Notable Campgrounds
- Best for outdoor enthusiasts: Hecla Junction has 22 tent or RV sites with easy access for kayakers, rafters, and hikers.
- Best for RVs: Rincon Campground has spacious sites with riverside fishing right on the doorstep.
- Best for peace and quiet: Vallie Bridge has 16 walk-in tent sites in a secluded spot by Bighorn Sheep Canyon.
Tips for Snagging a Campsite Reservation
- You can reserve one of the park’s 140 campsites via the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website. All campsites must be booked in advance, but same-day bookings are allowed.
- Campsite reservations open six months in advance.
- Campsites can book up quickly, especially for holiday weekends and during peak season (June through August)—make your reservation as soon as possible.
When to Go
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is open year-round, but it’s busiest from May through September. This is the main season for rafting and water activities, while some of the best fishing is in early spring or from late summer through fall. Winter camping is possible if you don’t mind braving the cold, and the surrounding mountains provide options for snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing.
Know Before You Go
- Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is located along a 152-mile long stretch of the Arkansas River. The main entrance to the park is at Salida, 100 miles west of Colorado Springs or about a 2-hour drive. Highways 24, 285, and 50 run through the park.
- A vehicle pass is payable in addition to camping fees.
- Facilities in the park include a Visitor Center in downtown Salida, restrooms, and picnic areas, but you should bring everything you need with you. Cell phone service is patchy throughout.
- AHRA campgrounds provide tent pads, picnic tables, and grills, but there is no electricity or running water. Dispersed camping is also allowed throughout the park, but you must use a portable toilet system and fire pan.
- All AHRA campgrounds except Salida East, Point Barr and Vallie Bridge have at least one accessible campsite and accessible restrooms.
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
Camping comes with a dose of adrenaline and a side of adventure along the Arkansas River.
Sat to Sun: Closed
With its rocky canyons, forested riverbanks, and backdrop of snow-hatted mountains, the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) is made for outdoor adventures. White-water rafting enthusiasts can tackle class IV and V rapids along the Arkansas River—one of the United States’ most popular rafting rivers—but you can also paddle gentler sections in a kayak and fish for brown and rainbow trout. Alternatively, head into the hills to hike, mountain bike, or rock climb, pick up some speed along the OHV trails, or try your luck gold panning by the riverside. The park’s eight campgrounds all have direct river access.
With its rocky canyons, forested riverbanks, and backdrop of snow-hatted mountains, the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) is made for outdoor adventures. White-water rafting enthusiasts can tackle class IV and V rapids along the Arkansas River—one of the United States’ most popular rafting rivers—but you can also paddle gentler sections in a kayak and fish for brown and rainbow trout. Alternatively, head into the hills to hike, mountain bike, or rock climb, pick up some speed along the OHV trails, or try your luck gold panning by the riverside. The park’s eight campgrounds all have direct river access.
Activities in the park
6 campgrounds in Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
Ruby Mountain Campground is another river hugging outdoor venture, located within earshot of the roaring Arkansas rapids. And, like all parks in the AHRA (Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area), you’ll be hard pressed to find urban amenities. Charge your phones and pitch a tent in one of the area’s many campsites. Read more...
Railroad Bridge Campground offers its Mother Nature savvy campers with just the bare necessities with its fourteen campsites; they’re isn’t going to be an outlet for your lighting-cable for miles. At beautiful Arkansas River, there's no Instagram filters needed. Read more...
Hugging Highway 50, Five Points Campground is located under the highway’s passageway bridge where you’ll be able to access the park via its north entrance. Known for its picture-perfect picnic areas and charismatic wildlife, you’d be hard pressed to find a better detour off Highway 50. Just make sure to get there before all campsites are taken by Read more...
“Ok, keep going. Keep going―now stop! You’re good. ” Rincon Campground is geared toward the RV-inclined outdoors man (or woman), providing ample room to hitch-up your RV. And, located just yards from the Arkansas River, the fishing and boating opportunities are just as vast as the river is long―1,469 “vast” miles, that is. Read more...
Vallie Bridge Campground offers-up a slice from the stress-free pie served-up by Mother Nature. Offering various boating hook-ups for its campgrounds, Vallie Bridge is a secluded gem in the AHRA (Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area) complex. Read more...
Hecla Junction Campground is the amphibian of the AHRA (Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area)―there’s a plethora of terrestrial and water-loving activities to partake in. The area’s a known favorite among the angling community as well as the endurance hiker. And, with it’s twenty-two campsites, you’ll have plenty of space to retreat and rest-up fro Read more...
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Notable Campgrounds
Notable Campgrounds
Tips for Snagging a Campsite Reservation
When to Go
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is open year-round, but it’s busiest from May through September. This is the main season for rafting and water activities, while some of the best fishing is in early spring or from late summer through fall. Winter camping is possible if you don’t mind braving the cold, and the surrounding mountains provide options for snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing.
Know Before You Go
Public campgrounds (book externally) —