Williams Creek Campground
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $30–$100Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 59All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 1 – September 30Open May 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 2 notices
In the agency’s own words
This popular campground, 23 miles north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, offers both shaded and sunny campsites with some located creek-side. Visitors enjoy the area for its fishing, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding, and scenic opportunities. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground is one mile from Williams Reservoir, a popular fishing and kayaking spot. There are several ATV and hiking trails approximately one to five miles beyond the campground.
Facilities
The campground offers many single family sites, some with water and sewer hookups and many with views of the surrounding mountains. There are two double sites and one triple site, suitable for larger family gatherings. There are a few level pull-through and back-in sites appropriate for larger RVs. Vault toilets and drinking water are available. Firewood may be purchased from the camp host.
Natural Features
The campground is situated among cedar, aspen and ponderosa pines. Some sites are located on the banks of Williams Creek, which runs along the eastern edge of the campground; some have spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Nearby Attractions
There are many fishing opportunities in the creek and in the nearby reservoir. A popular hike nearby is Piedra Falls, located a short distance from the campground. ATV enthusiasts enjoy Poison Park Road which is several miles from the campground, or traveling to East Fork Road to enjoy this four-wheel drive-only road to Silver Falls. Just a few miles north of Williams Creek Campground, is the Cimarrona Trail which begins across the road from its campground namesake. The Williams Creek Trail begins at the end of the Williams Creek Road, at the Palisades Horse Camp. Both run through the Weminuche Wilderness to connect with the Continental Divide Trail. In addition, the town of Pagosa Springs offers many festivals on the weekends and the hottest, deepest hot springs in the country.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
What the agency tells you
Don’t Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing organisms by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org by clicking here. Link to: dontmovefirewood.org
First Come First Served (FCFS) Campsites are also available at this campground. These campsites must be claimed in person. The contact center is unable to provide the availability by phone, so we recommend arriving early to secure a spot.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 59 · 3 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 45 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…sites appropriate for larger RVs. Vault toilets and drinking water are available. Firewood may be…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…for larger RVs. Vault toilets and drinking water are available. Firewood may be purchased from the…”
- Firewood
- Sold here
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, Reservoir, Creek
- Biking
- Hiking
- Night sky · 45th darkest of 522 in CO
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 8 days ago, 30 km away
- Patchy color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
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 · 16
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $30–$100 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.
“Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a cam…” · this campground’s own no-show terms
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 · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
61 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 60 mapped sitesAll 61 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 61 of the 61 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 59 of the 61 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| A | 51 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 186 ft | 566 ft | 902 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 52 - Host | host pad | 30 ft | 487 ftWilliams Creek | 891 ft | ||
| A | 53 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 45 ft | 312 ftWilliams Creek | 958 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 54 Host | host pad | 40 ft | 45 ft | 334 ftWilliams Creek | 998 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 55 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 92 ft | 306 ftWilliams Creek | 1,082 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 56 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 73 ft | 388 ftWilliams Creek | 1,155 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 57 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 45 ft | 461 ftWilliams Creek | 1,129 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 58 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 45 ft | 498 ftWilliams Creek | 1,146 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 59 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 19 ft | 555 ftWilliams Creek | 1,105 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 60 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 19 ft | 570 ftWilliams Creek | 1,116 ft | $30–$100 |
| A | 61 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 105 ft | 567 ftWilliams Creek | 1,010 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 30 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 78 ft | 96 ft | 321 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 31 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 59 ft | 164 ft | 372 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 32 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 59 ft | 173 ft | 372 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 33 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 17 ft | 186 ft | 404 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 34 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 17 ft | 172 ft | 395 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 35 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 87 ft | 182 ft | 441 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 36 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 16 ft | 153 ft | 441 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 37 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 16 ft | 166 ft | 457 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 38 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 37 ft | 236 ftWilliams Creek | 557 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 39 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 37 ft | 235 ftWilliams Creek | 592 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 40 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 269 ftWilliams Creek | 628 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 41 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 317 ftWilliams Creek | 598 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 42 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 102 ft | 381 ftWilliams Creek | 595 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 43 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 105 ft | 399 ft | 607 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 44 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 38 ft | 349 ft | 583 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 45 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 38 ft | 334 ft | 583 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 46 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 15 ft | 167 ft | 425 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 47 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 15 ft | 180 ft | 432 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 48 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 100 ft | 246 ft | 527 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 49 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 49 ft | 305 ft | 644 ft | $30–$100 |
| B | 50 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 49 ft | 322 ft | 690 ft | $30–$100 |
| C | 25 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 171 ft | 172 ft | 33 ft | $30–$100 |
| C | 26 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 101 ft | 200 ft | 151 ft | $30–$100 |
| C | 27 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 101 ft | 210 ft | 251 ft | $30–$100 |
| C | 28 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 119 ft | 181 ft | 367 ft | $30–$100 |
| C | 29 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 134 ft | 130 ft | 492 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 15 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 51 ft | 234 ft | 238 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 16 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 51 ft | 196 ft | 284 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 17 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 33 ft | 310 ft | 138 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 18 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 33 ft | 293 ft | 105 ft | $30 |
| D | 19 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 42 ft | 305 ft | 81 ft | $30 |
| D | 20 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 119 ft | 251 ft | 76 ft | $30 |
| D | 21 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 21 ft | 215 ft | 306 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 22 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 76 ft | 214 ft | 255 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 23 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 21 ft | 214 ft | 285 ft | $30–$100 |
| D | 24 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 22 ft | 203 ft | 265 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 01 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 54 ft | 615 ft | 154 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 02 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 54 ft | 590 ft | 152 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 03 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 47 ft | 577 ft | 177 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 04 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 47 ft | 547 ft | 188 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 13 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 68 ft | 318 ftWilliams Creek | 364 ft | $30–$100 |
| E | 14 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 68 ft | 310 ftWilliams Creek | 385 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 05 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 228 ft | 260 ftWilliams Creek | 587 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 06 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 66 ft | 298 ftWilliams Creek | 363 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 07 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 66 ft | 313 ftWilliams Creek | 298 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 08 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 75 ft | 299 ftWilliams Creek | 239 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 09 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 117 ft | 212 ftWilliams Creek | 150 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 10 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 118 ft | 130 ftWilliams Creek | 36 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 11 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 281 ft | 117 ftWilliams Creek | 253 ft | $30–$100 |
| F | 12 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 328 ft | 44 ftWilliams Creek | 47 ft | $30–$100 |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It names them host pads. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
25 of 61 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
TealSan Juan National Forest · 1.0 mi
BridgeSan Juan National Forest · 2.6 mi
Cimarrona (CO)San Juan National Forest · 3.1 mi
Palisades Horse CampSan Juan National Forest · 3.9 mi
Pine RiverSan Juan National Forest · 16 mi
Thirty MileRio Grande National Forest · 16 miFrom Pagosa Springs, turn north on Piedra Road (Forest Road 361.) Turn right at the intersection of FS 631 and FS 640, about 3 miles north of Bridge Campground. The entrance is approximately 1/2 mile from the junction.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Piedra, CO
Typical weather
Typical May night 28°F, day 62°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 28°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 moreOutside the published season
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
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
Williams Creek 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 →