Wildlife preservation area near Mt. Shavano | Wild Camping

September 27th, 2023 by djbckr

I would not take a big low-clearance Class A up here. I tried, and needed to turn around just past the cattle crossing. I scouted it in my car, and while the area looks nice, I didn't want to risk bottoming out on the quite unmaintained road. If you have clearance, or a shorter vehicle, you should not have a problem.

August 27th, 2023 by vicky.carley

We have a 24 ft class c pulling a trailer with a rzr and had no problems. Once you get into the preserve if you take the first road to the right there are many places to camp and the road is in great shape. There were plenty of open spots on a Saturday about 7 pm but it is late summer. It was very clean, we saw no trash at all. Beautiful mountain views from almost every campsite. We highly recommend this area. We only stayed one night. We had full Verizon service.

July 3rd, 2023 by Jo Ann

Nice breeze on arid mountain top and vistas of mountain ranges in the 1st campground inside the Wildlife Preservation. Dispersed Boondocking camping only with plenty of room for big rigs and can isolate campsite with trees. While the road is mostly reasonably smooth, just before you enter the campground it gets very rough with deep ruts. Google Earth refers to the first campground inside the Wildlife Preservation as Shavono Campground.

June 21st, 2023 by elizabethrori444

As advertised, although it’s become extremely overpopulated and completely disrespected. People are obviously staying much longer than the max 14 days. It’s so sad to see and rather disgusting. Toilet paper everywhere. And in case you are aware, burning cans is just stupid.
Do better or don’t come at all.
Feel like the place has completely changed from last year, due to the lack of respect of human beings. I spoke with a ranger who confirmed my assumption. Please respect the space and leave after 14 days. The space around you looks like a junkyard.

So many dead animal carcass this year, bones and fur galore.

The road in is pretty rough, so take it slow. Any vehicle should be fine.

Safe travels and please clean up your mess!

July 25th, 2022 by MyYOLO

Great camping area just past a bunch of ranch owners houses. Lots of spots with fire pits but DANG it’s crowded on a Monday! Please be respectful of other campers and keep your tunes to yourself:)

July 8th, 2022 by elizabethandursula

Beautiful views. The dirt road in from the CR is rutted in places and occasionally steep, but I had no problems in my 2WD Sprinter. Not sure what it would look like if it were very wet. Fresh and cool night temps make for great sleeping. 2-3bars VZN LTE. T-Mobile service fine too.

July 5th, 2022 by lawrence.hamilton

Beautiful spot. Good Verizon service. Easy to find. The road in has a couple rough spots. Just take it easy and you'll make it. Several huge rigs when I was here.

June 16th, 2022 by Cubby Van Life

Beautiful , free, dispersed camping with snow capped mountain views. Great sunset colors on the Cental Rocky peaks. . The night sky show was incredible and the full moon was so bright, it was like daylight. 14 day limit, we stayed 4 nights. Quiet and lots of places to walk through pine groves. It is Father’s Day weekend and the place is almost empty. Must be high gas prices keeping people off the roads. Quite lovely. CO beauty. Friendly, blues traveling nomadic, cows grazing near site. Cute baby cows!

May 31st, 2022 by thomas.juli22

As described. Nice spot not too far from 285 so it works well for someone just passing through or if you want to stay and do some recreating in the Arkansas Valley.

May 13th, 2022 by coffeeq4hrs

Great place to camp! A little on the windy side but quiet, clean, and well maintained! We give it a 2-thumbs up :)

April 25th, 2022 by siyinghz

Nice view of the mountains and some cell service 2 bars on verizon

October 19th, 2021 by glenn

Lots of options along the road but it’s pretty popular with hikers. We went up on a spur road and found a nice clean site.

September 8th, 2021 by Butch

I have seen nothing in the current reviews that need correction. I also have seen some big rigs in here in spite of short areas in the road in that are rather rough. You can chance it if you want it’s your rig. Still busy in mid September on the weekends. It’s been hot, dry, sometimes breezy and the flies are numerous.

June 17th, 2021 by kirawelch

Nice spot! Great views too. We were able to get up with our tesla model 3 so you don’t need a lot of clearance to make it. Definitely a popular spot, but didn’t feel like we were on top of other campers.

May 3rd, 2021 by 38jonesp

A magical place. Road up was a tad rocky after you start climbing further up the gravel road, but it’s also quite smooth in parts. Got mad muddy after 6 inches of snow started to melt. Spotted some large animal tracks in the snow, Boston Terrier tracks for scale.

April 29th, 2021 by steveandnoelle.com

So many places to stop and stay. Room for bigger rigs and lots of tent camping. Met some other boondockers. We were all pretty spread out during our stay. The views are gorgeous. Plenty of locals come up for day hikes. This is a great place. The road up is in pretty good shape. A little rough but not bad for BLM. Definitely recommend.

December 31st, 2020 by gbflock

Fantastic site. Many spots . 360degree Mountain View. Spending New Year Eve 2020 here. Can hear a few children a campsite away and saw a leaping , happy dog. Easy and stunning

September 4th, 2020 by lauriemsedwards

we parked here for a night. the road is great up until you reach BLM land. then it turns into gravel.
most cars can do it. (we have a 150 ford transit).
we barely went in and parked in the side. so I'm not sure how many spots available out what they look like.
does seem to be a popular place. 6 more cars arrived after us (Thursday 9pm).

August 3rd, 2020 by Newstate Nomads

Beautiful 360-degree views of the mountains! Easy access in, one section of the road is a little washed out so take it slow over that. There are tons of spots to spread out. We saw several big rigs (class A's and fifth wheels). No problem accessing in our 25 foot Class C. Good cell service from Verizon and T-Mobile/Sprint.

July 21st, 2020 by AKVanLyf

Great area for dispersed camping. Lots of room once you get in a little ways. Great views too.

June 15th, 2020 by Traci Gourley

As described. Larger rigs can make it through the forest, ours is a 29' fifth wheel. Lots of others camping in the area. Spots have lovely views, most have fire rings. Spots are not very level but spaced well and spacious.

June 10th, 2020 by saramorrow23

Gorgeous land 10 minutes from Poncha Springs and 20 from Salida. The views are breathtaking. Road is a little rough but is manageable.

October 16th, 2019 by waxsome

Really nice spot! Plenty of room /
Very quiet

August 5th, 2019 by moreadventureawaits.com

Great views and fairly quite. You can get showers at the Aquatic Center in Salida that also has a great downtown area, right on the Rio Grande River with kayaking and rafting. Free water available at the visitor center. A couple spots coming up the dirt road are a bit rough. Several good options for big rigs.

June 26th, 2019 by Steve Presnal

Pretty easy access in our 30' Class C. We rode our motorcycle further in and the road got pretty rough past the first few turnouts. It was quiet even though there were a couple of pretty large camps. Beautiful view of the mountains and the stars were amazing.

May 26th, 2019 by lettinger829

This is such a great spot. About 40 minutes from Salida which is the cutest little town and has great food, beer, distillery, and shops. If you drive far in at this spot the views are unreal. Had a large level spot with multiple fire rings and views for days to myself. A mule deer even wandered in to say hello. Can get windy up there.

June 25th, 2018 by cusimanojoy

sites all along this road suitable for big rigs RVs and tent camping, if you have a travel trailer or a large RV the first couple pull outs on the right are the most ideal. the road is rocky going past that but even and I saw many people with RVs pass those pull outs. great place to base camp for hiking multiple fourteeners in the area