Colorado's Remote Camping Escape On The Rio Grande River Has Fishing, Mountain Views, And Adventure

The Rio Grande is one of North America's most iconic waterways, flowing for a staggering 1,896 miles and ranking as the fifth-longest river on the continent. While it is most famous for marking much of the border between the US and Mexico, it also snakes through some stunningly scenic landscapes, such as the Taos Plateau and Texas' remote and striking Big Bend National Park.

However, to experience the Rio Grande in its purest form, you may want to head towards its source high in Colorado's San Juan Range of the Rocky Mountains. Here, not far from the old mining town of Creede, you'll find River Hill Campground, where you can pitch a tent or pull up an RV, kick back, and listen to the famous river rush by just a stone's throw from its headwaters on the steep mountain slopes.

Situated at 9,300 feet in the national forest named after the river, this primitive campground lets nature do the talking and makes a perfect home base for further explorations up and down the valley. Whether it's hiking, mountain biking, birdwatching, kayaking, or casting a line for trout lurking in the river's deep pools, River Hill Campground's idyllic location allows you to soak up the Rio Grande's splendor, along with the awe-inspiring alpine scenery that surrounds it. "This is a beautiful campground," wrote one visitor on the camping website The Dyrt. "We used it as both a home base and a place to hike out of. Situated along the banks of the Rio Grande, we were able to sleep with the sound of moving water, which was so relaxing."

There are 20 basic sites at River Hill Campground that sit on two loops near the river. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring, and while there are no hookups, the campground offers drinking water, garbage cans, and exceptionally-maintained vault toilets. "The absolute cleanest, best-maintained pit toilets I've ever used," raved one camper on Google. "No small feat in the wilderness!"

River Hill Campground isn't exactly easy to get to, which is surely a large part of its charm. Denver, the nearest major city and America's craft beer capital, is nearly a five and a half hour drive away. The town of Creede sits 30 miles to the northeast, and the final 9.5 miles to the campground is over a rough dirt forest service road. The time and effort required to travel there helps guarantee the tranquility you'll find when you arrive. After all, it's hard not to feel a sense of serenity when spending the night in a high country river valley interspersed with willows and spruce, with rugged hills and bluffs on each side. This was confirmed by a visitor on Google, who wrote, "Camping was amazing here. Right next to the river. Great place to fish, relax, and get away."

While far from everything, Red Hill Campground is still a popular spot. Spaces fill up fast, so you'll need to book ahead, though a few of the sites are first-come, first-served. You can reserve your site up to six months in advance.

River Hill Campground's idyllic upper Rio Grande makes it an ideal spot for adventure and recreation. The river is perfect for exploring via kayak, and boaters can cruise along the smooth surface of the nearby Rio Grande Reservoir. Hikers can hit the Grizzly Creek Trail and the Weminuche Creek Trail to access the Continental Divide and Weminuche Wilderness, and the area is also great for wildlife watching, with bighorn sheep, Canada lynx, Rocky Mountain elk, cougar, and moose. There are bound to be black bears around, so it pays to know how to properly bear-proof your campsite.

Fishing, however, is the real star of the show at River Hill Campground, as the upper Rio Grande's cold, clear water is renowned for its healthy trout populations, with some areas holding more than a dozen 14-inch fish per acre. The stretch of river the campground calls home has both rainbow and brown trout and is open to lure and fly fishing. The action is best from June through October, when mayflies, caddisflies, and stonefly hatches get the fish feeding. You can fish from the bank or float the river (the campground has a boat ramp). For lures, Mepps and Panther Martins tend to get the job done, while fly fishers can choose from an array of effective patterns, including green drakes, Rio Grande kings, girdlebugs, and sofa pillows, along with old standbys such as stoneflies, elk hair caddis, adam's, and coachmans.

"Fly fishing is awesome. Have caught many a brown and occasional rainbow trout," wrote one happy angler on Google, while another remarked, "Before I had the camper unhooked, I [hooked] a trout in the river." For more of Colorado's outdoor majesty, check out this incredible road trip to explore all four of its national parks.