Small Home – Big Yard

Island Acres site #12

Island Acres is located in the narrow De Beque Canyon just east of Palisade, with railroad tracks on one side and busy I-70 on the other.  Sounds great huh?  Well, even with this “location” problem, we’ve spent time in this beautiful park at least 4 times.  De Beque Canyon was formed by the Colorado River and all of the sites are within easy walking distance of the river. RV facilities include 80 sites, both Full Hookup and Electric only.  All sites are 30Amp except 61-63 and 79 & 50 which are 50Amp.  There’s a swimming beach, stocked fishing lakes and a guest services building with showers and a laundromat.  All campsites provide a fire ring, a picnic table (some covered) and a grill.

In the past we’ve tended to select low-number sites, along the river and as far as possible from I-70.  This weekend we’re in site #12, an interior back-in site.  Friends are in site #16 and #20.  Site #12 has a nice shade tree to the east – however, after being parked under this tree for 4 days, we understand how messy a honey locust can be – dripping sap and lots of fallen branches make for extra clean-up work on the top of the slides and in the outdoor mats and chairs.

Ridgway, Elk Ridge, Site 86

From Island Acres, we’re headed to Ridgway State Park, only about 2 hours away, and just south of Montrose.  We think Ridgway is one of Colorado’s most beautiful State Parks.  There are 3 campgrounds along the Uncompahgre River and Ridgway Reservoir, Dakota Terraces with sites 1-79, Elk Ridge with 80-187 and Pa-Co-Chu-Puk with 200-280.  We’re parked in site #86 in Elk Ridge.  The back-in site provides 30A electric along with a paved walkway to a gravel tent pad and a large shady area with a picnic table and fire ring. Ridgway’s website, updated in May 2020: “A cell tower in the park permits most carriers to have good reception in the park. There is NO T-Mobile reception.”  The Verizon hot spot worked well and they are right, absolutely no T-Mobile service.

Ridgway, Elk Ridge, Site 86

After Ridgway, we’ll make one more stop at the new Cool Sunshine RV Park in Alamosa.  Located just behind the main train station in Alamosa, this park provides a great location for short walks exploring downtown Alamosa.   After 9 nights traveling through south western Colorado, we’ll make the quick trip over La Veta pass and back home.  It’s been a great “first of season” trip. In 3 weeks we’ll return through Alamosa for a trip to Creede, CO.  More from there…

Cool Sunshine RV, Alamosa, CO