Colorado Rockies

[Debbie]

Planning trip to Colorado in a couple of weeks. We have been to different places in CO. but not up by the Rockies. First any suggestions on places to stay. I was kind of looking for a place to camp either on the way up or back where there is a lake you could camp by. Not into the real tourist stuff. We are looking for a nice place to spend a week, little hiking, fishing and just relaxing. Wasn't sure which side of the Rockies to camp on. Recommend any places. No kids just a little dog.

We have been to Lake City several times. Stayed at Highlander (people were really nice, CC is like a parking lot) and rented a jeep. Lots of fun. Been to Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Colorado Springs, Denver. So many great suggestions. Need to figure it out soon, leaving on the 26th of Aug. I guess I will start looking up all the suggested parks. Thanks everyone.

[Jayla]

Someone on here mentioned 11-Mile and I would second that. We weren't into camping much when I was growing up but we have been here and fished A LOT and drove through the campgrounds and stuff and it was always very decent looking. You will also be in the area of the Platte River (I think it's the PLatte - to the North of Lake George along the way towards Tarryall Road) and it is a great place to fish and I believe they also have camping there. You can tube in the river and there are places to wade out. PLenty of grocery shopping in the area. About an hour west of COlorado Springs and I belive highway 24 is fourlane most of the way.

[LowRyter]

deleted

[russkerri]

Debbie wrote:
russkerri we stayed at Grand Lake called Elk Creek Campground. It was about a 5-10 minute drive to the RMNP. Nice park we had lots of space. Nice people. Elk and suppose to be moose in campground occasionally we didn't see any. We drove to the RMNP over to Estes Park one day for lunch. We packed our lunch and had it a few days in the RMNP. Grand Lake town is cute with shops, restaurants, we sat and listened to music in the park. Would stay there again. Grand Lake is pretty, Granby lake is also close by with lake things to do.

Thank you for the tips. We visited Estes Park for a couple of days a few years ago and loved the Rockies (especially the weather), so we want to return with more time to explore. We are also spending a week in the Carbondale area, which looks to be much quieter. We'll definitely look into Grand Lake. I like that it sounds less crowded, and none of the RV parks in Estes get raving reviews.

[LowRyter]

Timber Creek Campground is in the park just NE of Grand Lake entrance.

I like Grand Lake much better than Estes Park.

[tmm2good]

disregard..

[Debbie]

russkerri we stayed at Grand Lake called Elk Creek Campground. It was about a 5-10 minute drive to the RMNP. Nice park we had lots of space. Nice people. Elk and suppose to be moose in campground occasionally we didn't see any. We drove to the RMNP over to Estes Park one day for lunch. We packed our lunch and had it a few days in the RMNP. Grand Lake town is cute with shops, restaurants, we sat and listened to music in the park. Would stay there again. Grand Lake is pretty, Granby lake is also close by with lake things to do. Visit the visitors center that's how we found out about the music in the park. We also had fun in Montrose, CO. loved the Black Canyon of Gunnison. Visitors center there we found out about a farmers market, wine tasting event, etc. Enjoyed our stay there. We then headed to Durango, CO. We have been there years ago. We rode the train to Silverton, put our dog in doggie daycare close by. Mesa Verde, Aztec ruins,shops, restaurants etc. Nice trip. Suggestion is to check roads for construction and road closures, it really helped us.

[russkerri]

Debbie wrote:
Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. We drove the first night to Dalhart,TX. Then drove to Colorado Springs stayed at the AF Academy Famcamp 4 days. Then drove to Grand Lake (Elk Creek Campground). nice spot no wifi but they have it in TV room. We have spent the last two days in the RMNP. We leave on Thursday for Black Canyon of Gunnison for Labor Day weekend then to Durango. Not sure next stop to back home. Thanks again Deb

We are staying at Cedar Creek RV Campground in Montrose. We are a little close to our neighbor about 6 inches away. But the park is shady and nice people.

Where did you stay for RMNP? We are going there next summer and haven't figured out where to stay.

[Debbie]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. We drove the first night to Dalhart,TX. Then drove to Colorado Springs stayed at the AF Academy Famcamp 4 days. Then drove to Grand Lake (Elk Creek Campground). nice spot no wifi but they have it in TV room. We have spent the last two days in the RMNP. We leave on Thursday for Black Canyon of Gunnison for Labor Day weekend then to Durango. Not sure next stop to back home. Thanks again Deb

We are staying at Cedar Creek RV Campground in Montrose. We are a little close to our neighbor about 6 inches away. But the park is shady and nice people.

[rbtglove]

Timber Creek is right inside the Park entrance and visitor center, no hookups,good location. Close tothe old historic dude ranch. If you need hook ups there is a campground across from the visitor center on county rd 491 that looked good and has Horse rentals and stuff kids would like. Don't remember the name of it.

[Thom02099]

What campground would you recommend for Grand Lake/Granby area?


Depends on whether you want amenities or not.

If you're looking for FHU, in Granby/Tabernash there's Snow Mountain Ranch at the YMCA of the Rockies. Campground is very nice. H E R E is more info; website is a bit cumbersome, to the right on the page, for lodging type, use the drop down to choose "campground", and input your dates for consideration.

In Grand Lake, there's Elk Creek and Winding River Resort, both offering FHU sites and both highly rated for the area. H E R E is more information on both.

If no (or limited) hookups, consider several options. There's the Timber Creek CG inside RMNP that's an excellent choice, even though it's open (trees removed due to beetle kill) with limited shade. Temps don't get overly warm there, so it's a trade off. No hookups, it's first come/first served.

There's also Arapaho Bay, Stillwater, and Green Ridge CG (USFS-Arapaho National Forest)in the area around Lake Granby/Shadow Mountain Reservoir, all highly rated and the views are simply incredible. Some sites are available with electric. H E R E is more info on the USFS sites mentioned, and more.

[debraindi]

Thom02099 wrote:

debraindi wrote:
We stayed at Ridge Way st park a week wide open grass lands with paved roads then up north to ft Collins Horse tooth Reservoir . I suggest making reservation. I see several places along HY 14 where a big rig could Boon dock. The national parks are nice first come first serve and most had spaces open.There is 67 st parks in Co have fun and some are not worthy staying like State forest st park dangerous for a big rv.

Sorry, gonna have to disagree with you on some points here.

If you're referring to Rocky Mountain National Park, first come/first served is very limited this year. Moraine Park is all reservations, whereas in the past B Loop has been first come/first served. Not this year. Glacier basin has one loop that is still first come/first served.

State Forest State Park has several different campgrounds available. I was just up at Ranger Lakes this past weekend, and it is certainly not dangerous for a big RV -- there were quite a number in there, including some big diesel pushers, and large 5ers. The place was completely full for most of the weekend. Ranger Lakes also offers electric hookups. North Michigan and Bockman are a bit more remote, and are no hookups, a good place to boondock. Of the 2, North Michigan is more appealing. The Crags is the only one where trailers and motor homes are not recommended, as the access is steep and narrow.

Ranger Lakes in the State Forest SP is a really good base camp location for exploring the Jackson County area around Walden, as well as the upper Poudre Canyon and the Laramie River Valley. And speaking of the Laramie River Valley, there are 2 good campgrounds there (Tunnel and Brown's Park) that are good places to stay. I was in the Valley as well this weekend and there were several big rigs there, so it is accessible to a variety of rigs.

Larimer and Jackson Counties have a lot to offer for someone looking to hike, fish and just relax! Off the beaten path, us locals love it up there, and it's certainly not touristy. If you want touristy, there's always Estes Park! 😉 :E

St forest St park was miserable dirt road 3 miles to the first turn around . A guy with new 2015 37 ft fiver with 2015 Duramax pop his trk window out turning around by the lake . I just made the turn around my self, boondocking area we agreed its nothing like the website pictures. I had my Harley and rode it through the national park sigh seeing looking at all the open sights this was summer and school was out last month. Hyw 14 was is amazing ride as Rocky MT national forest but there was way too many cars and would never ride it again during summer months

[Debbie]

rbtglove wrote:
Just got back from Grand Lake/Granby area. Caught some nice trout, hiked up over 12K feet. Several decent campgounds in that area, close to RMNP, and lots of things to see and do.

What campground would you recommend for Grand Lake/Granby area?

[padredw]

I'm going to make a couple of assumptions about the original post.

Seems like here "Rockies" may be used in the more limited sense of "Rocky Mountain National Park" since the OP has been in Lake City and other places which are in the "Rockies" in a more general sense.

Another assumption: "on the way" would be between Altus, OK and Rocky Mountain National Park.

I could be wrong about both of these, but if I'm right, a place that comes to mind with 'on the way' and 'beside a lake' might be Trinidad State Park near Trinidad, CO.

Anyway, I'll just add that to the mix.

[TxTwoSome]

you might want to check out Taylor Lake and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.