Penitente Canyon Campground
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:59 UTC
- A night
- $11From, per site
- Sites
- 17All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
The canyonlands of Penitente Canyon offer a blend of peaceful surroundings and diverse recreation opportunities less than 10 miles from a major highway. Although the BLM manages the 4,552-acre Penitente Canyon primarily for rock climbers, the area also offers opportunities for heritage tourists, mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians. Keep reading
Recreation
Penitente Canyon Recreation Area is a destination known for its world-class sport rock-climbing routes and its extensive singletrack trail system, mainly used by mountain bikers and hikers. The area is rich in both natural and cultural history, making it ideal for heritage tourists interested in the Old Spanish Trail and early American frontiersmen, as well as wildlife watchers and photographers. • Standard Nonelectric • Rv Nonelectric • Group Tent Only Area Nonelectric • Overnight Facilities • Road signs from highway to Recreation Area. • Improved gravel roads in Recreation Area (no pavement). • Public drinking water system (available May-Oct). • 5 vault (or pit-type) toilets. • Trash bins throughout campground and day-use areas. • 15 Individual sites (3 Tent Only and 12 RV/Tent), 2 Group Tent sites, 1 CG Host site, 1 Group Picnic Shelter site. • Standard campground amenities-table, tent pads, fire ring, food storage locker, parking. • Interpretive, informational, and directional signs. • Trailhead and overflow parking areas. • Foot, horse, and mountain bike trails. • All facilities open year-round. • Cell phone service is spotty in canyons.
Natural Features
Geology The rocks in Penitente Canyon are remnants of up to 18 volcanic eruptions that took place in the San Juan Volcanic Field between 20 and 30 million years ago. The largest of these eruptions spewed 1,000 cubic miles of ash 27.8 million years ago, creating a huge underground chamber. Rocks overlying the chamber collapsed to create the La Garita Caldera. History Ancestors of the Utes, Jicarilla Apaches and Puebloans have all left evidence of time spent hunting and camping here, along with explorers and trappers. The valley’s first settlers were Hispanic farmers and sheepherders who migrated from northern New Mexico. Native Americans left scattered pictographs (painted rock art) throughout these Canyonlands (the largest concentration in the San Luis Valley). Please leave all rock art as you find it. Do not touch, walk on, climb on, or disturb it in any way. Nearby Attractions • USFS-Rio Grande National Forest and Natural Arch. • BLM-Elephant Rocks Recreation Area. • La Garita Trading Post-food, gas, and small store. • Town of Del Norte Campgrounds Nearby • USFS-Rio Grande National Forest – Poso CG, Storm King CG Contact Info For local information, please call (719) 852-7074 or call (877) 444-6777 for general information.
What the agency tells you
• All recreation is at your own risk. • Drinking water is typically available May-October from the campground wellhouse. Despite the campground water system, it is strongly recommended that you bring plenty of water with you in case the well is not operational, and do not drink from area streams or lakes. • Check-in time is 1:00 p.m. or after on the first day of the reservation. • Check-out time is no later than 12:00 p.m. on the last day of the reservation. • If the reservation holder doesn't show up on the first day of the reservation, the campsite is released at check-in time (1 pm) the next day. • There are no hookup services. • Maximum length of stay is 14 days. • Fires are only allowed in BLM approved metal fire rings. • Individual Tent Campsites are limited to 6 people, 2 tents, and 2 vehicles (plus 1 trailer) per site. • Only 1 RV/trailer per RV campsite. • The Group Campsites are limited to 15 people, 5 tents, and 4 vehicles (plus 2 trailers). • No overnight RV/trailer camping in day use parking areas. • This is a high elevation campground. Be prepared to take cover during afternoon thunderstorms. • Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. • Pack it in, pack it out. In the backcountry, be prepared to carry out your garbage and dispose of it properly. Trash bins are located throughout the campground and day-use area. • Motorized vehicles are prohibited on Penitente Canyon trails. Motorized travel is allowed only on designated roads. • Be considerate of others and share the trail. • Always keep pets under control.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 17 · 6 tent-only, 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…Recreation Area (no pavement). • Public drinking water system (available May-Oct). • 5 vault (or pit-type)…”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- Auto Touring
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Birding
- Climbing
- Cultural Activities
- Environmental Education
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Information Site
- Mountain biking
- Mountain Climbing
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Cell signal · Cell signal · BLM says
- Spotty
Full this Saturdayread 16:59 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 17 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 16 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 16:59 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $11 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:59 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
18 records
All 18 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 17 of the 18 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Main Loop | 1 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 10 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 11 | tent only nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 12 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 13 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 14 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 15 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 2 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 3 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 4 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 5 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 6 | standard nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 7 | tent only nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 8 | tent only nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | 9 | tent only nonelectric | $11 |
| Main Loop | Group Site 1 | group tent only area nonelectric | $20 |
| Main Loop | Group Site 2 | group tent only area nonelectric | $20 |
| Main Loop | Host Site | host pad |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It names it a host pad. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Poso CampgroundRio Grande National Forest · 9.3 mi
Storm King CampgroundRio Grande National Forest · 12 mi
Carnero Guard StationRio Grande National Forest · 13 miCathedral CampgroundRio Grande National Forest · 18 mi
Alder Guard StationRio Grande National Forest · 22 mi
Upper Crossing Guard StationSan Luis Valley Field Office · 23 miFrom U.S. 285, turn west onto Saguache County Road G. After 6 miles you will pass the La Garita Trading Post. Go another 0.5 miles to a Y intersection; take the left fork (County Road 38A). The entrance to the recreation area is another 0.5 miles, on your right. Elevation = 7,930 ft.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Center, CO
Typical weather
Typical October night 30°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 7°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Penitente Canyon Campground is in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Jeff Hurd (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyJeff HurdU.S. Representative · Colorado’s 3rd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJohn W. HickenlooperU.S. Senator · Colorado
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMichael F. BennetU.S. Senator · Colorado
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado
Dear Jeff Hurd, I’m a constituent in Colorado’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado, and couldn’t. All 17 sites at Penitente Canyon Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Penitente Canyon Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Penitente Canyon Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Penitente Canyon Campground (San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado
Dear John W. Hickenlooper, I’m a constituent in Colorado. I tried to camp at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado, and couldn’t. All 17 sites at Penitente Canyon Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Penitente Canyon Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Penitente Canyon Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Penitente Canyon Campground (San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado
Dear Michael F. Bennet, I’m a constituent in Colorado. I tried to camp at Penitente Canyon Campground, San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado, and couldn’t. All 17 sites at Penitente Canyon Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Penitente Canyon Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Penitente Canyon Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Penitente Canyon Campground (San Luis Valley Field Office, Colorado) via campanac.com
How we know this · 4
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…bike trails. • All facilities open year-round. • Cell phone service is spotty in canyons. Natural Features Geology The rocks in Penitente…”