Our first experience camping in Ouray and at the campground with the quirky name was terrific! We were out for our maiden voyage in our new "used" popup and wanted to stay relatively close to home (Montrose), so having heard about 4J from friends we decided to give it a try for a weekend. We camped with our 3 sons, ages 9,8 and 5.

This campground is tucked in at the base of the canyon wall and a large sign off the main drag in Ouray easily directs you to it. Upon arriving we were not initially impressed with the view from the office located right at the entrance, but once out of our behicle it was apparent this place was spic and span clean...I mean immaculate. We've stayed in many private and public campgrounds and this was by far the neatest.

We were greeted before we even made it in the office door by a couple of friendly staff gentleman, and were helped out be equally warm and inviting family members at the desk. We were given a small bag with brochures of the area and directed to our site. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the showers were free and there was internet access in much of the park.

Our site was right on the river and the rushing water was moving quite fast due to incedible snow levels and run off this past year. Across on the other bank was a set of what appeared to be apartments or condos that were ewll kept and we never saw anyone outside.

The sites are small, as has been mentioned in previous reviews, but the picnic table appeared to be freshly painted,m the grill had been cleaned before our arrival, and we had shade which was wonderful. We never felt invaded by neighbors due toi the closeness of the sites, but some people might not feel comfortable with it. However, we were able to fit in our very large popup trailer, a large Dodge Pick up as well as our mini-van. It was definitely a squeeze but we made it!

The parl was surprisingly empty for this time of year, but we heard from several people that July and August the place is packed. It is adjacent an older mobile home park with older homes and my first thought upon hearing that was that it would feel at odds with the outdoorsy atmosphere. We quickly came to the concousion though upon seeing it that they are separate entities, and not at aoo disturbing. It is a unique set up, but it works and you don't lose the feel of camping at all.

There were tent site located on the other side of the park and they had nice wooden privacy fencing for a little bit of coverage for each site. Many sites in the middle of this smaller campground have no shade, but those on either side do.

We loved being here with the kids. There was a small playground with mainly swings and climbing bars, nothing fancy but enough to entertain them a bit. It was a 2 block walk to the town of Ouray which is always fun to explore and an easy 2 block walk to the Hot Springs, which is awesome and has a terrific park and play equipment there.

We saw one camper cabin available which was very small but appeared clean from viewing through the windows and it was also on the river. The smaller park and the welcoming owners creates an environment which encourages easy visiting...we spent one evening yacking with folks a few sites down as well as a morning visiting with the folks in the site next to us. We were able to watch thorugh binoculars as hickers scaled the canyon wall almost righ above our heads, and we took a short hike up to a waterfall a few blocks away.

And the showers/bathrooms, have we talked about those yet??? CLEAN...CLEAN...CLEAN. Spacious free showers with a chair for sitting to change and plenty of warm water. The counters were lengthy and the place looked like no one every used it, it was so clean. Not having to worry about having enough quarters was a real plus.

There are a couple of other options for camping in Ouray, the KOA...which is nice but not within walking distance of town and in a little warmer area plus much more expensive...and the Timber Ridge campground which is on the main road into town and has a nice little restaurant to eat at, but not much else but road noise and parking lot rows of RVs. Restrooms/showers there are not nearly as nice, nor as clean and feel very typically like a campground.

All in all, we have already made plans to stay at 4J again this summer and know it will become a family favorite. While I know some feel it doesn't offer enough for kids to be engaged, there is so much around within close proximity that it negates any negative as far as that is concerned, at least for us it does.

Have fun in Ouray!