Rocky Ridge Campground

Not all sites have a view of the lake. Many are tucked behind rock formations, which is actually quite nice as it protects you from wind. While we were here in early May it was often very windy and quite chilly. The water, bathrooms and dump station are not turned on until May 1. The sites are spacious, the views are beautiful. Cell service is strong at full bars for Verizon, but it’s pretty darn slow. But it works for phone conversations, slow surfing, and with a signal booster even streaming. The $45 night is for an electric site and includes the nine dollar Park fee. As others have mentioned, the drive-in is over miles of a very bumpy, unmarked, single lane road. Donkeys rule the road. Be sure to bring carrots.

Arrival - We came in from the west via Colorado 9 to Highway 24 past Spinney Reservoir after the summit of Wilkerson Pass. The road into the park is rough dirt with a unmaintained feel and ruts-a-plenty. Take it slow. Upon arrival, there is a self pay station for the mandatory $9/day park pass, unless you are a disabled veteran or, already hold a CO State Parks Pass. The rangers were very helpful and the ranger station has nice showers, fresh water under pressure, a laundry room and the required information for the myriad of things to do in the area.

Tips - Again, take it slow coming into the park via the dirt roads from either direction off of highway 24. From a lifetime of childhood experience, the road coming from Florrisant off of 24 is no better, sometimes worse than going in from Lake George. Buy all of your consumables and fishing needs well in advance of arrival, pretty expensive at the local stores. Of course, fill your water before you get to your site; there is no water in loop D.

Favorites - Scenery, the lake, the fishing (the Kokenee were biting!). The stargazing was amazing as well; not quite a dark site but the milky way, shooting stars, and satellites were easily seen.

Negatives - Sites are a little difficult to navigate for the longer setups, we're 60' total length with the TT and TV. A little more trash than I expected with full time hosts all over the place. The lakeshore was pretty trashed out in the places that I fished as well but, that's always been the case for Eleven Mile since I was a little boy; bring a trash bag and pick up a few pieces.

We weren't sure about this park when we booked it, but really enjoyed our first two nights on the electric site that we booked a third on the no-electric. Loop A is tight, incredibly tight, but the other electric sites looks easy and pull through. We chose site 10 because it overlooks more of park and sits a little higher than the others. We moved to site 131 on the last night because it was on the end and had a pretty open view of the BLM land next door.

Facilities are great (shower are coin operate $1.25 for 7 minutes). I, Crystal, felt safe doing solo walks down to the Marina and around the campgrounds. Sites have electricity, but no water. Water is available on campgrounds. I worked from both sites and reception was ok and better with our WeBoost; I was able to host video calls.

Rocky Ridge is one of the campgrounds for the 11 Mile State Park. The campground consists of several loops, two loops have electricity. There is no sewer or water hookups at any site.

Reservations for the vast majority of sites must be made online, you technically can't show up late after closing and take a site.

We paid $36/night for an electric site including the online reservation fee. In addition, campers are required to purchase a park pass at the entrance which is not included in the campground fee (unless you have an annual Colorado park pass). Passes are $8/day per vehicle - motorhomes with toads only count as one vehicle.

The loops are literally on a rocky ridge above the lake and most provide good views. There are also tent camping sites including walk-in sites. The facilities are basic - pit toilets in the loops but clean and well maintained.

Since the campground is on a hillside many sites are not flat and bigger rigs may not be able to be leveled. It's difficult to tell from the online reservation system which sites are actually flat and which are sloped.

There are few trees near most sites, so do not expect shade. Also, the location on a ridge at the edge of a vally means wind is common.

There is a lot to do in the area, especially for those interested in fishing and boating. The marina is very popular on the weekends.

Cell service is sporadic. Verizon had decent data connection. AT&T was either good or bad subject to micro-terrain and the quality of the modem. With AT&T's flagship Nighthawk M1 I got consistent 5-6Mbps but other AT&T devices were roaming or well below 1Mbps. A cellular booster did not help these devices. Sprint and T-Mobile were not tested.

We stayed at a free site off of 92 and CR 251. There are multiple spots available all along 92 if you are into boon docking. As the subject of this post mentions, it is really beautiful here. We stayed at the end of August and only experienced one rain/hail storm that actually closed Spinney Mountain Reservoir down for a couple days of flood clean up. We were camping higher up and didn't experience flooding. During this time of year the only annoyance was the yellow jackets that swarm around food like flies. They never stung us but they were all up in our face. No mosquito bites in our ground during our stay. At the site there was spotty Verizon and T-Mobile Coverage. I work while camping and had to drive down 92 until my phone grabbed an LTE signal. I would park there and work as needed. At Rocky Ridge Camp Ground the signals are spotty as well, but out on the water I got full LTE. Bottom line, beautiful place to camp but if you need to be online to work for a bit using your cell hot spot, you will need to move around a bit in your car to find an LTE signal. On a side note I did have two different cell boosters to try and neither one was able to boost my 3G to LTE at my site.

Decent State Park with access to fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking. Shower and toilet facilities were exceptionally clean and well maintained. Camp sites were somewhat dusty due to lack of rain but were spacious in some loops. Very minimal shade at most of the RV sites. A couple loops have electric sites. No water or sewer hook-ups though. We stayed for 2 nights. 2-3 night stay recommended...after that, not much more to do/see. Marina has kayak and canoe rentals. We camped at Eleven Mile State Park - Rocky Ridge Campground in a Travel Trailer.