Grand Mesa Uncompahgre And Gunnison National Forest Camping

Grand Mesa is the largest flat top mountain in the country and is indeed grand.

Jumbo Campground is at the north end of the Mesa. It has 24 sites, of which 17 are reservable. Some sites have electric service. It has shared water spigots. There are vault toilets, which were very clean during our stay. There is no dump site.

Jumbo is basically a loop with sites on both sides of the loop. It doesn't have a lot of trees. Verizon cell service is good and Starlink is very doable.

Grand Mesa is home to a plethora of lakes and ponds, many of which hold fish. Hiking is on the agenda as well.

Jumbo is at the entrance of the Jumbo Recreation Area and Jumbo residents get free entry.

Jumbo's very popular and does fill regularly.

The nearest big town is Grand Junction, which has the usual amenities. A Maverik station has a free dump if needed.

Matterhorn has quite a few reservation sites and some first-come, first-serve sites. The first time we stayed here, over 10 years ago, we scored a nice FCFS site. We've stayed a couple times since.

There are showers and flush toilets. No dump station. Water is shared at spigots throughout the campground. FHU sites have water and sewer.

Site 9 is a winner, right next to the Lake Fork of the San Miguel. When the Lake Fork is undisturbed, it harbors some small brown trout that are easy to catch (and release.)

There are sites around the outside of the loop that are forested and sites on the inner side that are not. Inner loop sites are good for Starlink. Cellular service is spotty, both ATT and Verizon register, but a directional antenna or cell booster are probably a requirement.

There are about 5 FHU sites that are reservable. If you want to reserve, Campnab is your friend if you're unsuccessful at recreation.gov. Due to its proximity to Telluride, Matterhorn is VERY popular. But it's worth the effort.