san isabel national forest

I love the beauty of the forest and there is many points where you can put off the highway to take pictures or just enjoy. There is one negative which is the places are not clearly marked. So if you are looking for a particular place it will be hard to find it.

San Isabel is the best kept secret for the Pueblo area, not far to travel, great campground with an abundance of wildlife and good fishing. Campground is electric only but don't pass it up because of that, it is worth the trip.

Some of the most beautiful area in Colorado that is close enough to make a day trip out of it. Great fishing, hiking, biking, natural water slide (have to walk quit a ways to get to it) castle and leaf changing area. If you lucky you will spot wildlife. Very friendly area

The forest is spectacular, especially in fall with the mix of green, yellow, and red trees. The Bishop Castle is a fascinating marvel of one-man building a huge castle - well worth visiting.

The restaurant is great and the trails are beautiful!! One of the best places to go in Colorado avoid the crowds

Loved the food at the restaurant. My wife and I go up to eat a great hamburger at least once per year. Breathtaking scenery with the beautiful lake and majestic mountains behind. They have a store, restaurant, and lodging with boat rental for the lake. Lots of fun for the day.

My family has stayed here several times over the years because it had cute cabins by the San Isabel Lake. I stayed there alone in June 2014 with two big dogs and have to say I was very disappointed. I stayed in the "Honeymoon" cabin, the smallest, which was very cute, BUT it had roaches! And the plumbing was very noisy - singing and clunking all night long. When I told the desk clerk about it the next morning checking out, she was totally unconcerned and did not even apologize or offer any compensation. All the food on the lodge restaurant menu was fried and unhealthy. No salads or fruit of any kind. The new owners are from Texas, and apparently brought their culture with them. Too bad because it spoiled what used to be a very nice place to stay. Plus the Forest Service now charges to even walk around the lake. Very sad.

Lovely quiet lake with no power boats. Wonderful restaurant. Crazy Bishop's Castle. Beautiful forest.

We love to spend the day at Lake Isabel. Very easy to get to from Pueblo or Colorado Springs and very easy access to the lake itself. You can either park along the road on the south side of the lake and walk down to the lake or park on the north side of the lake in the parking lot and take the steps down to the lake. Either way you do have pay a daily park fee.

We have a travel trailer and love the campground at La Vista. The area is clean and camp hosts are friendly and helpful. The hike around the lake is beautiful and lots of places to picnic in shade and under lush pine trees. A peaceful place to relax and enjoy nature. Pet friendly as well

We spent the 4th of July weekend visiting San Isabel National Forest. We stayed in the KOA in Colorado City, but drove into the forest each day. It is very pretty. Lake Isabel is gorgeous, very accessible, and pretty crowded (at least that weekend). Lots of people fishing, though we had no luck, many people did. The campsites looked very nice, we may try those next time. Beautiful hiking trails and views. We will definitely be back! There is a $6 daily park fee.

We went on a short hike here from Blue Lake to Bear Lake and it was awesome. The lakes were gorgeous and there were other little lakes around which were quiet and just as nice.

We took the scenic through the San Isabel National Forest. It is worth the trip. We saw some wild animals and a herd of free range horses. Some of the scenery is breath taking and some is ho-hum but it is worth the drive.

We camped at the Davenport Campground in the San Isabel National Forest on our way back home from Yellowstone. It was not on our list of stops but we stumbled upon it while looking for a restroom near Bishop's Castle. It was the nicest campground that we stayed in on our entire 2 week trip. Clean bathrooms, beautiful sites, peaceful location.

This forest covers a lot of south central Colorado and includes the amazing Spanish Peaks, the azure San Isabel Lake, and Greenhorn Mountain. Most of the visitors are locals, and the crowds are a lot easier to deal with than in the more touristy parts of Colorado.