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Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area/Ruby Mountain Campground


User Reviews

Mary Cernik

October 29, 2025

Freaking amazing river access, I love this place so much. Beautiful, serene, I found a piece of jasper!

Jason Frey

October 16, 2025

The location offers beautiful scenery and some truly lovely views, but unfortunately, that’s where the positives end. The noise level is overwhelming. From sunrise to sunset, there were constant sounds of quads, motorcycles (both on and off road), construction, and people driving in just to use the bathrooms. The campsites are arranged with little to no privacy; from my spot at site #1315, people frequently walked through or around my camp area. It felt more like a crowded rest stop than a peaceful getaway. The bathrooms were also in very poor condition. I understand that campground facilities can have a certain odor, but these smelled strongly of ammonia, as if they hadn’t been cleaned in quite some time. In addition, the campground is bordered by private property on both sides, which made it feel confined rather than remote or open to nature. Overall, while the views are nice, the lack of privacy, high noise level, and poorly maintained facilities made for a disappointing stay. I wouldn’t recommend this campground and won’t be returning.

Karen McGrath

September 22, 2025

If I could give a minus , I would. After driving 2.5 hours, my site was occupied! No people there, no host. Ridiculous. Went home. E mailed them to no avail. 😡

Lienna OLEKSIYENKO

August 18, 2025

Extremely clean and well maintained spot by the river, overlooking Mt Princeton and Mt Antero. Beautiful views and proximity to the water make it very convenient.

Alison Demzon

June 06, 2024

This has to be the most beautiful campground we have been at. The downsides are there is no hookups of any kind, so bring your own water and power, and there is no trash pickup, so pack it in, pack it out. Past that the views are the best I have seen, the sites are setup wonderfully, and there is the Arkansas River right there, and Brown's Canyon right next door.

Mary Francis Diaz de Leon

November 05, 2023

Beautiful and clean. We were able to come out for 1 night before the weather became bad. The spot we were in was close to the river. It was clean and the layout worked for our needs.

Arkos Ahn

September 18, 2023

There are no hookups at any sites here, no trash at all, but there are vault toilets. There's also a bit of a tight squeeze to get in, but I watched two trucks pulling fifth wheels pulling trailers make it. Beautifully quiet but still super close to groceries restaurants and hot springs. Love the way the sites are enclosed with boulders in separate terraces. Plan to spend some time here but make sure you're prepared.

Tyler Cola

July 25, 2023

Great Campground, and I don't know how common this is yearly, monthly, etc., but the bugs were overwhelming, especially the flies at night. And not just obnoxious, it was downright unbearable to be outside at night. Like something out of a movie. I imagine it's an abnormal season given all the rain, but it's definitely worth considering another area if you want to be out at night if have a camper that's terrified of large swarms of flying bugs.

Adam burton

April 11, 2023

Great access to fishing in Arkansas River. Restrooms are primitive meaning no running water. Great trails and access to wildlife. Hiking and Great views of the mountains. The pricing was reasonable. Room to enjoy the space with the family. Highly recommend

Cimberli Fraser

November 13, 2021

Absolutely adore this place super quite right by the Arkansas river

Hannah McGrew

August 15, 2021

This is one of my family's favorite places to go. Wonderful rafting in the beautiful town of Buena Vista. Would recommend this as one of the top spots to camp in the area!

Samantha Davey

June 14, 2021

Stayed for the weekend. The location of the campground itself is really nice, its secluded and right on the river. However, the site we booked, 1310, which is considered a handicapped accessible site was NOT a great location. The entire site is concrete pavement which, in itself, isn't so bad. But this site is also located DIRECTLY behind the bathroom and because it was pavement other campers and visitors assumed it was a walk way to the bathroom and we had multiple strangers just walking right through our camp the whole time. We even parked our cars in a way to kind of block off the entrance to the site and they still just walked through. We also had a lot of experiences with OFF LEASH DOGS at this site. I felt very unsafe with my dogs here. Id also like to add that I saw the park ranger see some of these dogs off leash did nothing to inforce this rule which is posted on the sign at the entrance of the campground as well. Not a great experience. Would ask for my money back if it was possible 🙄

Lauren P

June 07, 2021

The campgrounds are absolutely amazing. We unfortunately reserved a location that was super exposed to the wind and sun. However with a secure canopy it's enjoyable.

Jennifer R

May 26, 2021

Gorgeous views and very relaxing. If you are by the launch, be aware that lots of people will show up starting around 8ish for rafting and tours. But definitely worth it.