Well I was finally able to get all the stars aligned and get the family out for a quick camping outing this weekend to RMNP! This has been an on going challenge between basketball, sickness, church activities and weather! Anyway, with a slight warming trend that brought night time temps out of the single digits we ventured off into the moutains for a quick get away of s'more over an open fire, surrounded by the elk of RMNP and its snow covered peaks. Best of all Moraine Park Campground was deserted except for one other van camper when we got there....other than that we had the place to ourselves (minus the elk) which is the complete opposite come warmer weather when that place fills up with hundreds of people...which is when we go looking for other more remote places to camp!We hope to do this again soon, and hopefully this time we'll go for more than just an overnight adventure. This time we went without adding water to the system and just used bottle water to drink, wash dishes and brush teeth. As easy as it is to winterize these new campers and as warm as the compartments are (I opened the control panel door that contains the black/grey tank pull valves and it was actually toasty in there) I wouldn't be concerned with adding water to the system the next time and just re-treating the system. Anyway...hope you enjoyed!!!

Love the post, and the TC setup.

Looks to me like you and your family had a great time even if it was for a short time. Thanks for sharing your pics.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I can't believe how much snow is in your pictures. I just dug my camper out of the back yard last week under almost 2 feet of snow. Hopefully I'll be getting out real soon too. If you bring enough propane to keep the furnace going you won't freeze the pipes even if it gets down around zero. If it's going to be below 0 though I just sit at home by the fireplace cause it's too cold for me to play anyway. I'm fine if it gets down around zero at night but returns to at least the 20's during the day.

A ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK WINTER OUTING | Good Sam Community

22 Replies

pconroy328
Explorer
Jan 26, 2016
usmcshepherd wrote:

Pconroy328...we have been to Carter Lake this past summer when it was hot and crowded....didn't really care for the crowd but I imagine going up there now would be much nicer.

It was empty that day! :B

Redfeather Lakes is supposedly open year round too. It's on my to-do list.
hedgehopper
Explorer
Jan 26, 2016
usmcshepherd wrote:
Hedgehooper....we have never been to Mueller State Park...is it open for camping during the winter? It looks like a beautiful park....we've watched a couple videos and it appears to be a great location. Have you been there during the winter to camp or sled/snowshoe?
Mueller is open for camping all year. We've camped and hiked in the snow. Don't recall if we used our snowshoes, though there was at least one time we didn't wear them and wished we had: the snow was up to our knees on one part of the trail. But on other parts we did fine with our Yaktrax.
jefe_4x4
Explorer
Jan 26, 2016
Gunny, thanks for the very nice, if short ride into the Rockies. You have a perfect setup for winter camping. Keep on doing this and post some more pics.
Semper Fi (to you, not me, actually the 562d U.S.A.F. Band)
jefe
billyray50
Explorer
Jan 26, 2016
Nice trip report and nice Lance. Thanks.
Paradox123
Explorer
Jan 26, 2016
Mueller SP is great in winter. I usually get there a couple of times each winter. Sometimes I've been the only camper in the Park. Of course, I'm retired and go between Sunday and Thursday (camping fees are lower then too). Mueller has a great trail system and, depending on snow conditions, snowshoeing can be good. I've seen a variety of wildlife there too: deer, elk, turkey, fox, coyote, bobcat. Give it a try.
usmcshepherd
Explorer II
Jan 25, 2016
Hedgehooper....we have never been to Mueller State Park...is it open for camping during the winter? It looks like a beautiful park....we've watched a couple videos and it appears to be a great location. Have you been there during the winter to camp or sled/snowshoe?

Pconroy328...we have been to Carter Lake this past summer when it was hot and crowded....didn't really care for the crowd but I imagine going up there now would be much nicer.

We'd like to head back up to the mountains sometime in Feb perhaps so if anyone in the Dever/Front Range area wants to link up for a mini TC group outing let me know...perhaps President Day Weekend!
Bedlam
Moderator
Jan 25, 2016
I'm only at 4000', but we do have a 6' snow base.

If the picture looks familiar, my last truck was also parked here with less snow.
pconroy328
Explorer
Jan 25, 2016
Head on up to Carter Lake. We drove through it yesterday, but didn't stay the night. We were surrounded by deer. Must've been a hundred of them. And it too was deserted.
hedgehopper
Explorer
Jan 25, 2016
usmcshepherd wrote:
Moraine Park Campground was deserted except for one other van camper when we got there....other than that we had the place to ourselves (minus the elk) which is the complete opposite come warmer weather when that place fills up with hundreds of people...which is when we go looking for other more remote places to camp!
Hey neighbor! We too like to hit the campgrounds when the crowds are gone. Our favorite is Mueller State Park, in Divide, west of Colorado Springs. Have you checked it out yet?

I see you are not put off by the cold weather. But what would I expect from a USMC guy? I'll bet your kids are not put off by the cold weather either. Kids can be so flexible at times.
zb39
Explorer
Jan 25, 2016
Awesome!!