Growing up, some of my fondest memories were camping and boating at Ridgway State Park, and to this day it is one of my favorite places to camp in Colorado. This is a delightful get-away for many reasons; campers have access to plenty of amenities, there is an abundance of outdoor recreation activities at the state park and in the surrounding areas, kids will be easily entertained, and the views of the San Juan Mountains are unbeatable. Within Ridgway State Park there are several walking trails and a paved bike path that are all accessible from the campgrounds and the day use areas. If you enjoy water sports, this is the place for you! The reservoir is open to motorized boats and with plenty of open water space it is perfect for fishing, water skiing, kayaking, paddle boarding, or relaxing on the water. There is also a great swim beach and an awesome tube slide that sits just above the beach. Ridgway State Park is surrounded by BLM and National Forest, offering many trails for hiking and mountain biking, only a short drive away.
During this particular excursion my husband and I took our two dogs on a weekend camping trip, setting up our pop-up home in the Dakota Terraces campground. Just a short walk from our site was a path leading out to the north side of the marina; on a clear day, there is a post-card view with the marina perched just below the San Juan Mountains, completely covered in snow.
Saturday, we headed over to the Ridgway Area Trails (RAT) for the first time, and hiked The Big Cheese up to the first trail intersection and back, which was 3.2 miles round trip. There are a few other loops that branch off at the top of Big Cheese, but in the interest of time, we headed back down. Later that afternoon we rode our bikes into town, parking in the Dallas Creek day use area. All the maps we looked at showed the distance was 1.8 miles one way to Ridgway, however my Garmin tracked 3.8 miles one way to the park in the center of town. It was an easy ride into town on the Uncompahgre River Way Trail, which travels through a wildlife preserve. While in town, we feasted on flavorful street tacos at Gnar, along with a side of yucca fries, which were amazing! The ride back was a bit of an adventure when we got caught in marble-size hail and had to hop the fence to crouch under a tree until the hail turned to rain. Fortunately the camp ground has coin operated hot showers, much needed to warm up after a very wet ride in the rain and hail.
The storm passed in time to start cooking dinner; beef tri-tip in a teriyaki marinade sautéed with onions, potatoes, and asparagus. Cooking over a camp stove always creates such a savory meal, or maybe everything tastes delicious after a full day of adventure and physical activity. The next morning, we woke to a very frosty camper; the canvas walls of the pop-up were frozen stiff and frost was covering the ground. Once the sun hit our campsite, everything was quickly thawed and we were able to enjoy a long walk over to Mear’s Bay, where we let the dogs take a swim before heading home.
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