Mount Blanca and Smith Reservoir

Just south of the town of Blanca and Fort Garland, CO is a small coldwater lake called Smith Reservoir. The site is popular with trout fishermen and duck hunters. Camping is allowed along the shoreline.

We were looking for a place to camp coming up from Taos, New Mexico and found this place using freecampsites.net . Our GPS tried to take us through private property so be careful which route you enter from.

The site is very open with several places to choose from to camp. There is little cover to block the wind in most spots, and it does get very windy.

The view of mount Blanca is gorgeous from the South shore, and probably one of the better spots for trailer/RV campers. Tent campers can find many other spots around the west and south shores as well.

I tried fishing and saw several other people come and try with no luck. Hiking is fairly limited, but you can follow the tailwaters of the lake for a nice easy walk. A wide variety of minerals can be found here including nice quartz specimens. Duck hunting should be great, however it's not something I do and it's out of season.

This is a great spot if you are passing through and need a place to camp for a while, but not a destination. Cell coverage is great however so you can keep yourself entertained. I recommend checking out Great Sand Dunes national park while you're in the area.