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Camping in Colorado: How I Survived My First Real Camping Experience | The Trading Travelers
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How I Survived My First Real Camping Experience

The last time I went camping was over 20 years ago. The thing I loved most about it was the freedom. We would set up camp with 2-3 other families, 8-10 of us kids, and we were allowed to roam free on our bicycles (mine hot pink of course with a radio attached) as long as we stuck together. We would cover every inch of that campground, riding for hours and hours and only returning back to our campsite for a quick snack or to sleep at night, rarely seeing our parents. We would have competitions on who could build the best fort with whatever palm fronds and tree branches we could find lying around. We’d head up to the community pool to take a dip and cool off, only to hop back on our bikes and hit the trails again.

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Fast forward to about 2 years ago when I discovered this campground we used to visit was only about 10 miles from our house. Yep, that’s right. All that time I thought we were camping out in the wilderness far away from home only to find that we would load up the car, drive 15 minutes down the road and set up camp at a popular resort-style campground in the next town over. It doesn’t erase all of the amazing memories we made all those weekends camping in Homosassa, but I did come to realize I had never truly been camping. Like actual hardcore-no-showers-out-in-the-wilderness style camping. So when we decided that we were going to do some camping while in Colorado, I had a mixture of excitement and anxiety building up within me. While we have stayed in some pretty questionable places in S.E Asia, I wasn’t sure how I would hold up with no showers, no flush toilets, sleeping in a 17-year old tent in 30-40 degree weather, in the mountains of Colorado where bears are known to roam. I mean, this definitely sounded like an adventure I just wasn’t sure it would be a great one.

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While there are plenty of resort-style campgrounds in Colorado, that’s not what we wanted. Nope, we passed up the campgrounds with the hot showers, flush toilets and Jacuzzis for an off-the-grid experience. Why, you ask?? Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. That Jacuzzi was sounding pretty good as we were driving further into the San Juan National Forest, further away from cell service and civilization in search of the “perfect” spot to set up camp. When we finally found that “perfect” campsite, I nearly died…

camping south mineral co

Camping at South Mineral Campground, Silverton, CO

It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in real life, located just outside of Silverton where we arrived on the Narrow Gauge Railway. We popped our tent not even 10 feet from the river rapids flowing through our campsite, the most soothing sound in the world. The majestic San Juan Mountains and bright blue skies surrounding us mimicked that of an oil painting. It didn’t even seem real. The sun would peek through the trees right into our campsite providing us just enough sunlight and warmth in the crisp, cool mountain air. This was better than any resort I’ve stayed at and has to be one of the best campgrounds in Colorado.

south mineral camping

There were no showers, but who needed them? There were toilets, but they were the non-flush kind and I didn’t even mind. There were no bears, but there were plenty of deer. There was no cell reception, and that was perfect. It was private. It was peaceful. It was paradise. 

south mineral camping

Hot Springs, Clear Lake and the Poughkeepsie Gulch Trail

The next 4 days we spent cooking all of our meals over the fire (mmm…there is just something about the smell of camp food), exploring the meadows and waterfalls within the campground, off-roading to the nearby Clear Lake, soaking in hot springs in Ouray, and renting a Polaris RZR to explore the rugged terrain surrounding Silverton. This included taking the RZR over the (in?)famous Poughkeepsie Gulch Wall where only a few make it to the other side…(you will have to watch the video for that one)

south mineral camping

To say it was incredible would be the understatement of the year. Don’t believe me? Check out this video and then the pics that follow:

19 Reasons Why You Should Visit Colorado

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About the Author Charlie and Brittany

We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.

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13 comments
Jenny RightSide says September 20, 2014

I need to go there! We hiked 4 miles and 2000 feet up into the San Isabel National Forest, and man at 39, we’re feeling like we’re getting to old for that!! This looks like the best of both worlds!

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says September 24, 2014

    That sounds amazing!! You should definitely add this place to your list to visit someday. It really is spectacular!

    Reply
⛺ Shell (@CampWithStyle) says September 30, 2014

Fabulous pictures, you live in a stunning part of the world!

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says October 1, 2014

    Thank you! Colorado really is a stunning place!

    Reply
Culture Shock: First Impressions of Germany | The Trading Travelers says December 3, 2014

[…] They bagged Australia and settled on a road trip out west to Colorado. A trip that would consist of riding dirt bikes through the Rockies. A trip that Charlie would never let his dad go on without being a part of it. So immediately, […]

Reply
Traveling Through Time on the Narrow Gauge Railroad | The Trading Travelers says December 3, 2014

[…] you plan to spend a few nights in Silverton, check out the South Mineral Campground on the outskirts of town –> […]

Reply
Summer Adventures at Winter Park Resort | The Trading Travelers says December 3, 2014

[…] the tourism board in Grand County and we found they actually had quite a bit to offer. So, after camping for 4 nights in the wilderness of Colorado, we packed up the camp and started heading back north. We decided to hit Estes Park for […]

Reply
How Two Years Can Change Your Life | The Trading Travelers says August 28, 2015

[…] TV show, soared the skies of Langkawi in a paramotor, took a 3rd class train ride in Thailand, survived camping in the wilderness of Colorado, got lost in the Thailand countryside on our motorbike more times than we can count, visited the […]

Reply
Our Road Trip Plans For The Summer | The Trading Travelers says May 25, 2016

[…] air which direction we will head. We want to spend a few nights in Salida and we definitely want to camp at South Mineral in Silverton again. However, we want to hit some new spots as well! Crested Butte is high on our list of places […]

Reply
Kellie Hays says June 1, 2018

Hey! Can you tell me where the beautiful waterfall was located? We have camped at S.Mineral several times and it is by far our most favorite!

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says June 2, 2018

    I can’t remember exactly how we got there but its right behind the campground – just a short walk! I would maybe ask the camp host. They can probably point you in the right direction! We are hoping to get back there this summer. If so, I will update the post with the location 🙂

    Reply
Kellie Hays says June 17, 2018

Hey! It is just me again, the other South Mineral lover! haha! So, we were supposed to leave this coming week to head to South Mineral, but unfortunately, it is CLOSED. I am curious if you might have been to any other campgrounds in Colorado that are anything similar to South Mineral? Thank you for any info you can provide! 🙂

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says June 18, 2018

    Oh no!! I can’t believe its closed. Is it due to the fires? I can’t think of anything similar to S. Mineral, however we camped at Lake Irwin in Crested Butte area and loved that too! Absolutely gorgeous area, especially when the wildflowers are in bloom. You really can’t go wrong with anywhere in Colorado though!

    Reply
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