San Luis State Wildlife Area — Hotel in Alamosa

Stayed for two nights a few days ago while visiting Great Sands. As John D noted, the host was not very friendly. After failing to successfully use the QR code to purchase a required DFW license to stay there, we stopped by the host trailer. He came to the window and shouted out at me that we needed to get a pass at Mosca Pit Stop or we couldn't even come into the park. Dutifully drove the 8 mi back to Mosca, purchased the required pass and came back to camp our first night. Next day after a day of touring Great Sand Dunes we came back into the park, drove past the host trailer and picked a site. The host then came racing up in his truck demanding to see whether we had our passes. Before we pulled those out, he threatened to fine us if we were in the park without one and said the sign at the entry is in 'plain English' saying that you are not allowed to enter the park unless you have the requisite pass. We then produced our passes and he sat on our picnic bench smoking a cigarette, recording our information in a small notebook, all the while throwing out a really hostile vibe. He eventually drove away and that evening we saw him race up after dark to several other campsites.

The campsite itself is perfectly situated for a stay if you're exploring great sand dunes and get shot out of their campground. Nice shelters, nice tables, decent fire pits. The sites are rather exposed with no shade and if it gets windy, it can be a problem particularly if you were in a tent. The toilet block near us had an overflowing garbage can, and the inside was very dirty. Seemed way under toileted for the large number of campsites that were there. We were self-contained and didn't need to access so not sure if there was potable water for campers.

FYI the QR code on the entry sign leads you to the DFW site for you to purchase a pass, but requires information such as your height and weight and ultimately asked for your social security number. Seemed a little bit odd.

Gets five stars for location, one star for the host and facilities,...

Camped here for memorial day weekend 2019 in our 22-ft travel trailer. Rolled in about 4pm on Friday afternoon, and there were around seven or so sites still open in this first-come-first-served campground. I would estimate that the campground filled by around 7:30 pm. A few people left Saturday morning, but we noticed the campground was full again by mid-afternoon when we got back. We had Site 38 in Loop B. Nice thing about Loop B is that it has some of the lowest sites, meaning the views towards the dunes and mountains aren't quite as good, but they are a bit more sheltered from the wind. Note that there is no escaping the wind entirely here, especially afternoons and early evenings. Once dusk hit the wind died down, finally. Our kids and a few other families had fun riding bikes around the paved camp roads. The lake had water in it and according to CDOW was stocked twice this year with trout. But we quickly discovered that the lake was choked full of algae and fishing was not a practical option. All in all, it was a positive experience for what it is and the free price (we had fishing licenses) and free electricity were nice. We may try staying at the National Park next time, which we drove through to check out. Our summary; those sites are definitely smaller for RVs and much closer together, and there are far more families with little kids there, for what its worth. Staying at the NP you would avoid the long lines to get into the park on Saturday and Sunday, and would avoid the limited parking situation as you can walk most places pretty easily from the...

Absolutely breathtaking views. The park is spread out into three loops; ABC The loops are all evenly dispersed with amazing views. All spaces are apart by at least 150 ft. There are electric hookups, fire pit and picnic table with covered awning. They accept all size RVs and tents! No potable water but do have dumping stations, restrooms and trash dump. The reservoir is a no swimming zone so head to sand dunes for that. So much wildlife here from rabbits to little chipmunks. No snakes from what I've seen. This is our second stay and it's great for kids and pets as long as you are on leashes with pets. The host is a very friendly guy; you'll need a SWA permit to stay at this park! Highly recommend. Service for cellphone is great for being so remote. I get 4g LTE and 5g on occasions; service providers TMobile and Verizon. We do not stream video; only use this...