable frequency. Additionally, my site was right up against another used site which left very little privacy. Others had walls of trees or more space, so be sure to look at the map and request the right one.

The campground is small and has a lake. Our campsite was right on the edge of the lake. Nice and peaceful; except for people wishing to enter the lake walking through the campsite. It is a large campsite!
The ugh part:
The ground is gravelly and soft. Do not take a heavier trailer into that site! Our trailer is 28’ from tongue to bumper and we drive a Nissan NV. It took us 2.5 to 3 hours to get out of the site because of slipping in the gravel and trying to climb the hill to the main path/road out. There are also wood beams that line both sides of the camper path. Those were very difficult to work our way around because our trailer slid after safely unhooking it from the vehicle.
All the other sites are well laid out and on flatter surfaces. No hills to climb up when getting out of the site.
This campground is located in a narrow canyon with a highway on one side, so there is traffic noise.