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Hecla Junction – AHRA

26 09 2015

Hecla Junction, Tent Camping

Good Morning from Hecla Junction, a small primitive Colorado State Park along the Arkansas River in central Colorado. PARK MAP For river rafters, we’re just beyond the infamous Brown’s Canyon. With just 22 sites, this is a tiny campground by most standards. The only facilities or services at Hecla are clean vault toilets, and beautiful canyon and river views – there aren’t even trash dumpsters provided. We, along with friends, are in sites #2, #3, & #4 – premium, spacious back-in sites, all with great views to the river and with large tent pads and picnic table/fire ring areas. Sites beyond #7 would be difficult for most trailers or 5th wheels due to a short turning area at the bottom of the loop. However, site 17-22 would be good alternates to riverside sites.

In a unique situation, we’re tent camping this weekend. After acquiring a new pickup last week, we haven’t had time to install hitch rails yet. This is our 3^rd time at Hecla this season, so it’s obvious we enjoy it. It’s close to home, without any major highway or train noise, has beautiful dark skies at night and (so far) appears to be off the beaten trail of many RV’ers. We’ll be back next season!

: Hecla Junction

: The new Truck

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Tags: ahra, arkansas river, colorado, hecla junction
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

Hecla Junction, AHRA

30 06 2015

Happy Independence Day! We’re bound for Ridgway State Park in southwestern Colorado. Along the way, we’ve stopped at the newly renovated Hecla Junction campground – one of six campgrounds that make up the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, a Colorado State Park. Located just north of Salida and next to the rafting pull-out for Browns Canyon, the campground offers 23 campsites in a beautiful, riverside setting. Each site offers a parking area, a graveled tent pad and a fire pit/picnic table area. There’s a vault toilet in the center of the campground next to a accessible site (#8). Access to this campground is a bit daunting, just 2.4 miles off of highway 285, there’s a short section of 12% grade. But, with school buses pulling trailers of rafts in and out all day, the dirt road is in good shape, and oiled to keep the dust down. The entrance to the camping area is unique, you traverse the boat loading zone, across the cement apron before turning into the camp sites.

Sites #1-#12 are riverside sites. We’re parked in site #9, beyond which the access road gets a bit tight, and might provide a challenge for turning, especially if those higher numbered sites were occupied. Sites #7 and #9 would be optimal for a dual-site arrangement with #7 providing very easy access. Site #3 is a 49′ foot site providing some of the best river views in the campground. Site #4 also shares this good river view. Upper sites #21/#23 would provide highest privacy and good views. After visiting Railroad Bridge and Ruby Mountain a few years ago, this campground has become our new favorite among the AHRA sites.

Tomorrow we’ll head south to Poncha Springs, make the right hand turn over Monarch Pass and be in Montrose with good friends for 1 night before moving to Ridgway State Park. More from there…