Sand Gulch Campground

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 4ft across and 3-4ft high are lining the road in the campgrounds.
-If you have a 30ft 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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!

Beautiful, quiet setting but close to town.

Beautiful camp ground, convenient for climbing and close to other beautiful local attractions like Royal Gorge.

Don't approach campground from the north with your trailer.

Great camping and climbing. Bring shade tarps if going before October.