Ponderosa Group - Lake Isabel

Ponderosa Group Campground, located near the sparkling 40-acre Lake Isabel, beckons large groups for picnicking and camping in the Lake Isabel Recreation Area. The campground accommodates 60 guests for overnight camping. Visitors can enjoy entertainment like volleyball and horseshoes, or head to the lake for canoeing and fishing. Lake Isabel is one of the few lakes in Colorado developed solely for recreational purposes. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it attracts many campers who come to hike, canoe, fish and spend time bird watching. St. Charles Creek flows near the campground and offers additional fishing opportunities. Shady pine and aspen trees are scattered throughout the campground. The shoreline of Lake Isabel meets the rocky base of sweeping mountains at an elevation of 8,600 feet, where the area enjoys cool summer days, a welcome relief from the heat in the plains far below. The Pike and San Isabel National Forest includes over a million acres of wilderness and over half of Colorado's mountain peaks that reach above 14,000 feet. Kayaking, canoeing and fishing are popular on Lake Isabel. Brown and brook trout are stocked in the lake, and the St. Charles headwaters reap brook trout. Guests can enjoy hiking, bicycling or motorcycling on either the Snow Slide Trail or the Cisneros Trail. The 15-mile Cisneros Trail, also open to ATV riders, leads to the heart of the Wet Mountains, through forests and open, wildflower-speckled valleys. Along the way it connects to the St. Charles Trail, which heads to St. Charles Peak. The Frontier Pathways Scenic Byway is a great route to explore and snap photos. The group campground has a picnic shelter that seats 25 to 30 people, a group-sized charcoal grill and eight single-site campfire rings. A horseshoe pit, volleyball court, vault toilets, drinking water from a hand pump and dumpsters are provided.