San Juan National Forest · Colorado
Overview Ute Campground is located on US Hwy 160 across from Chimney Rock National Monument, 15 miles west of Pagosa Springs, 25 miles east of Bayfield, and 18 miles north of Arbolles, just west of the intersection with Colorado 151. Visitors enjoy quick access to Chimney Rock National Monument entrance and a centralized location to USFS trail systems, lake, and stream fishing. Recreation Ute Campground is the only access to Forest Service land on Haystack Mountain.
Sites at Ute Campground (CO) are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 22 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard, Group |
| Location | Bayfield, CO |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Ute Campground (CO) around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Mcphee Recreation Complex | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Vallecito Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Williams Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| House Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Junction Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Haviland Lake Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Pine Point (Vallecito Reservoir, CO) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cayton Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| West Fork Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| East Fork Campground (San Juan NF - CO) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Graham Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cimarrona (CO) | Cancellation alerts available |
| North Canyon Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Florida Campground (Co) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Target Tree Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Bridge | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lower Piedra | Cancellation alerts available |
| Mavreeso Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| West Dolores Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Teal | Cancellation alerts available |
| Transfer Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Palisades Horse Camp | Cancellation alerts available |
| Sig Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Burro Bridge | Cancellation alerts available |
| Kroeger | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lower Hermosa (CO) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Middle Mountain | Cancellation alerts available |
| Miller Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Pine River | Cancellation alerts available |
| Snowslide | Cancellation alerts available |
| South Mineral | Cancellation alerts available |
| Transfer Park Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Chris Park | Cancellation alerts available |
| Aspen Guard Station | Cancellation alerts available |
| Blanco River Group Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Jersey Jim Fire Tower | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Ute Campground (CO); cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.