1st big trip will be Colorado, but what route?

[likesadvice]

Planning our first big trip this coming late July. I've picked out some spots to visit, but with so many options in Colorado it may be easier to limit our options by eliminating routes we shouldn't probably be pulling a 24' trailer. Any advice where to get information on the best routes to travel in Colorado? We would like to start in Colorado Springs - Ouray - Vail - finish in Rocky Mountain National Park. Thanks for any response.

[littlemo]

Southern Colorado is so beautiful. I think northern parks,( RMNP and Estes Park have been damaged by different plagues the last few years},

The areas around Durango, Silverton, Ouray are gorgeous and have lots to see and do.

San Juan Skyway

Hot Springs pool in Ouray

Durango-Silverton Train

There are several RV parks in Ouray, Silverton and Durango but there are NF campgrounds around too, if you don't need hookups.

[coloradotallman]

I'm with the 4RunnerGuy on the beauty of the Arkansas River Valley (Poncha Springs to Leadville). Some things I left out are the Georgetown Loop Railroad and mine tours, the chance to "climb" a 14'er from Georgetown, the Mtn. Museum and a chance to innertube or raft Clear Creek in Idaho Springs - along with Beau Jo's Pizza or the Tommyknocker Brewery, the Breckenridge Rodeo with free parking afterwards, free music on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights in Summit County, or even to backtrack to the Glenwood Canyon, hike Hanging Lakes or Grizzly Creek, bike the bike path and then soak in the hot springs. Tallman

[BillMFl]

So if you go to Mesa Verde and Durango head north towards Red Mountain on 550 for some of the best scenery in Co. And the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is spectacular and has a nice camp ground right on the way. From there head over to Aspen, then take the back road thru Independence Pass to Leadville. All great scenery and no Interstate type traffic. Vail is a short ride from Leadville and from there you are very close to the back entry to Rocky Mtn NP.

[Ron_Butler]

Just some random thoughts from our 2 months spent in CO. several years ago.

Use a wagon wheel approach to visiting places. Pick a somewhat central location and then use car to tour out from there. Saves a lot of frustration with the mountains and rig.

RMNP is a must of course. We dry camped in the campground for a week and had a great time.

The state parks of CO. are outstanding. Cheyenne Mt. SP outside of Colorado Springs is spectacular. The problem with their state parks is that for many/most of them, you have or should make reservations ahead of time just to be safe. The only other problem with CO is the lack of oxygen in the state!! :B

Great Sand Dunes NP and Manasa - Jack Dempsey's birthplace - are worth the visit. Also, Old Fort Bent is like stepping back into the old west.

Go to our travel blog to see more specific information and Picaso website for our pictures.

Enjoy your trip.

Go to our travel blog link to see accounts and pictures of our 2 months there.

[likesadvice]

Vemilye, beautiful pictures, too bad my little ones aren't up to a hike that extreme. Coloradotallman, thanks for the tips. Copper Mountain sounds awesome, we like "free".

[coloradotallman]

For a bit of small tourist to large tourist as long as you are in Poncha Springs, I would head to Salida (river bike path), Buena Vista, Leadville (the Timberline Train) and then north on CO 91 (stop at Clinton Res. for an easy, scenic hike) to Copper Mountain(free boondocking and free chairlift rides and right on the bike path) I-70 and Summit County with Dillon, Frisco and Breckenridge. Yes, then onto I-70 and Denver to MN. Check out ColoradoInfo.Com for weekly event calendars.

[vermilye]

If you are in the area around Glenwood Springs, a hike I enjoyed was to Hanging Lake. Photos from my visits.

[DesertHawk]

Yep, I saw that about crossing off Independence Pass from your plans. I wouldn't advise driving it towing a TT, but it would be a nice day trip using a TV for sightseeing if in the area.

Seems like you guys have been having some very fridge temps up your way last few days. Stay warm.

Good time to plan summer trips.

[4runnerguy]

likesadvice wrote:
Funny thing, my wife uses 4runnergirl as here username on various sites. The kids are going to be nearly 10 and 8 by the time of our trip. I really appreciate your idea of not spreading ourselves so thing and just concentrating on one area. Any favorite campgrounds in the Buena Vista/ Leadville trip? We are more than ok going a few days off hookups if you have any boondocking suggestions.

I told my wife about 4runnergirl and all she could say was "another girlfriend, eh?" 😉

As far as NFS campgrounds near Salida/BV, here's some things I've written from some of my posts in the past:

For kids, the Salida/Buena Vista/Leadville area is tops in the state IMHO. There are so many activities there, both free and pay. We take our nieces there a couple of times a year, and they love it, even though they already live in the mountains. The river rafting is some of the best in the state (for all ability levels), there are many ghost towns to explore, a variety of lakes and rivers to fish, both road and mountain biking (rentals available), jeeping for all levels, and several nice hot springs pools for the kids to swim and the adults to relax (check out the stream-side pools at Mount Princeton Hot Springs). For more info on Chaffee County, look here. Don't miss the St. Elmo ghost town (easy graded gravel road). In Leadville, there is a paved bike trail all the way around the town with many stops with information signs showing historical points of interest. On a rainy day, the Mining Museum there is a great place to spend a few hours. Downtown Salida has really improved in the last 5-10 years. Some really interest shops and off the wall art galleries, along with a variety of restaurants from burgers to upscale. What kid wouldn't want to visit an art gallery that looks like this?

In terms of places to stay, O'Haver Lake is a NFS CG near Salida with no hookups, but right on the lake. The kids can go fish or skip rocks anytime they want. And views of the mountains reflecting in the water is a nice benefit. Cottonwood Lake CG is another NFS CG a little further from its namesake lake, but refurbished in the last few years. There are a number of boondocking locations above Cottonwood Lake but get there by Thursday noon or they'll be full. There are several nice CG's around Turquoise Lake up by Leadville, but can be some snow until mid June. On the road up to St. Elmo along Chalk Creek, there are more great NFS CG's (esp. Chalk Lake CG), although Iron City CG, up by St. Elmo, wouldn't be high on my list for an RV.

Plan on at least several days there. Great river rafting opportunities for all skill levels in the Arkansas River. Another day you can drive up to the St. Elmo ghost town. Day trip over Cottonwood Pass to Taylor Park Reservoir and visit Tin Cup Ghost town. Try your luck at fishing at O'Haver Lake near Salida or Cottonwood Lake near BV. Grab some grub at K's Drive Inn in BV and eat in the park. Day trip up to Leadville to take in the mining museum and other sights in this two mile high mining town. Another day trip over Independence Pass and through Aspen so you can view Maroon Bells and see why they end up on so many calendars. Using the Salida/Buena Vista area as a base, one can easily spend a week and barely scratch the surface of things to do.

[likesadvice]

Deserthawk, thanks for the San Isabel link. I was looking at google earth near Twin Lakes and think I saw those campsites. Independence Pass has already been crossed off my map. Our cooks night out is letting our crockpot do the work.

[DesertHawk]

We enjoyed pizza in Leadville many moons ago. In '97, going from Aspen to Leadville Area, we found & camped by Twin Lakes at a forest service campground. A very nice campground, beautiful Lakes, nice canoeing on them.

Twin Lakes Campgrounds: Dexter ** Lake View ** Parry Peak ** Twin Peaks ** White Star
http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/rockymtn/si.htm
I believe we stayed at White Star:
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The elevation is 9,200 ft.

The campground, one of five in the Twin Lakes Recreation Area, is
composed of three loops - Valley, Ridge and Sage. The Sage Loop
is very open with little to no shade, long level parking aprons
and closest to the Twin Lakes Reservoir. Ridge Loop is above the
reservoir among mature Ponderosa pine. Some sites have a view of
the reservoir with shorter parking aprons. The Valley Loop is a
fragrant combination of sage understory and Ponderosa overstory
with some very long parking aprons and no wheelchair friendly
vault. Twin Lakes, CO is on the National Register of Historic
Places. It is an interesting day trip and a good place for the
cook's night out. Firewood is available for a fee.

There are other camping sites in the area as well: San Isabel National Forest: http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/rockymtn/sicmp.htm.

This is bear country; practice safe food storage techniques.

Follow CO 82 from Twin Lakes area to Independence Pass, a very neat & scenic area. This will take you to Aspen as well. Not easy to get RVs by one section of the road, only one lane with a boulder blocking the way. But we got our C-Class MH by it towing a Geo Metro with a 17' canoe on the Metro's roof. Didn't loose the mirror either. A few were on the ground there however. The boulder is part of the mountain, never been cleared. Don't believe it has been either.

[likesadvice]

Thanks, Padredw. The 550 link confirmed another road crossed off my map. Appreciate the campground advice.

[RWDIII]

Just west of Denver on I70 is lookout mountain.
the Buffalo Bill Museum and a herd of Buffalo.

[padredw]

Very wise decision about Independence Pass. I would not tow any trailer on that route. The road becomes one lane in several places.

From Colorado Department Transportation:

Who can drive on the Pass?

Oversize and overweight vehicles are strictly prohibited from using the Pass at any time due to narrow and winding roads and steep inclines. Absolutely no vehicles over 35 feet in length may use the Pass at any time. Length and weight limits remain in place due to several existing single lane-only widths and tight curves in today¹s roadway.

We have stayed in several of the RV parks in Buena Vista. I suppose our favorite is Arrowhead RV Park, about 5 miles north of town (on the way toward Leadville). We used the KOA out south of town for several years and found it very positive. I enjoyed the KOA because I could hike right out of the park and do rock scrambling all the way up Midland Hill and on into Buena Vista. These are great memories.

As to the Silverton-Ouray route I suggest you read a very recent post:

Million Dollar Highway

We have often gone from Leadville to Estes Park following I-70 to the Central City area where we take the "peak to peak" highway. HOWEVER, the whole area around Estes Park was devastated by massive floods last year. Any "skirting" of RMNP will require checking out those conditions.