Colorado State Park Advice

fanrgs wrote:
When we camp at Ridgway SP, we have always stayed at Elk Ridge. Just electric, not FHU, but the nicest spaces at the park. It is our favorite state park because it is within easy driving distance of Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride.

I have not stayed in Estes Park since 1957 and don't intend to any time soon--too "touristy", too crowded, and way too many traffic jams for such a tiny town. When we go to RMNP, we stay at the USFS Stillwater campground just south of Grand Lake. Electric hookups, water, and a dump for a reasonable daily rate, with a 15-minute drive to RMNP West Entrance. Park the trailer there and drive the Ram over Trail Ridge Road to the east side of the park. But DO NOT leave the park! That way you don't have to sit in a traffic jam trying to get back to Grand Lake from the East Entrance in Estes Park.

Note: We have the same truck-trailer models that you do and love both of them!

4runnerguy wrote:
Lots to talk about here. First, the two SP's you mention to visit RMNP give you access to the two different sides of the park. Stagecoach is a long two hour drive just to the Grand Lake area. Golden Gate is 1 1/4 hours to downtown Estes but plan on another 15 to 30 minutes to actually get into the park. So you're looking at three to four hours of commute time every day just to get to the park.

The two different sides of the park are quite different. The hiking on the Estes Park (east) side is more accessible and you reach lakes in much shorter distances. But being on the Denver side of the park, these trails and roads are much more crowded. Estes Park itself is a zoo during the summer months. Getting through town can take quite some time. But there are more tourist shops there if that's your (or your wife's) interest.

On the east side, we prefer Moraine Park CG within the park. No hookups, but there are flush toilets (which makes the DW happy). Also a dump station on the way out of the CG. There are great views of Longs Peak from the sites above the road to Cub and Fern Lakes (campground map). Overall we prefer Moraine Park CG to Glacier Basin as most of the trees that used to be in Glacier Basin were removed due to pine beetle or other such organism. (Maybe they've done similar thinning at Moraine Park in the last year or so since we've been through there.)

On the west side, Timber Creek CG is the only option in the park. But further south, check out Stillwater NFS CG if you need water and electric hookups (dump station there too). Again, very few trees left in this CG.

The town of Grand Lake is much calmer than Estes Park and is right on the lake. Kind of reminds me of what Estes Park was like when I first went there in the 60's. But there's less "easy" hiking on the west side of the park.

As for Ridgway SP, it is nicely located near some amazing mountains around Silverton, Ouray, Telluride. But as it is located in a rather arid area, it doesn't have the same mountain feel. Plus view of the San Juans is pretty limited for most of the campsites at Pa-Co-Chu-Puk since the CG is below the dam.

One thing to consider is that it is further to Ridgway than to RMNP.

As Busskipper already noted, another area you might want to consider is the Upper Arkansas River Valley from Leadville down to Salida. Chaffee County's slogan is "Now This Is Colorado" and that's appropriate. I don't know the age of your kids, but there's river rafting for all experience levels, fishing, biking, hiking, ghost towns (don't miss St. Elmo), plus some really interesting towns. Salida has great restaurants, river tubing right through town, free music in the park along the river and an interesting art scene. (How can any kid or kid-at-heart adult not love a place like the Bungled Jungle? Leadville is a real honest to goodness mining town with some great old architecture. As you travel US 24 between Leadville and Salida there are a string of 14,000' mountains on the west side of the highway for the entire distance. Our nieces grew up in the mountains west of Vail and they still love visiting this area.

One more thing to be aware of. Even in a normal snow year, during the first week in June many trails may still be blocked by snow at the higher elevations. Even as I write this at 2:00 p.m., it's snowing on Vail and Monarch Passes!

Thom02099 wrote:

LibertyMan wrote:
So I am in the beginning phases of planning a Colorado trip for June 2020. I have my reasons, but I am a State Park kinda guy so that's where I want to stay. I was thinking about the RMNP but dang all of the negative things I have come across. Mainly overcrowding and reservations just to hike some trails. Plus I really don't care all that much about having to go through Denver. But, if the wife overrules me I was looking at Stagecoach or Golden Gate. Which of the two do you prefer as far as avoiding crowds. And, which one of the two is easier to access RMNP. The other option I am heavily weighing is Ridgway SP. The area looks really neat and not that I need full hook-up but Pa-Co-Chu-Puk looks inviting with its full hook-ups. If Ridgway wins the decision, is that the better campground or do you all prefer Dakota Terraces or Elk Ridge. Again, I'm just looking for less crowds and good views. Thanks

RMNP has no hook up campgrounds inside the park. If you're OK with that, then consider Glacier Basin as the place to stay. There are 4 loops there; A and B are in the trees and a bit tight, IMO. Loop C is a mix of trees and open, but don't allow generators. Loop D is where I stay, it's open and has a great view of Longs Peak that is different from the usual view. Moraine Park is the other CG there, but it's very hard to get reservations in, so you'd have to be willing to compromise and have several choices in mind. Of the 2, Glacier Basin is the easier one to get reservations.

I am a fanboy of Rocky. I'm up there frequently, have multiple trips planned. The trick to Rocky is to be willing to get up early to hit Trail Ridge Road, or very late in the afternoon/early evening. "Problem" with evening is that the elk will be out in abundance, and thoughtless drivers will stop in the middle of the roadway for the photo op, backing up traffic significantly.

Another trick to Rocky is to use the shuttle system, which is required at some locations such as Bear Lake. Shuttles run from various locations in the park, including the CGs, and also goes into town.

Neither Golden Gate Canyon nor Steamboat SPs are close to RMNP. Steamboat, in particular, is a couple hours drive from the west side of Rocky. Golden Gate is about an hour or so south of Rocky and the east entrance. If you're into hiking it's closer to the SE entrance at Wild Basin, which has some great hiking.

I'm heading up to Golden Gate Canyon SP for Memorial Day weekend. It's a wonderful SP, but it is always crowded due to it's popularity. The campground there that you want is Reverend's Ridge, which has electric at all sites, common water, and a dump station that's easy to access. Loops B and E are all pull thru sites, Loops A, C, and D are all back in sites, but easy to get in. The road and pads are all paved. For the back in sites, try to get one that is at the beginning or end of the circle drive, so you won't have neighbours on both sides. H E R E - RRCG is a map to the CG, look at Loop D, for example. I have #43 reserved, it's great site and I won't be looking at someone else's RV. I've also stayed in C Loop and have reservations in E Loop.

GGCSP is a reservations only park now, as are others in the system. In a random check of various SPs, appears that the whole system has gone reservations only. So competition will become tougher. If this is of interest to you, make SURE you book at exactly 8am EST on the 180 day window date. This is true for all of the Colorado State Parks, the 180 day window. Set up an account ahead of time and be logged in or ready to log in immediately at 8am EST.(I say EST because you will be booking in December or January prior).

Depending on where you're coming from (not necessarily where you're FROM), you don't have to go through Denver, but even if you do, timing can be important. And if you're coming from the east, you may be able to avoid Denver completely. If you want more info, feel free to PM me.

LibertyMan wrote:
So I am in the beginning phases of planning a Colorado trip for June 2020. I have my reasons, but I am a State Park kinda guy so that's where I want to stay. I was thinking about the RMNP but dang all of the negative things I have come across. Mainly overcrowding and reservations just to hike some trails. Plus I really don't care all that much about having to go through Denver. But, if the wife overrules me I was looking at Stagecoach or Golden Gate. Which of the two do you prefer as far as avoiding crowds. And, which one of the two is easier to access RMNP. The other option I am heavily weighing is Ridgway SP. The area looks really neat and not that I need full hook-up but Pa-Co-Chu-Puk looks inviting with its full hook-ups. If Ridgway wins the decision, is that the better campground or do you all prefer Dakota Terraces or Elk Ridge. Again, I'm just looking for less crowds and good views. Thanks

LibertyMan wrote:

Busskipper wrote:

LibertyMan wrote:

So I am in the beginning phases of planning a Colorado trip for June 2020.

Good thing you are planning on 2020 as Colorado State Parks fill early - Especially Golden Gate and Ridgeway.
Couple Questions - How Long? - and when - what season - Summer starts on Memorial Day (Schools Out) and ends in Mid August when schools restarts. Summer is Crowded - and likely reservations in SP's for every weekend. If you were to get a little creative and had some adventure, in your bones, Fall is great in Colorado

Thank you for your input. Very helpful indeed. As far as when and how long.........I am looking at the first part of June and it will be for a full week. Unfortunately, June and July are my only options (school is out and I have three kids) I figured the first part of June would be less crowded and cooler if I did not have AC as an option. I have a decent generator, just never used it in 8000 plus feet so not sure how it would behave.

At 8,000 feet it will be easy to sleep at night - really no need for the A/C.

Look over this post for a few ideas - #6 Colorado and .............. - A week will need to be well planned - as there is so much to see and do there.

Kid's usually want Kids to be around - Active and easy would be the Buena Vista Area - Trails - Hikes - River - Colorado - if you have more time look to Ridgeway and the San Juan's too much to see in just a week. Just a tease - Link - San Juan's

I could go on and on - Big thing is to really plan if you only have a week - Everything packed and leave right after work on Friday to get a big jump on the Drive - Wal*Mart it that first night or two and then enjoy Colorado.

Best of Luck,