Little Mattie Campground

Little Mattie Campground is situated on Ruedi Reservoir at an elevation of 7,800 feet, approximately 14 miles east of Basalt, Colorado, in the White River National Forest. It sits amid a mixed conifer forest and offers an ideal setting for guests seeking recreation and relaxation, with sites open to the starry nighttime skies and access to the lake and trails. Little Mattie has 19 standard sites suitable for tents, trailers and RVs, with a maximum length of 30 feet for RVs and trailers. The sites are equipped with picnic tables, campfire rings and bear boxes (food storage lockers). Guests also have access to vault toilets and drinking water, but electrical hook-ups are not available. Renowned for its fly fishing, the Frying Pan River flows below Ruedi Dam. Here, large rainbow, brown, cutthroat and brook trout are plentiful in an area nicknamed the “toilet bowl.” The fish feed on Mysis shrimp, a small freshwater shrimp stocked in the lake. The stretch of river from below the dam down to the confluence of the Frying Pan and the Roaring Fork River has been designated as Gold Medal Waters by the Colorado Wildlife Commission; special regulations in this area include fishing only with artificial flies and lures, and releasing all trout except brown trout, with a limit of two fish over 14 inches. For hikers and bikers, the Ruedi Trail, located north of the reservoir, climbs to the top of Red Mountain. The trailhead is located 200 feet north of the Jeep trail near the boat ramp and parking lot, and this eight mile trail gains over 3,000 feet in elevation, leading hikers to a spectacular panoramic view of the area. Boating, swimming, and water skiing are all possible, and interpretive programs are popular activities.