Zapata Falls Campground

Loved it. Quiet and perfect.

Beautiful views from the campground! Arrived to find people occupying our site who said they assumed it was first come first serve (there were signs saying otherwise). The campsite was very odd... the picnic table was up a steep rocky hill, and the fire ring was at the bottom of the hill next to the road/parking spot. Both our kids fell down on the hill at least once! We ended up just setting up our chairs by the fire pit, which was between our rv and the hill. There was easy access to the Zapata Falls trail from the campground. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we had a different site.

Our site #24 was up higher than some others so a great view of the sunset at night, good location to Great Sand Dunes and an amazing camp host, Cassie! Bear box and fire pit available. Vault toilets were very clean. We had a Subaru Ascent and a T@g XL teardrop camper with plenty of extra room for longer vehicles.

A bit of a long drive up the steep access road but the sunset made it worth it. The mosquitoes were very abundant the nights we stayed. We were glad to have gotten a site with a bit more shade since we came in July. Overall a good campsite and the hike to Zapata Falls was close and very nice.

campsites were barely big enough for our 23 ft RV. Felt like the descriptions were misleading. Hike to the falls was great and convenient and access to the Sand Dunes was easy. Mosquitos were pretty thick.

Beautiful views, we had a good location, But no area to throw garbage and recycle.

Convenient and inexpensive, but a lot of bugs and the campfire ring is not inviting. We couldn't all sit around the campfire because of where it is located. It was located next to the mountain so there was too large of a slope and too many rocks to sit around the campfire. The spots are not level, to be expected, but really not level. WE kept everything covered. A LOT of bugs.

A much different experience than Pinion Flats. A lot less traffic, but a lot fewer amenities, but overall a great experience.

While the location just outside the National Park was good, I found that some of the procedures of this campground lacking. First thing I discovered was that pull through campsites were not pull through they were roadside pull outs so not all trailers with slide outs on the road side will fit. Second thing was that all campsites are by reservation only and nothing was posted on the individual campsite to indicated dates for the reservation. So you don't know if it was reserved, when it was reserved for, if the empty site was ever rented or if the reservation party never showed up or left early or what... I found the whole system at this campground to be very lacking.

Visit here for the amazing sunsets and close proximity to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Beautiful views overlooking San Luis valley. Did not do the waterfall hike but will next time!