Grand lake

If you go be sure to eat breakfast at the fat cat cafe!

Our favorite place to stay in the Grand lake area is Winding River Resort. It is between RMNP and Grand lake. We always see lots of wildlife in the area. Last time we were there, there were two moose right in the campground. The wagon ride is fun as is the horseback riding. They have pancake breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. You can also ride ATV's out of the campground.

Make reservations soon as September is a busy month because of the aspen changing and the elk bugling. Plus, the NFS tends to close some CG's right after Labor Day.

Just got back last night from Grand Lake. Been a while since we've been there, but I'm still shocked by the dead trees and large areas that they have clear cut. At least the "baby" trees are now 6' to 8' tall. Now if I can just make it to 100, it will be a forest like I remember from my youth.

Winding River might be hard to get into you should move quickly.

Olive Ridge is a nice enough campground; was just up there last weekend. However...it's about 90 minutes to 2 hours (depending on traffic) from where OP was inquiring -- Grand Lake. Closes this season on Sept. 23rd.

Olive Ridge around Allenspark is very nice NFS campground. You have easy access to the East Side RMNP areas and it makes for a nice base camp dry camping. The Meadow Mountain cafe is an awesome place for breakfast. Haven't been in a few years but used to be run by a hippie. You came in and grabbed a mug and filled your own coffee cup. The ranges and locals come here and you can ask questions and get answers about places only they know. It's an easy day trip to Grand Lake and most anywhere else. Grand Lake got wasted by the Pine Beetles. Nice to visit but not the same as I knew for 20 years prior. There used to be a German Restaurant down the road toward Denver. The canyon you come up to Allenspark from the south is awesome unto itself. Early Sept AFTER the kids go to school is about the best time to go imho. And, for a relatively easy hike try the Meadow Mountain trail. Beautiful amazing views at the top looking up the spine of the park. Gem Mountain to the North is relatively easy. Twin Sisters is beautiful as is Estes Cone. And be sure to eat at "Sweet Basilico the Italian place in Estes Park that is in an old Pizza Hut. Awesome Italian food. I first went in like 1998. We never miss. We haven't been since the last flood though. Oh there is a public artisian well with some of the best water in the world there in Allen's Park. We used to fill up prior to hikes. Donate a buck.

Winding River. We have been there dozens of times since the mid 80's. It is close to the west entrance, there is horseback riding, and as stated earlier dry sites to FHU sites.

In September you may actually catch the elk rutting. Also moose roaming through the park.

Ken

"Best" is always subjective, depending on what your needs/wants are in a CG. That said, there are some choices.

Two commercial CG/RV Parks just outside of town on the way in to RMNP. Winding River Resort and Elk Creek CG and RV Park. Both are nice, Winding River has a a choice of no hookup, W/E hookup and FHU sites, and is a bit spread out. Sort of like camping on a ranch, it has the kind of vibe to it.

Inside Rocky, there's Timber Creek CG, which is all first come/first served sites. Though I've seen rigs your size there, it's fairly tight for bigger rigs. Tight not due to trees, as they've been cut down, just that the sites cater more to tenters and smaller rigs. But it could be doable.

South of town there's about a half dozen USFS sites that could be doable for you. Stillwater CG has some W/E sites. The others don't. H E R E - Arapaho NF is a link that will take you to the USFS website. The ones listed for Granby are what to look for. Most of these will be able to handle bigger rigs, as I've always seen large 5ers and MHs there.

If you are OK with being a bit further out, there's Snow Mountain Ranch at the YMCA of the Rockies. Great sites there, they have FHU sites available and can handle bigger rigs.

A caveat. Depending on when you plan to go in September, some of these may be closed or closing. When looking at the USFS sites, look to their season opening/closing date. Stillwater for example, has Sept 22 listed as closing date, while Green Ridge is open until Oct 14. Also, some of these will most likely be fully reserved until the end of their season. Winding River is open until Oct 1.