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sillyme's avatar
sillyme
Explorer
Jan 01, 2019

Other than RMNP, what can u do in Denver area?

My hubby John and I (I use a scooter to get around most of the time as I can’t walk long distances anymore due to various medical reasons) are coming to CO for 2 weeks starting 6/29/19. We’ll be renting a 30’ Class C and right after that we’ll need to have some camping facilities booked somewhere. The only thing my husband has said that he wants to do so far is; rent a car so that we can go into Denver proper to visit the State Mint, visit some type of Mexican town that he recalls from his childhood, visit the RMNP, he wants to do some hiking, mountain biking and who knows what else. We might meet up with one or 2 of his nephews for a few days of camping but that’s about it. My dilemma is that I always do the itinerary but for some reason, I don’t have a clue as to where to start etc... what I know for sure is that I have to return the RV the morning of July 13th. I also know that we’re coming at the worse time of the year to visit the Park and that if I had it my way, I would have gone in September but .... we’ve already been to Colorado Springs and its surroundings as well as Pikes Mountain and the train and also to the Royal Gorge then the Great Sand Dune Nat’l Park, Durango then Mesa Verde Nat’l Park. And Just last Spring we went from Denver s/b on 25 all the way through NM to I-10 W/B to Nogales ( slight detour) then N/B and N/W through Tucson, Phoenix, and so on. All that to say we’ve seen some of Colorado but there’s still a lot to see I know. We even went to Dr.Jeff, Rocky Mountain Vet’s Clinic but he wasn’t there... So where should we go during those 2 weeks other than where I said? Don’t worry about making sure that both of us can or want to do what you are suggesting as I usually need to sleep in the afternoon... I’m eager to read what you have to say.
  • Thank you so much for all these suggestions. They surely would keep one busy for a long time! But I’d like to pick your brain some more if I could or anyone’s brain for suggestions as to where we could spend another week west or north of the city. I’m sure there must be an area or one or 2 National or Private Parks where we could relax for a few days before turning back around.
    We have made the decision to visit the RMNP during our second week so we can avoid the insanity of the 4th of July! I hope I’m not asking too much but I thank anyone who can help me with this last request.
  • sillyme wrote:
    Thank you so much for all these suggestions. They surely would keep one busy for a long time! But I’d like to pick your brain some more if I could or anyone’s brain for suggestions as to where we could spend another week west or north of the city. I’m sure there must be an area or one or 2 National or Private Parks where we could relax for a few days before turning back around.
    We have made the decision to visit the RMNP during our second week so we can avoid the insanity of the 4th of July! I hope I’m not asking too much but I thank anyone who can help me with this last request.


    The 180 day booking window is now open for mid-week the week of July 7th if you want to consider booking a site inside RMNP, either at Glacier Basin or Moraine Park.

    H E R E - Roosevelt National Forest USFS CG are some of the USF campgrounds in the region. Camp Dick, Peaceful Valley, Olive Ridge are all USFS CG that are located south of Estes Park along the Peak to Peak highway and are 3 of my go to locations for the season. There are 3 campgrounds in the Red Feather Lakes area, all are very popular, but if you are there during the week, it should be far less crowded. and the ones showing for Rustic are in the Poudre Canyon (CO 14) northwest of Fort Collins. The further up the canyon you go, the less crowded it will be.

    And on the west side of Cameron Pass, there's T H I S - CO State Forest SP where I would suggest Ranger Lakes as a place to stay for some solitude. I use it frequently for a base to explore Jackson County/North Park area.

    There are also commercial CG in the Estes Park area, but they are way over priced, IMHO.

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