Zapata Falls Campground

Incredible views, quiet campground, and the hike to the waterfall was wonderfull!

Campsite and vault bathrooms were clean. We stayed at campsite #2. It was conveniently located near the bathrooms which was nice having small kids.

Nice campground with beautiful views. My complaints are: lack of level ground for RVs on some sites, lack of level ground for picnic tables (balanced with rocks or put on severely sloping sites), stumps not appropriately cut down. Our son sliced his leg open on a stump that was left about 3-4 feet off the ground with other partially cut tree branches not fully removed and he ended up with an ER visit and stitches. Some of this is to be expected with camping, but this campground compared to others we stay at (BLM, forest service, state parks, national parks, etc.) was just not maintained as well. The large dumpsters that are supposed to be bear proof are locked in front and completely open in the back. No potable water onsite, but there was water for putting out campfires. We'd give it a few years before staying here again.

Gorgeous views and spread out campsites. The pit toilets were cleaner and more pleasant than most flush toilets I've experienced.

Nice campground with amazing views. Somewhat exposed to sun and weather as is typical for this area. Nice hosts, clean restrooms with a night light installed which was very thoughtful! Hosts also provided non-potable water to put out campfires which is helpful since there is no potable water source in the campground.

Spacious sites with amazing views

We decide the morning of our arrival to skip this park. We tried to cancel our reservation online to allow someone to take our place ( not expecting a refund) but we’re not able to.

The bathrooms were very well maintained. I appreciated that especially at a dry camping site. The website noted there was no potable water and to bring adequate drinking water, but it did not indicate there were no spigots for non potable water, where one can get water for use with cleaning. We would have brought more water. There is a difference between no water and no potable water. The tiny amount of water provided for damping fires was so little it couldn’t be used for anything else. The website should make this clear to campers so they can be prepared to haul in all the water needed including non potable water or other as needed for washing and for cleaning.

I had campsite #4 booked. I new in advance there was room for two tents. However, upon arrival, we immediately realized that neither clearings would be large enough for any of the 3 tent options we brought. The campsite was entirely too small for a spot that allows two cars and two tents. Luckily, a friend in the group we camped with had an extra rv reservation for someone who could not attend. We were able to set up our two tents there instead. It was quite disappointing that the spot I'd paid for and booked couldn't accommodate what it was advertised to. Fortunately, we had the other spot to use. But tent camping in the tent camping site would have been nice as it was surrounded by trees and softer dirt vs the gravel at the rv spot.
Aside from that, the bathrooms were well maintained and the campsite was very clean.

As a newer campground the spaces are reasonably spaced (not too close) and the vault toilets are new and work as intended without much of any odor. The views over the valley are fantastic. This is a great starting point for the Sand Dunes, where you really want to enter before 10 am if the creek is running, or if it is hot out (hot sand= burnt skin).

I also recommend going over to the hot springs in Hooper (go early if it's hot out, as the water is hot in all pools- they open at 10 a.m. but closed on Thursdays), the Gater Farm was much better than I expected and totally worth it especially with kids, and don't miss renting sand boards at the Oasis for sledding or boarding down the dunes. The Oasis also has most of your basic needs like ice, and the food was reasonably good for a small cafe.

An after- dinner hike to Zapata Falls is the best timing in the summer to avoid heat and crowds (you can walk from the campground). It's a shortish, rocky, uphill hike, but you will be in frigid, rocky water at the end if you want to see the falls, so a change of shoes is recommended.

Lastly, if you're going to want to take the rugged road out onto the sand within the park you will need to let some air out of you 4WD tires, so you'll want an air compressor to get them back to normal.