Forum Discussion

mimosa's avatar
mimosa
Explorer
May 11, 2021

Estes park

We were wondering what would be a nice RV park to stay in closest to Estes Park and if our class C 23 foot is small enough to tour around the National Park
  • If you find any reservable RV spaces in or around Estes Park, snap them up immediately.

    While not ideal, a 23 foot C can be used for sightseeing in RMNP. Read about the timed entry program.
  • Yes, 23 ft RV will tour park just fine. Not sure about RV parks close, but your RV will fit inside in the park campgrounds as well. As I recall, no hook-up in park, but water and dump available.

    We've been numerous times and our TC is 22 ft.
  • A few years back we stayed at the KOA, it was a normal KOA. It was located on the east side of Estes. There are a couple of parks closer to the NP but I do not remember their names. Maybe someone else can help with that. I would stay at the KOA again.
  • mimosa wrote:
    We were wondering what would be a nice RV park to stay in closest to Estes Park and if our class C 23 foot is small enough to tour around the National Park


    There are a variety of RV Parks/campgrounds in the Estes Park area. They include:
    Elk Meadow RV Park
    Spruce Lake RV Park
    Paradise on the River RV Park
    Manor RV Park
    Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake
    KOA Estes Park
    Jellystone Estes Park

    Check campgroundreviews.com for more information on each.

    The first 2 are owned by the same company and are the most expensive. Elk Meadow has a mix of back in and pull thru sites and offers FHU. Paradise on the River usually fills up quickly for the summer season. Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake is run by the Estes Park Recreation and Parks Dept, and is the most reasonable in price. They also offer FHU, W/E only or tent/no hookup sites. KOA is on the east side of town, Jellystone is about 7 miles outside of town on US 36.

    There's also several USFS campgrounds along CO 7 heading south out of Estes Park. The closest is Olive Ridge CG just outside of Allenspark. There's also Peaceful Valley/Camp Dick on CO 72 between Allenspark and Ward.

    You didn't say when you would be travelling, but be aware that most of these parks fill up very quickly for the season so reservations are strongly recommended. Also, most will be opening in various weeks of May 2021, some just before Memorial Day. Memorial Day weekend is likely already booked pretty solid for most if not all of these parks.

    Also, Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road are not open yet. And with the snows in the past few days, any plowing that they've done will need to be plowed again. Trail Ridge usually opens Memorial Day weekend or the weekend after, Old Fall River Rd usually doesn't open until late June/early July. Also, there is a timed reservation entry into RMNP. See their website for more information on that.

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