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By Suzanne Webel Having looked for some time for a campground designed for horses in the Roosevelt National Forest, I was rewarded to find a great one up north: Jacks Gulch.  There are five clean camp-sites in the horse loop, each with a pull-through to park your trailer, a picnic table, a flat space for your tent, and four pipe corrals for your horses.  Water and clean restrooms are nearby.  The cost is $31 per equestrian site at the time of this writing — per night, reservations accepted for two equestrian sites recreation.gov, 1-877-444-6777, additional fees and discounts may apply, after that it’s first-come, first-served.  We went during the week and had no problem getting a site; weekends might be a challenge. The campground is open from approximately May 26-November 6. Only certified weed-free hay is allowed (a list of certified hay producers is available from the CO Department of Agriculture). Dispersed camping with horses is also possible. From Longmont plan on taking two hours to reach the campground.  Travel 10 miles northwest of Ft. Collins on US Highway 287 to the junction of CO 14, at Ted’s Place. Proceed west 26 miles to the Pingree Park Rd (CR63E). Turn left and proceed another 6 miles (in first gear in many places) to the turnoff to Jacks Gulch. The horse-camping loop will be on your right, with other campgrounds to your left. After setting up camp, you can ride some old 4WD roads east of 63E, with lots of camp sites for, and heavy use by, four […]

If you have never been, this horse-only campground in Custer South Dakota is a must. A group of us reserved space at this stunning campground in 2014, and had to reschedule last year (VS outbreak) to go in 2015. Yes that’s right, if you want a space for your rig and/or a small cabin with bunks you need to think ahead at this lovely campground. You can arrive into the campground from two directions, and it is about a 6 hour drive from Boulder County. We headed up I-25 to Lusk and then North to South Dakota— it’s a pretty easy haul. Having had a late start we came in at dark. Winding through Custer State Park we passed a couple of buffalo off to the side of the road—they a big fellas. The stone work on the winding bridge roads is magical. We arrived at the campground around 9 PM got the horses quickly settled and tucked ourselves in, all excited about the next days adventure. French Creek is one of the loveliest places I have camped with horses. There is power to all sites, vaulted toilets throughout the camp, and one of the cleanest bath houses I have ever been in. Horses have pen groups placed near the rig sites and how easy is this—shovel your manure out the back side and they come by with a backhoe and place the manure in a large disposal carrier. Weed free hay is required and a water trolley is a good idea for moving water from the spigots or your trailer.