Saddlehorn Campground, Colorado National Monument, Fruita, Colorado

We have been eyeballing this campground and National Monument for years, but have been leery of camping here with a larger rig, even though the park itself allows rigs up to forty feet in length. With the purchase of our thirty footer, we decided we would be just fine entering the park via windy, switchback roads along the rim of the canyon. This beautiful drive through the park has steep grades in both directions. We found most interesting that we headed UP in elevation into the park, and not down into a canyon like we thought. The road through the park can be accessed from either Grand Junction or Fruita, Colorado. The campground itself is closest to Fruita; just a four mile drive from the entrance. We opted to use the entrance at Grand Junction, as we wanted to
see the park as we made our way to camp. Along the road keep you eyes out for bighorn sheep. We spotted a couple as we approached camp. Also, slow down and use the turn outs to see sweeping vistas of the canyon walls that are reminiscent of Canyonlands National Park, just on a smaller scale. The campground itself consists of three loops. A Loop is always first-come, first-served. The B Loop has reservations from March through October. The C Loop is also first-come, and has sites for larger groups. Roads in the campground are paved, while sites are either dirt, gravel, or broken down asphalt. Many of the sites are severely sloped, so it almost behooves you to arrive without a reservation to scout out a spot that will best accommodate your rig. During our early August stay, the campground had plenty of sites available to those arriving without a reservation. Campsites are primitive with charcoal-only grills and picnic tables and offer privacy with the abundance of shrubbery. Potable water is available in the camp, however there is not a dump station. Sparkling clean restrooms with flushable toilets can be found in each loop. A beautiful Visitor's Center with all the usual exhibits and ranger talks is a short walk from the campground. Be sure to walk the moderately easy trails that lead from camp around the rim of the park; the views are beautiful. Some campsites offer excellent nighttime views of the the sparkling lights of Grand Junction. Star gazing is excellent here with higher elevations and the park's more remote location in western Colorado.

Best Sites: 32, 33, 35, 36 (all for views, but they are sloped); 48, 50, 21 (no views but are level)

Poor Sites: None

Hookups: None

Potable Water: Yes

Dump Within Facility: No