Lower Piedra Campground

This is an excellent area for wildlife watchers. The stream through the campground supports some of the best deciduous riparian thickets in southwest Colorado, as well as high-quality ponderosa pine forest. Here you can find nesting Gray Catbirds and Grace’s Warblers. The river is also a reintroduction site for river otter, a state endangered species and the world’s most entertaining mammal. Other wildlife you could encounter here range from the American Dipper to the Milbert’s Tortoiseshell butterfly.

County: Archuleta

Habitat: Ponderosa Forest, Lowland Riparian, Stream, Pond/Lake/Reservoir

Directions: From US 160 just west of mile marker 121 and just after crossing the Piedra River is a signed gravel road (FR 621) which goes north into the Lower Piedra Campground. The campground is only one mile off the highway.

Delorme: 87 C6-C7
Roads of Colorado: 147 F2

Dates of Access: Roughly mid-May to mid-November.
Hours: Any
Ownership: US Forest Service
Admission: Free for day use

Restrictions: None

Parking: Unpaved parking areas
Lodging: Camping (fee)

Handicapped: No
Handicapped Access: Campsites are not accessible.

Latitude: 37.2419476
Longitude: -107.342826