Pagosa Riverside Campground

The Basics

ADDRESS: 2270 East Highway 160 Pagosa Springs, Colorado

LOCATION: The campground is right on the highway, approximately 3 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs

LAST VISIT: 2022

Pagosa Riverside is a very pleasant campground!
We used it as an overnight stop, but would love to return for a longer stay.
The site we had was just barely big enough for the 5th wheel and truck, with some creative parking, and they had separate parking for the Jeep.
While the length of the site was a bit short, the width was very generous, with plenty of room for the picnic table.
It was a great spot for relaxing; there were a lot of large trees, and a great view of the river and trees from the "door side" of the camper. In fact, I really enjoyed just sitting on the camper steps and watching and listening to the river.
Everything worked as expected.
We weren't there long enough to check out the laundry facilities.

I want to make something clear about the location:
The ADDRESS is "right on the highway," but the LOCATION is not.
To get to the campground, you need to drive behind a couple of houses and down into a valley by the river. The access to the campground is clearly marked and easy to navigate.

Our Opinion

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and do plan on returning!

Things to See and Do

We didn't have enough time to for much exploring, but we enjoyed these places:

Treasure Falls
Treasure Falls is approximately 15 miles east of Pagosa Springs.
It is a 1/4 mile "hike" from the parking lot to the viewing area for the falls.
It was pretty, but because the parking lot is right on Highway 160, and the hike is only 1/4 mile, it was a little crowded for our tastes.

Opal Lake
This was more our style! The Opal Lake trailhead is about 20 miles from Pagosa Springs. The lake is about 1.2 miles from the trailhead. It was a really pretty area, and didn't have anywhere near the traffic that Treasure Falls had.

Chimney Rock National Monument - Full Moon Program
Chimney Rock National Monument is approximately 20 miles from Pagosa Springs.
We attended the "Full Moon Program," which allowed us to view the sunset and the moonrise from the top of Chimney Rock Mesa.
The program included a lecture about how the Ancestral Puebloan culture used astronomy, and Native American flute music. We highly recommend the program!
I confess that my eyes were glazing over a bit when the lecture included a discussion on the math involved with calculating seasons and dates using astronomy, but my husband was "geeking out" over the information, so it does appeal to the correct audience.
I was more of a fan of the flute music and the spectacular sunset.