Overview

Mount Princeton Campground is located in beautiful Chalk Creek Canyon in central Colorado. This popular facility sits near Chalk Lake and Cascade Falls, and is within 10 miles of a private hot springs resort, making it an ideal location for rest and relaxation. It's also a great destination for visitors looking for hiking or off-road vehicle trails.

Natural Features:

The campground is situated at an elevation of 8,600 feet in Chalk Creek Canyon, which gets its name from the soft, white, chalk-like kaolinite canyon walls. Kaolinite is a clay mineral that was deposited by percolating hot springs. A stand of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir offers partial shade in the campground.

Chalk Creek can be accessed from the campground. It flows 27 miles eastward from the Collegiate Peaks before joining the Arkansas River. Chalk Lake is a mile west of the campground.

Recreation:

Stream fishing is best above Cascade Falls, just west of the campground. Nearby Chalk Lake is heralded as a great family fishing lake with rainbow, brook and brown trout.

Plenty of off-road vehicle trails are near the campground. Recommended rides include Mount Antero, Baldwin Lake, Tincup Pass, Hancock Pass, Pomeroy Lakes, Hancock Lakes and Williams Pass.

Facilities:

The campground offers single-family sites, a few of which are accessible. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. Accessible vault toilets are provided. Firewood is sold on-site. Parking spurs are gravel.

Nearby Attractions:

Take a day trip to the historic ghost town of St. Elmo, just 15 minutes from the campground. An old saloon, county courthouse and many other historic structures remain from the days of its mining glory. Rock hounds come to the area in search of quartz and aquamarine.

The city of Salida is 45 minutes away, where visitors can take a scenic tram ride, experience a zip-line, play a round of mini golf or go whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.