Featured amenities
Pet Friendly
Sites & Rates
Average nightly rates17 total sites
Tent Sites
17 sites
About Penitente Canyon Campground
Number of accommodations: 17
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
Pet friendly
Pets and Policies
- Pet friendly
Rates, Sites & Availability
17 Sites Available
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Site Details
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17 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (246)
What Guests Are Saying
Penitente Canyon Campground is praised for its stunning rock formations, beautiful sunsets, and quiet, secluded atmosphere, making it a perfect spot for stargazing and hiking. The campground features clean facilities, well-stocked bathrooms, and ample hiking and biking trails nearby. However, some visitors reported issues with aggressive dogs from the camp hosts and challenges in finding certain campsites, which may detract from the overall experience.
What Guests Are Saying
Penitente Canyon Campground is praised for its stunning rock formations, beautiful sunsets, and quiet, secluded atmosphere, making it a perfect spot for stargazing and hiking. The campground features clean facilities, well-stocked bathrooms, and ample hiking and biking trails nearby. However, some visitors reported issues with aggressive dogs from the camp hosts and challenges in finding certain campsites, which may detract from the overall experience.
Review Summary
Phillip B
VerifiedJuly 26, 2024 • Stayed at: 4, Loop: Main Loop
Camping areas were spotless. Other visitors were respectful. The area is gorgeous.
Phillip B
VerifiedJuly 26, 2024 • Stayed at: 4, Loop: Main Loop
Camping areas were spotless. Other visitors were respectful. The area is gorgeous.
Bradley B
VerifiedJuly 24, 2024 • Stayed at: 14, Loop: Main Loop
Remote, very quiet, amazing night sky. Campsites are fairly open, a few with some shade. Only pit toilets.
Bradley B
VerifiedJuly 24, 2024 • Stayed at: 14, Loop: Main Loop
Remote, very quiet, amazing night sky. Campsites are fairly open, a few with some shade. Only pit toilets.
Susan R
VerifiedJuly 17, 2024 • Stayed at: 7, Loop: Main Loop
We arrived to find that our reserved campsite #7 had a large, very heavy concrete picnic table located in the center of the designated trailer parking area, leaving no space to park our 16 ft trailer on the site. The picnic table was not shown in the online photos of the site during the reservation process. We drove miles out of the park until we managed to pick up a weak internet signal and reserved another site. The internet signal didn't last long enough to cancel the existing reservation. A phone call to recreation.gov to cancel the existing reservation resulted in being put on hold until the call was dropped due to the weak cell signal. This is a nice park, but the issue encountered with the originally reserved campsite, and the effort required to change sites was a very frustrating start to our camping trip.
Susan R
VerifiedJuly 17, 2024 • Stayed at: 7, Loop: Main Loop
We arrived to find that our reserved campsite #7 had a large, very heavy concrete picnic table located in the center of the designated trailer parking area, leaving no space to park our 16 ft trailer on the site. The picnic table was not shown in the online photos of the site during the reservation process. We drove miles out of the park until we managed to pick up a weak internet signal and reserved another site. The internet signal didn't last long enough to cancel the existing reservation. A phone call to recreation.gov to cancel the existing reservation resulted in being put on hold until the call was dropped due to the weak cell signal. This is a nice park, but the issue encountered with the originally reserved campsite, and the effort required to change sites was a very frustrating start to our camping trip.
Karen H
VerifiedJuly 10, 2024 • Stayed at: 14, Loop: Main Loop
The canyon is beautiful and the campground is very spacious.
tony h
VerifiedJuly 10, 2024 • Stayed at: 5, Loop: Main Loop
Basic campground and facilities. Off the beaten path.
Karen H
VerifiedJuly 10, 2024 • Stayed at: 14, Loop: Main Loop
The canyon is beautiful and the campground is very spacious.
tony h
VerifiedJuly 10, 2024 • Stayed at: 5, Loop: Main Loop
Basic campground and facilities. Off the beaten path.
Location Penitente Canyon Campground
Address:
Blm San Luis Valley Field Office
Monte Vista, CO, 81144
United States
From U.S. 285, turn west onto Saguache County Road G. After 6 miles you will pass the La Garita Trading Post. Go another 0.5 miles to a Y intersection; take the left fork (County Road 38A). The entrance to the recreation area is another 0.5 miles, on your right. Elevation = 7,930 ft.
The campground is accessible via U.S. Highway 285, which is approximately 6.5 miles away.
Elevation: 2413 feet
25 mi drive to downtown Monte Vista (about 28 min)
Policies & Rules
Pets
- Pets must always be kept under control.
Nearby Campgrounds
Last updated: September 9, 2026
