Estes Park campgrounds and green jeep tours

I too love RMNP, but not Estes Park. My first trip there was in 1957 and I spent a summer working as a surveyor in the RMNP area in the 1960's. But now I won't go to Estes except in mid-September and even then never on a weekend.

My suggestion is don't miss it but, as others have suggested, go to Granby-Grand Lake, not Estes. There are a number of Forest Service campgrounds around Granby Reservoir and Shadow Mountain Lake. We like the Stillwater cg for the e!ectricity, but, if you have a generator, you could stay at any of them. Then rent a car or reserve a van service in Granby or Winter Park and take a day trip over Trail Ridge Road through the west entrance.

Avalanche car rental in Granby HERE.

Limo van service over Trail Ridge from Winter Park: http://www.coloradotour.com/services/

For more info on camping along US 40, see my blog HERE.

With not having a toad, I would forgo tourist spots till bettered prepared and a little more driving experience. A bad first trip can weight on your mind for a long while.

Heck, Estes Park was a tourist trap 50 years ago and I may regret this some day but there is another entrance to RMNP...Grand Lake. I go there without reservations but I tow a car so never tried to rent a car/Jeep. Plenty of private and public CGs even a fairly new one inside the park. Not sure why, but you could day trip to E Park.

H E R E - Estes Park is a previous post that may have some useful information for you.

In a nutshell:

Trail Ridge Road is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend. They shoot for that every year. Some years it works out, others not so much. A couple of seasons back they got it plowed through and open, but couldn't keep it open due to late season storms dumping a foot+ up there.

The good news about Estes Park is they have a lot of shuttles around town and they are free. There's shuttles from the various CG inside the park, as well as some of the commercial RV parks. And shuttles can take you up to Bear Lake, but there is a very good chance it will still be frozen over and snow on the trail around the lake. Other lake trails in the area that high up will also likely still be snowed in, or will be extremely muddy. Lower elevation trails should be a better opportunity, if you're into hiking.

The bad news about Estes Park is your chances of finding a place to stay will be slim to none. The CGs inside the park are likely completely booked. There is an off chance of finding something in a commercial park; check the parks noted in my link on RVParkreviews.com. I would start with Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake if you're going to consider commercial. They have FHU as well as W/E and no hookup sites, so you might be able to luck out.

Those shuttles mentioned previously? You'll need them, because I can assure you, there won't be much at all in the way of parking for a Class C in the downtown area. All of the parking lots fill up early, and stay full until late evening. There's parking at the visitor's center and the fairgrounds, but even those can fill up, particularly if there's any sort of event going on in town...and there usually is SOMETHING going on all the time downtown.

I can't offer you any feedback on the Green Jeep tours, since I've never done one. I can tell you that, over the past several seasons (I go up every year and have done so for close to 40 years) there seems to have been an increase in the number of tour vehicles seen up on Trail Ridge.

I know this all sounds like I'm down on Estes Park. I'm not. I love it up there; if I didn't I wouldn't keep going back year after year. I got my reservations back in December and January, as I have 3 trips planned up there. And there are wonderful places to stay, as well as visit, but timing can be everything. And I don't believe in sugar coating it. This is the reality of a resort town next to a national park that saw ~4.5 million visitors last couple of years. Other people must agree, otherwise it would not be so popular and so packed.

Lived in Estes 8 years after retiring....moved out in 2003. We thought the crowds were terrible then (one of the reasons for moving) and they are far worse now. We keep in touch with people there who are of the type that tell it like it is....kinda like me.

Let's see - your have a 27 foot class C, no toad and no mountain driving experience. Just getting to Estes is mountain driving and, even with low crowds the downtown is packed and parking - even for a car - can be a challenge.

And you could have snow in early to mid June to top it off.

Rocky Mtn NP used to be a beautiful place but disrespectful people, pine beetle killing many of the trees at higher altitudes, overcrowding, very high prices in marginal rv parks have all contributed to its fall from grace. Say nothing of the infighting in the Town politics....all suffer their actions.

We spend our time now in CO over in the San Juans - love Buena Vista.

Email or PM me if you wish more info.

If you've never been to Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park, don't let some of these comments discourage you. It's a gorgeous park and the hiking is awesome. You'll encounter snow on some of the higher trails. Early June is not the prime vacation time and I'd wager you could get a site either in town of Estes or one of the national park campgrounds. You'll have a great time! We volunteered there.

Can't help on the Green Jeep tours.

Definitely go to Colorado but I recommend choosing a different destination than Estes Park. Personally I'd trade Colorado Springs for another destination also. These places are over run with people, expensive crappy camp grounds, and grid locked.

Mbiviano wrote:
Colorado is a big state with tons of campgrounds and endless mtn views. Come on out and see where you land! No reservations=lots of fun if you ask me.

No reservations can be lots of fun unless you're up in Estes Park LOL It sucks getting around there in a regular car, let alone an RV, especially if you don't know exactly where you are going and don't have any mountain driving experience (like the OP)

OP, I might look more at staying in Central CO or somewhere on the Western Slope (like in the areas around Glenwood Springs) You will still get your mountain views but avoid some of the crowds since it's harder to get there from the metro area.

Colorado is a big state with tons of campgrounds and endless mtn views. Come on out and see where you land! No reservations=lots of fun if you ask me.

I think you'll have a really rough time finding a camping spot in June with no reservation in Estes Park. Most good places are booked up well in advance, especially since school is out by June.

I agree if you're retired, try EP (and most of the more popular areas in CO) either before school lets out for the summer, or after it starts back up.