Sheps Canyon Recreation Area

in remote canyon --open (no tree cover) had camp 11 and 12 -- not busy and was quiet-- good hot shower and clean-- not there to boat-- but to hike which was lacking-- better if you had water craft ie-- kayaks/ stand up boards/ etc...

This is our third time staying here in the last 11 years but first with horses. It appears it’s no longer a well kept secret place to camp as the regular sites were mostly full. We stayed 3 nights (Th,F,S). The weather was pretty poor the first night with 50deg rain and wind but good the other 2 with almost 90 for a high Saturday. The reservoir was extremely low and the water cold, likely from the snow earlier in the week. The water level made all beaches in the horse area unusable due to the clay/mud those beaches are made of. The regular camp beaches are more rocky and sandy so were still good to use. We walked over to the beach by the vault toilet to let the horses play and no one bothered us. The vault toilet in the horse area was clean but didn’t have TP the first day so we used our own. The next day the ranger cleaned and left 3 rolls. There were a lot of cars coming back on Saturday looking for a party out there somewhere. The trails weren’t really mowed and the markers were few and far between so it was a fun scavenger hunt to try to follow the trail but we eventually made it to the overlook. Would be nice if there was a loop rather than having to come back on the same trail. Corals are nice and big at 20x20 but we’re all thistles, would be nice if they were maintained a little better. Overall a good place to camp and ride. We'll be back again.

We stayed at the horse camp on the Shep’s canyon side of Angostura. We do pay to stay there but there are no hookups. The only thing that is provided is a bathroom. We did shower at the Shep’s canyon campground but got scolded because we were not staying directly in that camp ground. If this is an issue I would highly recommend building some showers and a bigger restroom area in the horse camp or not charge anything to stay there. If we are paying to stay in that camp ground we should be able to shower in Shep’s canyon camp ground. We were also in a burn ban during the Labor Day weekend so we did not have a fire but almost every other camp site around us had their fires burning. If they are going to enforce the burn ban and say they will fine people then they should have more supervision. For people who follow the laws it’s not fair to sit there and see others not following the law but get away with it as well.

Campground was very clean. I only stayed one night but enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. Camp had shower and flush toilet facilities and a vault toilet.