Lake Irwin Campground

Kathy and Steve, camp hosts at Lake Irwin Campground are extremely rude and disrespectful. They are not nice and welcoming in which her response was “that’s not my job.” Kathy kept calling me “illegal” and using my home state of New Mexico against me. Saying things like “ you’re from New Mexico, that makes sense.” Upon arriving, there was no clear signage at the entrance indicating the campground was full. Only after driving several sites in did I notice a small handwritten sign on their RV stating “FULL.” Due to the lack of cell service in the area and the fact that Lake Irwin is a first-come, first-served campground, I stopped to ask a question about reserving a site for future dates as I had additional people in my group coming in so I knew we would need another site in a few days to host us all. I was immediately met with hostility and was yelled at simply for trying to understand how the process worked. When I mentioned the discrepancy between the posted rules at the entrance and what Kathy was telling me, I was rudely dismissed. According to the posted signage at the entrance, each campsite allows: • 2 vehicles and 1 RV, • 8 people per site, • Additional vehicles must be parked in the overflow lot, • Additional people require another site. When I tried to clarify these rules, Kathy stated the limits were different (1 vehicle, 6 people per site) and then refused to let me park an additional car in the overflow area —Which apparently the company who manages the campsite also manages the parking lots? These parking lots are also for day use parking to the lake. Used everyday by locals. So I was a bit confused there as to why I couldn’t park an additional vehicle in overflow. Meanwhile the campsite next to us had 3 vehicles and a camper. I watched as other guests arrived looking for sites and were met with the same rudeness. The hosts clearly lack the communication skills and temperament needed for a customer-facing role. Regardless of whether there were discrepancies between website rules and posted signs, their job as hosts is to help clarify, not escalate situations. Kathy purposely waited until 8pm at night to tell me I had to leave because “ I was arguing with her too much.” 8pm… with a tent setup, and all my stuff out. And she demands I only have “10 minutes to pack and leave.” They were yelling and disrupting other nearby campers. Making it seem as if I did something horribly wrong, which I did not. I repeatedly told her I was leaving and asked her to give me space so I could get my stuff together. Instead, she stood over me, continued to berate me, and brought her husband Steve to assist in further harassing and belittling me. I also asked multiple times for her to contact her supervisor or local law enforcement, especially since they had cell service at their site with starlink and I did not. My requests were ignored. I asked them of this because she told me if I did not leave she would call the police, and at this point I would be SO HAPPY if she did, as her behavior was very unpleasant and uncalled for. This experience was not only unpleasant — it felt like harassment. I will be submitting a complaint to the U.S. Forest Service, the managing company overseeing this site, and if necessary, I am prepared to share video evidence to support my claims. Lake Irwin is public land, and no guest should be treated with the disrespect, and hostility that I experienced. I sincerely hope steps are taken to retrain, replace, or formally reprimand these hosts to ensure a welcoming and safe experience for future campers. Other than them the actual Lake is BEAUTIFUL… thankfully even at 8pm at night, we found a campsite down the road and made use of the lake the next day as intended.

Beautiful, clean campground/lake. The toilets smell absolutely awful, but it’s a busy place so just hold your nose lol. Great views and beautiful water:) we had a blast

Incredible location far away from even the small town of Crested Butte. We loved it all HOWEVER there was a large bear within 300 yards of the campground and we backed off after it grunted for us to stay away. Then on our way back we saw a large deer killed by that bear or a cat the night before. The camp manager was very responsible and warned everyone to bring food in and be in the lookout. The bathrooms were super clean and we loved the people.

This place is first come first serve camping (as of July 2020) and finding a spot during the week after 4th of July was pretty hard. We were lucky and scored one of the last spots at noon right after someone left. Prices are $18 a night, cash only, and have access to a fire ring, picknick table, and pit toilets. Camp host had firewood for $7. Lake access is only a short walk away but it does get really busy with day use people. This was a beautiful spot but compaired to other colorado campgrounds this one needs some updating with the bathrooms, as the women’s felt like you were about to fall through the floor. We were unfortunately next to 3 dumpsters and all were overflowing, so just be aware it’s not the sexiest spot but the lake makes up for it.

This is one of my favorite campsites, there is both a pay area with amenities and there are free campsites just a little further away from the lake. Tons of great hiking all over and some decent fishing in the lake. The area is very popular and it can be difficult to find a spot on busy weekends, luckily there are tons of other free places to camp very near here if these are all filled up.