Sand Gulch Campground Entrance
Campground
Sand Gulch Campground 2
Sand Gulch Kiosk
Campground Map

Featured amenities

Parking Parking
Pet Friendly Pet Friendly
Restrooms Restrooms
Fire Pit Fire Pit

Available sites

17 total sites

About Sand Gulch Campground

With easy walking access to sport rock climbing routes in the popular Shelf Road Recreation Area, Sand Gulch Campground is a 31-site camping facility, open year-round. The campground is located 14 mi north of Cañon City at an approximate elevation of 6.4 ft and features spectacular views of the surrounding limestone cliffs. 

Activities & Attractions

Nearby

Hiking

Hiking

Year-round

Seasonal information

2026 (Current year)

2026 Season availability

Current season
Upcoming seasons
Past seasons
Closed periods
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Open year round

This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.

365 Days

Campground Amenities

Most popular amenities

Parking Parking
Pet friendly Pet friendly
Restrooms Restrooms
Fire Pit Fire Pit
Water and Hygiene

Water and Hygiene

  • Restrooms
Cooking and Fire

Cooking and Fire

  • Fire Pit
  • Campfire Ring
Parking and Transport

Parking and Transport

  • Parking
Pets and Policies

Pets and Policies

  • Pet friendly
Missing information?

Rates, Sites & Availability

Select check-in and check-out dates to see real-time availability for each site.

17 Sites Available

Site
Price
🚐 1, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 10, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 11, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Driveway entry: Pull-through
🚐 12, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 13, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 14, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 15, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly
🚐 2, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 3, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 4, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 5, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Driveway entry: Pull-through
🚐 6, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 7, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Driveway entry: Pull-through
🚐 8, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Gravel · Back-in Site
🚐 9, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly · Back-in Site
🚐 Group Site 1, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly
🚐 Group Site 2, Loop: Sand Gulch RV
Pet Friendly

Reviews (66)

What Guests Are Saying

Sand Gulch Campground offers spacious and beautiful sites with good privacy and well-maintained facilities, including clean restrooms and concrete picnic tables. Visitors appreciate the stunning views, peaceful atmosphere, and friendly camp host, Jerry. While some sites may lack shade and the campground has limited amenities, the overall experience is highly positive, with many eager to return.

Review Summary

4.1
66 reviews
5
53.0%
35
4
24.2%
16
3
7.6%
5
2
6.1%
4
1
9.1%
6

Christine W

Verified

January 18, 2026 • Stayed at: Group Site 1, Loop: Sand Gulch

5

Campground and bathrooms clean and well signed. What more can you ask for!

Maria E

Verified

May 12, 2025 • Stayed at: 15, Loop: Sand Gulch

2

No place for a tent. Poor description on the website

Ariel Z

Verified

December 1, 2024 • Stayed at: 14, Loop: Sand Gulch

5

The sites were nice, rent platform, nice picnic table, fire pit, ample parking. Refurbished Campground since my last visit, more bathrooms. Bathrooms were clean and ample toilet paper. Loved the walkability to climbing .

Kacey Y

Verified

September 7, 2024 • Stayed at: 1, Loop: Sand Gulch

4

Nice campsite with vault toilet and fire pit. Only warning is that really strong toilet smells drift over to site 1 (and I’m sure others near it) so would recommend choosing a site farther away. Otherwise no complaints

Ryan B

Verified

August 2, 2024 • Stayed at: 15, Loop: Sand Gulch

4

This campground is really nice in the 'rock climbing off season', it's practically empty and for the most part people are very respectful and quiet during quiet times (10pm). Royal Gorge is nearby and worth a visit if you've not gone. Sites 1-15 are 'brand new' this year (2024) and may show signs of newness and ideas/thoughts to make each spot better. Oh, also in the summer months, there is no camp host. So if you've got noisy neighbors or have a problem, you'll have to deal.

Here are my pros/cons.

Pros:
-The sites are new, and look really great.
-Excellent sense of privacy with trees all around.
-Bathrooms, while missing a sink/running water were clean and didn't smell even in 100F weather.
-The roads getting around are well marked and taken care of.
-For us, cell coverage was surprisingly well. 5 bars of 5G UC with TMobile.
-Dog friendly for sure!
-The trails nearby are really nice to walk along and offer some pretty good solitude moments of peace and quiet. Just know that the "sand gulch" trail and the "contest" trail is some sort of loop. Had a guy "sneak up" on us and scare the beans out of us!

Cons:
-Cactus, is EVERYWHERE. Small barrel cactus, and long sticky bush kind of cactus. It's just everywhere.
-Did I mention cactus? The field nearby is NOT suited for football/frisbee, as there is cactus everywhere.
-Boulders line every, single, road. Seriously, boulders larger than 4 ft across and 3-4 ft high are lining the road in the campgrounds.
-If you have a 30 ft or larger, SPOT 15 IS NOT FOR YOU, unless you're an absolute pro at backing in. It will fit, but the boulders on each side of you will present a significant challenge and is NOT for inexperienced folks with a travel trailer.
-The trails leading to the rock climbing spots aren't as well defined as you might like. They're "ok".
-They're isn't any water present, even non-potable. Would be nice if a small well or something was built, given that in the summer it's over 95F early in the morning.

Suzy M

July 29, 2024

5

Beautiful and quiet campground with an amazing view! I just wish the address was listed on the reservation confirmation since reception is spotty on the drive to consistently access the app.

Heidi D

July 23, 2024

5

Absolutely loved this campground. While there isn’t a lot of shade, we got lucky with some minor storms and cloud cover during the hot afternoon. Site 19 was such a nice site. It is right next to the day use parking lot, so I’d say that was the only down side. Well kept site/grounds.

Brian W

Verified

July 13, 2024 • Stayed at: 9, Loop: Sand Gulch

4

Nice camp with easy access from the south on graded gravel road and good spacing between sites. Not many trees, so may be hot mid summer. Short hike into cliffs above that appears to be a very popular climbing area (lots of routes with install hangers for protection).

Rebecca H

Verified

June 18, 2024 • Stayed at: 4, Loop: Sand Gulch

5

Beautiful campsite. Wish we would have made a longer reservation. Near restrooms, which were very clean. Quiet campground despite being near others. Still felt like we had privacy.

wendy k

Verified

June 2, 2024 • Stayed at: Group Site 1, Loop: Sand Gulch

4

Beautiful campsite, clean bathrooms. Group site was large and more removed from the individual sites. Nice hiking trail directly from the campsite. No shade. We brought our 22-month-old and had to watch her like a hawk because there are SEVERAL cactus plants around. Would definitely go back but without a toddler. The individual sites all looked very small so we would definitely do the group site again. We brought glow in the dark bocce and played right off the campsite in large field. A lot of fun!

Location & Directions for Sand Gulch Campground

Bureau Of Land Management, Canon City, CO 81212 United States

Elevation: 1,967 ft

Getting There

<p>From Highway 50 in Cañon City, Take Dozier Avenue north following it as it turns west. At the four-way stop sign turn right on Field Avenue and follow it north until it turns into CR 9. In approximately 10 mi, take a left turn at the sign for S...

Nearest town

Canon City, CO - 14 mi

About 28 min to downtown

Highway access

Sand Gulch Campground is accessible via Highway 50 in Cañon City, which provides a major route to the area.

Policies & Rules

Arrival & departure

Check in time

1PM

Check out time

11AM

General

  • There are no hookup services, no trash collection services and no potable water.
  • Bring your own drinking water.
  • Maximum length of stay is 14 days.
  • Individual campsites are limited to 8 people and 2 vehicles per site. Group campsites are limited to 20 people and 4 vehicles per site.
  • Campsites are various sizes, some are smaller and designed to accommodate tent or van camping. Sites 1-16 accommodate longer trailer units (5, 7, 11 are pull through sites).&nbsp;
  • No overnight camping in day use parking areas.
  • Fires are only allowed in BLM approved metal fire rings, do not build rock fire rings. Bring your own firewood.
  • This includes, but not limited to, generators, music, loud voices, and loud pets.
  • Generators during non-quiet hours are highly discouraged, for the consideration of other campers.
  • Sites 1-15 and Group Sites are Reservation Only, Sites 16-29 are First Come, First Serve, pay at the Pay Station at the entrance. Reservations can be made the day of. Cellphone Coverage is limited, it's recomended that you make your reservation before arriving.&nbsp;
  • Please keep your reservation number on hand for reference.
  • During the months of June, July and August, the extreme heat and the presence of pinon gnats, flies, ants and other insects can make camping during these months unpleasant. It’s advised to plan accordingly if you plan to camp during this time of the year.

Nearby Campgrounds

Nearby destinations


Last updated: October 18, 2026

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Explore Canon City, CO

Population: 17,122

Nearby larger city

Colorado Springs, CO

Approx. 26 mi away (straight-line distance)

Elevation: 5,335 ft

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