Leadville CO area questions

[welove2drive]

DH and I and our dog are thinking about heading to Colorado. I have been researching and looking for a campground on a lake with beautiful view. We have a 33' TT. I am considering the Leadville, CO area in mid August for 4-5 nights. I am looking at Whitestar camp at Twin Lakes. We are interested in the Train ride in Leadville, exploring Independence Pass and visiting Buena Vista. Twin Lakes is between the towns and at Indep. Pass so it seems like a good choice. Also looking at Molly Brown camp at Turquoise Lake in Leadville.

Let me know your thoughts or comparisons of these two campgrounds or others that I may have missed. Ease of pulling a tote to the dump station. The only dump open by Molly Brown is at Printer Boy. That looks far on the map.

Have you rented a boat at Twin Lakes?
Did you do the train ride? We can take our dog (Golden retriever 1 1/2 yrs.+) on the train. Have you rode with your dog?
Do you need to drive all the way to Aspen to get the best out of Independence Pass?
Highlights of your trip to this area?

I have googled these places and read some posts in this forum. I found a couple of recent years reviews but most are several years old. I read that Quincy's restaurant in Leadville is good.

Thanks for reading!
Marcia

[welove2drive]

Thank you for all of the great tips. I will copy it to my notes. I think we are going to travel around with out reservations. That is fun.

[donut_dave]

we were at molly brown last june. our site (6) was right on the lake.
our 26 footer fit perfectly but I think anything bigger might have had some issues. in site 6, we had to back down the driveway. which I didn't know until I got there.
make res for august right away. the res window for recreation.gov is 6 months. not sure about sites at the other cgs there. I road my bike through them but didn't look at any specific sites. I did, however, feel that molly brown was the best of the cgs there.

[4runnerguy]

welove2drive wrote:
Wow! Thanks to all of you for so much great information! I forgot to mention that we will be in CO probably Monday - Thursday. I am really concerned about altitude sickness. Maybe we should look for a lower elevation to explore for two days then move to a higher elevation.
Is the Garden of the Gods (6,400') low enough? Any suggestions? We like National and State parks.
Since we will be there during the week do you think that we would have any problem finding a site for two days in a couple of locations?

First, I wouldn't worry too much about altitude sickness, esp. if you stay a little lower than Leadville. Affects only a small percentage of the visitors here anyway. (In the last three days, I met several hundred people visiting CO from lower elevations like Atlanta, Nashville, NYC, Florida, and Dallas. Even though we were well above 10,000', no one in any of the groups had altitude sickness.) If you want to avoid higher elevations, follow my recommendation and head to Salida. At just over 7000' it's not much higher than Garden of the Gods. And once you get a campsite, just park it for those few days and drive out from there, rather than waste the time moving. As far as finding a place midweek, you might have luck with those sites that are first come, first served. If history is a guide, I think all of the reserved sites will be booked weeks before your trip. About half the sites at O'Haver NFS CG are FCFS. All of Cottonwood Lake CG is FCFS. There are some FCFS sites at White Star. Perry Peak just above Twin Lakes is all FCFS IIRC. Generally sites are available there midweek.

[welove2drive]

Wow! Thanks to all of you for so much great information! I forgot to mention that we will be in CO probably Monday - Thursday. I am really concerned about altitude sickness. Maybe we should look for a lower elevation to explore for two days then move to a higher elevation.
Is the Garden of the Gods (6,400') low enough? Any suggestions? We like National and State parks.
Since we will be there during the week do you think that we would have any problem finding a site for two days in a couple of locations?

[katet78]

We have not camped at Molly Brown, but Baby Doe is a nice campground on Turquoise Lake. They do have some longer sites, so fitting in a spot shouldn't be a problem, but the driveway/road is tight with rocks and trees on the edges which can make backing in to your site a little "fun". If you don't mind some small scratches from pine needles on your camper or TV then any site in your length would probably work. The Turquoise Lake area does book up very quickly. We just booked our summer camping last weekend and most Turquoise Lake campgrounds were sold out for the larger sites every weekend through the summer.

White Star at Twin Lakes is a very nice campground as well, and usually does have something available throughout the summer, even weekends. I think this is due to the fact that it really isn't near a town (at least not as close as Turquoise Lake is to say Leadville). One thing to note about Twin Lakes, regardless of what the campground descriptions say, neither campground there (Lakeview or White Star) is right on the lake or "waterfront". Lakeview is up the hill a bit from Twin Lakes - great view of the lake, but you would have to drive to the lake to enjoy it, probably 5-10 minutes. White Star is the closer of the two to the lake, you can definitely walk to the lake within 5 minutes or less depending on your site. The lower numbered sites in the campground (7-22) are in the loop closest to the lake, with the sites on the lower outside (i.e., 7, 11, 14) being most likely to have a view of the lake and the shortest walk. The higher numbered sites in the "upper" loop are up the hill a bit from the lake. I don't recall how far the dump station was, but I do seem to recall you have to pay, even if you are a camper. It's a very nice area and the campgrounds are nice as well.

Hope this helps.

[Wadcutter]

When in Leadville make it across Mosquito Pass. Highest thru pass in the US. Really great scenery. You won't be taking your camper across it tho.

[IDman]

We like Mayqueen Campground (USFS) at the west end of Turquoise Lake. It is less crowded and quieter than the CGs at the east end. Flyfishing is often good in the shallow bays and inlets so wading is easy. It also has a nice sandy swimming beach...if you like COLD water.

[Bionic_Man]

welove2drive wrote:
Thanks for the tip 2lazy4U. I hadn't thought of altitude sickness.

Bionic Man, Our TT is about 33' incl. tongue. There are sites available at both campgrounds. I am trying to decide which one to reserve.

Just a word of caution. Just because there are sites available, and they list a length that will work for your length, does not mean you can get your 33' trailer into the spot.

The campground is beautiful, but it was built many years ago with smaller trailers. Lots of trees to block ingress and egress, and some big drop offs that make the sites difficult to access.

[RAS43]

We have spent many summer days in Leadville and at Turquoise Lake but it has been a few years. We did stay at Molly Brown early on but as our trailer "grew" we looked for other choices. Molly Brown is nice and in the pines. But there is May Queen campground which is on the other side of the lake. It has trees also but is more open and most sites are pull-thru. The drive is a bit longer then Molly Brown but the scenery is great and the view from the campground is spectacular, IMO.
As far as dump stations you are correct that they are only near Molly Brown and Printer Boy. And there was a charge to dump. But for 4-5 days I wouldn't feel there would be a need to dump if you have empty tanks going in. We stayed a week sometimes and never filled the waste tanks.
I am not aware of any boat rentals at Turquoise.

[2lazy4U]

Ditto on Hagerman Pass, a beautiful drive.

I used to do a lot of climbing and my friends all swore on Rolaids for altitude sickness. Not just any antacid, but Rolaids specifically. Apparently there's something in them that will help you feel better. Having grown up in the high country, I never suffer from altitude sickness, but it might be worth a try. Or the cure might be a placebo, don't know.

[4runnerguy]

boogie_4wheel wrote:
I cannot remember the 'rule of thumb' for becoming acclimated, but if you are worried at all about it, spend a day or two in Frisco or SIlverthorne area.

Frisco and Silverthorne are at 9000', not much less than the 10,000' at Turquoise Lake. A stop in the Denver area might be a better place to acclimate for someone from Illinois. And if the OP is still concerned, consider staying somewhere around Salida, which is just over 7000'.

And altitude sickness isn't something that's predictable. I'll run across groups skiing in the Aspen or Vail area that have come from sea level and one person has suffered the ill-effects of altitude, while the rest are skiing at 10,000' or 11,000' without any problem.

BTW, for the OP, the easiest drive into the Upper Arkansas River Valley is US 50 out of Pueblo. No passes.

[Lauren]

Leadville is - per their website - "at 10,152 feet Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States." Trust me - having lived in CO, altitude sickness can be a factor,

You have hit the jackpot for CO info with people - like 4runnerguy and Thom02099 in particular. We also lived there for some time and go back frequently; and don't have much to add.

Although we lived in Estes Park, we now concentrate our returns staying in Buena Vista.

We love St. Elmo - very interesting. Unfortunately, going to Maroon Bells is a long day but OMG. If that cannot be done I would drive Independence Pass to a few miles past the summit and come back - Aspen, in itself, does not do much for us unless you want to say you have been there. And I second most of the recommendations mentioned above.

Enjoy - love that part of CO the most.

[boogie_4wheel]

After working at the Climax Mine during restart and staying in Leadville...
If you are at all interested in Mining, visit the mining museum. The drive between Leadville and MInturn on Hwy-24 will award you with a lot of canyon views and abandoned buildings on the hillside. If you are a mining nerd, go East on 5th Street out of Leadville a little ways for more mining buildings and equipment. And on the south end of town take Monroe to #2 (paved for awhile for even more 'stuff'.
Quincy's does have good food, and the Golden Burro had to-go biscuits and gravy we got every once in a while and was awesome.

Base out of Leadville or Buena Vista. For a day drive, take Independence to Aspen, go north to Glenwood Springs, I70 to Minturn, then the 24 back to Leadville.

Hwy91 between Leadville and Copper Mtn has a long steep climb (just my truck would have a runaway going downhill northbound), but is the road to tow vs the 24. Be aware that this route takes you to ~11400' at the Climax Mine.

Frisco has some good places to eat (better than anything in Leadville), and Dillon has some expensive places to eat.

And the altitude sickness is a real deal. I went from under 5000' elevation to Leadville's 10200', and worked at 11400' and above. I faired well considering I'm early 30's and 'healthy'. I watched delivery drivers or vendors arrive on site and drop within a couple hours. I cannot remember the 'rule of thumb' for becoming acclimated, but if you are worried at all about it, spend a day or two in Frisco or SIlverthorne area.

[Thom02099]

welove2drive wrote:
Thanks for the tip 2lazy4U. I hadn't thought of altitude sickness.

Excellent of 2lazy4U to point this out, and it is something to be taken seriously. Going from an elevation such as where you're from to 10000 feet, which is what Leadville is, should be done gradually if possible. And keep in mind also that some of the locations suggested, such as Independence Pass, are over 12000 feet.

My sister flew out to visit from Alabama not so long ago. As soon as she got off the plane, she felt a difference for the 5280 feet of Denver. She fainted in a restaurant, and ended up going to the emergency room. She had become dehydrated and unknown to her, also had the flu. IV fluids got her back on her feet.

If possible, take some time to stop in Kansas or Nebraska, at a bit of a lower elevation, then head to somewhere along the Front Range (Denver to Fort Collins area), most of which is in the 5000-6000 foot range. Spend a day or two if you can to adjust.

Even for those of us who live out here sometimes need to heed this advice. Going up on Trail Ridge Road in RMNP, I immediately notice a difference in hiking at 10-12000 feet. Driving to the top of Mount Evans, at over 14000 feet can be a challenge and definitely is a challenge when climbing/hiking the final 150 or so feet.

KEEP HYDRATED! Drink copious amounts of water. If you start to feel dizzy, confused, or nausea, you need to consider getting to a lower elevation as soon as possible.