Paonia State Park — Attraction in Paonia

Stayed at the Spruce Campground, which is best for tent camping, for a long weekend in July. It's right off the main road but the car noise isn't too bad. There are only about 7-8 campsites, great shade with tall mature trees, right next to the creek. The sites are pretty spread out and offer enough privacy. The rangers come to visit every day to check on you, help with firewood, and are very nice. There is a vault toilet, no showers - so bring water for your needs. Water from the creek is good for washing things, and the creek is easily accessible and wasn't very deep at this time of year. There is no cell reception, the closest town with shops and cell signal is Paonia (about 15-20 miles south). The park includes a reservoir which seems great for boating, all in all, a beautiful, remote, a bit off-grid experience and...

This review is specifically for the new Anthracite Campground. It’s a nice little campground. However, there is only one outhouse with one toilet, and it is located directly behind the handicap accessible campsite. The only way to access the outhouse is to walk directly through the HA site, it’s very awkward when the sight is occupied. There needs to be a second outhouse with two toilets built in a central location in the campground.

Also, the sites are very poorly landscaped with lots of weeds that need to be removed. Particularly on the river side. There were also wasp nests in shelter.

Lastly, although Kebler Corner is cool, some of the patrons like to party loudly until the wee hours of the morning.

With a second outhouse and better landscaping it would be a great...

We stayed at the spruce campground, it has fantastic views and shade coverage. No water so bring your own. The stream is pretty muddy for exploring but still fun. The campground is very dog friendly. Ranger Chuck was what made our stay though, he was super knowledgeable about the local hikes in the area. Rangers come round once a day (as far as we could tell) and they have firewood, it's $6 per bundle instead of buying at the general store down the road for $12 per bundle. We didn't get to explore the reservoir because of the time of year (low water and lots of mud), id recommend visiting earlier in the year to see the reservoir full, lots of aspens in the area which will also be beautiful...