For a state obsessed with the outdoors, Colorado can be surprisingly bad at camping. The good spots require serious gear and an even more serious vehicle. The easy spots are usually packed with RVs the size of small houses. And the quiet places people dream about often only exist by hearsay.
Matt Oesterle knew the problem well. “I love to camp,” he says, “but living in Colorado, it’s hard to find a spot that isn’t filled with people or just too off-road. You can’t really get to it unless you’re really set up—and I am not.” So he built something different.
Ramble Camp, which launched its first location near the Great Sand Dunes in 2023, sits comfortably between rugged backcountry adventure and traditional campground chaos. The concept is simple but surprisingly rare: a campground that preserves the feeling of being out in the landscape without the friction that usually comes with it. No shoulder- to-shoulder RV parking. No complicated logistics.
Instead, the sites are intentionally spaced apart, the views are expansive, and the experience is designed to make the outdoors feel accessible without sanding off its edges. Guests can text their camp host if they need something. Bikes are scattered around the property for evening rides. The overall layout feels less like a grid of campsites and more like a thoughtfully designed retreat.
The result is the version of camping most people picture in their heads before they actually try to plan it. Wide-open skies. Plenty of nature. A cold drink fireside. And yes, still camping. Just with a bathroom you’ll actually want to use.
Eat & Drink
You’re camping, so technically the bar is wherever you set your cooler. Ramble is proudly BYOB, but the setups make cooking outdoors feel like a serious upgrade from the usual camp stove routine. Adventure campsites come with a canvas shelter, picnic setup, double-range BBQ with propane, and a fire pit. Signature sites add a shaded outdoor kitchen with a sink and seating for 4–6, while Signature Plus brings a sheltered kitchen, seating for 6–8, a Solo Stove fire pit, and a hammock. Sure, a hot dog works, but you’re set up for much more.
Explore
Ramble’s two campsites sit beside some of Colorado’s most extraordinary landscapes. Near the Great Sand Dunes, you’re minutes from North America’s tallest dunes, where you can hike towering ridgelines, splash through Medano Creek in spring, or sandboard down sun-warmed slopes with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rising behind them. The Mesa Verde site offers a different kind of wonder: ancient cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Puebloans more than 700 years ago. Between them, Ramble places campers within reach of both natural spectacle and living history.
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