The High Desert Ranch

Fill your days or nights with hiking, stargazing, horse riding and off-roading with a stay at The High Desert Ranch, a 40-acre Colorado site with easy access from the main road and the town of Moffat, 10 minutes’ drive away.

The surroundings here are pretty spectacular – it’s ranch land, state land and wildlife refuge all around, and there are mountain views of the Sangre de Cristo Range in every direction. Hiking, horse riding and off-roading trails are a few minutes away for in-depth exploring, but there are sights to be seen from the campground too: the state’s second-largest herd of elk can often be seen from the property.

Back in the 1980s this land was part of a large ranch; that ranch is still up and running but this parcel of land has now been turned into a laidback site that welcomes families, couples, groups and dogs who’d like to explore places like the Great Sand Dunes or Gunnison National Forest. Being pretty far removed from urban centres also means this is a great dark-sky spot for stargazing.

The campground is fairly basic, with just portable toilets, wifi and a dog park on the facilities front, but the pitches are spacious and there’s no problem lighting up campfires or barbecues (pick up supplies at the grocery store 10 minutes’ drive away).