navajo state park

This state park is the place to go if you love boating or just being by the water. Being from New Mexico, it was a welcome sight! The Rosa campground is high up on a hill overlooking the north end of Navajo Lake. There are pontoons and fishing boats available for rent at the marina, just a short walk away. Great walking/running paths go throughout the park, which is quite large. Bathrooms are clean, showers are great and there is laundry facilities along with a kitchen area to wash dishes. Camp sites do not have shade (a few have freestanding awnings over the picnic table), but are well spaced.

This review may be a bit windy.. but that's what this is all about.. no? First let me start off by saying that the park is larger than you probably think. The visitor center, (3) main campgrounds, marinas and boat ramps are all to the south of Arboles, the main town (if you want to call it that). Then there are several points of "day use" and "primitive camping" spots all along the NE shore of Navajo Reservoir. So, the park actually extends the entire northern section of the reservoir that within Colorado borders. Your first stop should be to the Visitor Center to get maps and info. Here, you can make reservations for one of the 3 campgrounds (Rosa, Carracas, and Tiffany). There are over 100 campsites that can accommodate anything from the largest of RV to tent camping. {Prices are reasonable, esp. if you're gonna camp on the primitive area ($10) on the eastern shore.. which is about 8 miles from the visitor center.} All three campsites have very well maintained camp facilities (showers, washing centers (loads only $1), and water taps (which are everywhere). Camping sites, staff and facilities are Navajo's strongest suits. Location, scenery, and environment are its weak points.. but let me explain.Navajo Reservoir is definitely geared toward boating and its related activities. If you're without one (as I am), then you options become quickly limited. I came in August and being this far south, it tends to get a bit warmer, but that's not the park's fault - it's just the environment. Insects (esp. mosquitoes) are everywhere, but again.. that's the environment. Bring along your repellant. Also, when I was there, a very strong wind (storm front) came in and brought my fishing to a dead halt.. just when the trouts were coming to shore (as was starting to cool down for the evening). Storms are just another factor in the environment here. Winds can get serious. Next.. consider this: Navajo Reservoir is in both Colorado and New Mexico - it's huge. If I told you it was a foot lower than normal or "regular level" .. how much water is gone? a lot, no? When I was there, the water lever was .. ready for this.. 45 feet below normal. yeah, you read that right. 45 feet. There's room for some boats, but it gets crowded when it's this low.If you go for hiking.. well.. there are some trails and places to go, but don't be expecting incredible, panoramic views. It's mostly low rolling hills here.If you're here for the fishing.. well.. you can be in heaven or hell. There are several species of fish. Knowing when and where to fish is key. If you bank fish, you will lose a lot of hooks and lures. If you have a boat, you're much better off, but considering the damn (and bigger fish) are in New Mexico, one has to have a permit to fish there. Since it's a big reservoir, the fish are big also (bigger the lake, bigger the fish) but you have to wait until it's cool enough for them to come to shore (so night fishing is your option - bring repellant). If you day fish, get ready for catfish (<1 pound bullheads) and yellow perch. There are also pike, bluegills, and salmon available and all are easy to catch... again if you know where and when. Finding a local fisherman who knows the secrets and will tell you is golden. If you come in June or July, it's said to be crowded.. I was there in mid-August and it was very quiet. It's good that Colorado has its own "Lake Powell" option.. and that it's different from all the other parks. Just know what you want before you come here.

This State Park is located about 35 miles South of Durango. The campgrounds and cabins and Marina are on a beautiful reservoir lake (Navajo Lake). We had a lakefront rv site that had full hook up facilities. The grounds are very well maintained and also has nice clean bathroom and shower facilities as well as laundry. We enjoyed walking around the campgrounds and the marina and going on several of the hiking trails in the park. The staff at the office were very friendly and helpful. There are also many other places of interest to visit that are within an hour's drive: Mesa Verde, Durango (can take steam engine train ride to Silverton), Chimney Rock, Pagosa Springs. There is even a casino in nearby Ignacio if you want a little gambling activity. We did not go in but the building was quite beautiful (kind of a mod native architecture). So, go and have a great time. If you have a boat, take it. This was a very popular activity.

We just stayed at this state park and we loved it.I really appreciated the water stations that were near our campsite. Also, flushing toilets and running water to wash your hands in the bathroom were huge perks.Tiffany loop is right by the lake and offers beautiful views. Highly recommend!

Unlike most of the campers at Navajo State Park in Arboles, instead of parking an RV, we rented one of the three cabins available in the Tiffany Campground site. Inside, we were pleased to find a spacious, modern and clean cabin that was a terrific fit for our family of five.The views from our cabin were pleasant; we saw a shallow rocky canyon feeding down into Navajo lake from the back, and could make out a small sliver of the lake from the front. A short walk brought us to the top of a cliff overlooking the lake, which meandered in both directions far into the distance.|Many people came there for boating/fishing, so we missed out on that aspect (we would have happily rented had there been something available, but the park wasn't set up to do that). The walking paths were very buggy in June, but the area got extremely windy at times, which prevented the little beasties from bothering you.The woman at the Ranger Station was charming and helpful, and happy to have a lively chat.Still the highlight of the stay was the cabin itself. Full kitchen, large common area for the family to play cards or games, a nice front porch to sit, read or stargaze, and separate bedrooms to give each other a touch of privacy in contrast to similarly priced hotel accommodations, which would be a cramped suite with a pair of queen beds and a couch all in the same area.The one drawback is that you need to bring your own linens, but they do clearly advise that you need them.

My family returned to Navajo this summer and I was surprised at how green the park was in August. We very much enjoyed tent camping this year and the park was clean and well maintained. During out weekend, the park offered two children's programs, one geared to younger children, and the other to older. My kids enjoyed both, and mom learned something at the archeology presentation as well. I wish the park had more information about the archeological history of the park. My only complaint is that the campers a few spots away were extremely loud, long past the onset of quiet hours. Unfortunately the campground host did not quiet the noise until close to midnight.

Stayed for one-week stays in June, July and August of 2011. Have been coming here for 5 years now. While we love the park and especially the lake, it seems to have been going rapidly downhill. The good news is that the Colorado marina is still a top-notch facility with solid management and great employees. Park patrol staff are very friendly and helpful. And the lake is still spectacular. However, the campgrounds have really gone downhill and are in need of a lot of work. Almost all the trees are dead so there is no shade anywhere. Mosquitos are the thickest of anywhere I've been, but the park management won't spray for them. The water tastes terrible, but is okay for showers and washing dishes. The restroom facilities are most often pretty dirty and full of mosquitos, with pay showers only. There's hot water only a few days of the week.Most of the grass in the campground is dead, which makes for very dusty or muddy conditions. But with the park watering every day, some of the grass is slowly making a comeback. We came back one day to the RV, only to discover an employee was mowing the dirt around our unit and we had a broken window. I believe the mower kicked up a rock and broke one of the bigger tempered glass windows. But after filing a damage claim, we learned Colorado State Parks will not pay for any damage their employees cause. So we're on our own for a $1,000 window. The campgrounds are layed out nicely, but oddly the ugliest one (Rosa) is the only one with full hookups. Many of the campsites are too small to park multiple vehicles. Colorado Parks reservations rules allow you to stay 14 days every 45 days -- try to figure that out on a calendar! I'd rather see them adopt something simpler, like Arizona's State Park rules (up to 14 days in and 14 days out). And when the park is almost empty, you still can't stay if you're within the 45-day window. I still recommend this park, but you should know what you're getting into here.

We stayed in one of the cabins and would not quite call our experience camping, given the bathroom and kitchen in the cabin. That said, we loved our quasi-camping experience. We have family nearby and will come again, if we can reserve a cabin. They are all booked well in advance, so book early. The scenery was beautiful and green in late May, and the kids enjoyed getting into the *cold* water.

unlike the NM side of the lake the co side is green grass lots of trailer spaces and tent camping .nice restrooms, clean with pay showers a free place to do your dishes and many other things a nice place to go for walks take a can or too of bug repelant very nice camp hosts and rangers. looking forward to going back camp fee does not include 6$ daily car fee you have to pay both.