Rochester NY to Denver CO

[Williams62]

Hello fellow RV'ers,
Our daughter moved to Denver this past August and we'd like to travel out to see her March 2018. Do a little visiting and some skiing. Our first long trek in our Forest River 30' Class A to Denver. Looking for any advice on places to camp for 3 weeks outside of Denver. I work from home and so will be working from the RV at times as well. Will most likely rent a car when out there as we currently are not able to tow a car. We've never been to Colorado so any advice would be helpful.

[Busskipper]

Williams62 wrote:
Hello fellow RV'ers,
Our daughter moved to Denver this past August and we'd like to travel out to see her March 2018.

Do a little visiting and some skiing.

Our first long trek in our Forest River 30' Class A to Denver.

Looking for any advice on places to camp for 3 weeks outside of Denver.

I work from home and so will be working from the RV at times as well.

Will most likely rent a car when out there as we currently are not able to tow a car.

We've never been to Colorado so any advice would be helpful.

Our daughter is in the Capital Hill area and she gave us tickets for A-Basin and Keystone Ski areas.

Southern area sounds better temp wise.

We have heard March is snowiest time, thinking maybe we should push to end of March first weeks of April to visit.

I hear ski mountains are open till June, is this true?

Temps here in the teens this week...

Hard to argue with Thom he is the EXPERT on CG's in Colorado - BUT - The no car thing is critical - the only place safe in the Denver area to avoid the snow is to not go outside, so IMHO the snow will likely be heavy when ever you come and where ever you stay - so just don't worry about it.

I've Wintered in Colorado/Denver/Golden a few times and my favorite spot is Clear Creek and IMHO, if you can get in look at Golden Clear Creek RV Park - City owned if you can get in here the world will be only minutes By Foot away - Park has internet but never that good - Library just down he street - Pool and Gym just a block away - Down town with everything you need just a couple Blocks - Map from Rochester to Golden Clear Creek through Hannibal Zoom in to see the CG in Golden

One other option that was pointed out to me by other Parents visiting their Kids - http://prospectrv.com/ I have no personal knowledge on this one but they - the parents that recommended it loved it because of it's location in respect to their Daughter.

So I suggest in you research period you give these two a call - Clear Creek IMHO is GREAT - we spent two and a half winters there helping out with the first Granddaughter.

The State Parks are great but - Not that close and really open to the weather and the WIND.

From Golden you can be on the slopes at A-Basin in just over an Hour -

Breckenridge has Tiger Run as a possible place to stay - But it is COLD and you are likely heating on Propane - not Good in the Mountains in the Winter.

One last suggestion - Grab a Plane ticket - Southwest has some low fairs on occasion - Fly out - Visit - check out the locations and Fly back.

This will give you a chance to see in person what is available and if it will work for you.

We will fly out every couple of months as it is really easy - look ito weekend specials (Not sure they still do it but we used to get a package from Expedia I think)

Getting carried away but, I tend to do that .............

Hope ths is of Some Help,

[Bionic_Man]

North vs South in the Denver area isn't going to make any significant difference in temps, and would be hit or miss in regards to snowstorms.

It is true that some ski areas (A-Basin) might stay open until July 4th, but that means one run. If you want to ski, earlier in March will be better.

Cherry Creek and Chatfield are your best options for State Parks close to Cap Hill area. Others mentioned the 14 day limit, which is enforced. I also know that if you make reservations under different email addresses, and put your name down on one, and spouse on the other, that you can get around those limitations for reservations. I don't know if the Rangers would give you grief because that time of year, doing that would be obvious because there won't be as many campers.

[Thom02099]

Williams62 wrote:
Thank you all for you quick responses. Very much appreciated.

Our daughter is in the Capital Hill area and she gave us tickets for A-Basin and Keystone Ski areas.

Southern area sounds better temp wise. We have heard March is snowiest time, thinking maybe we should push to end of March first weeks of April to visit. I hear ski mountains are open till June, is this true? Temps here in the teens this week... 🙂

April is the 2nd snowiest month :E so coming in March/April would be the 2 snowiest months for Colorado. Some ski areas do stay open until June, and A-Basin is one of them. Usually has the most prolonged season of all the resorts. One year they were open for July 4th! Keystone can be hit/miss, they usually close in April, even though they still have good snow there. Some seasons, they will announce a closing, and if the snow warrants, will stay open a few weeks beyond.

Regarding north vs south metro areas, it can be deceiving. North here in the Fort Collins/Loveland/Greeley/Windsor area, are sometimes in the "banana belt" with no snow, when other areas are getting clobbered. The south metro area can frequently get snow when Denver and points north don't. It can be cooler here in the north, but not significantly. The good thing about March/April is that the snows are usually brief, and even though they can be heavy and frequent, bouncing back into 50s and 60s is not uncommon.

[Williams62]

Thank you all for you quick responses. Very much appreciated.

Our daughter is in the Capital Hill area and she gave us tickets for A-Basin and Keystone Ski areas.

Southern area sounds better temp wise. We have heard March is snowiest time, thinking maybe we should push to end of March first weeks of April to visit. I hear ski mountains are open till June, is this true? Temps here in the teens this week... 🙂

[NMDriver]

March may see freezing temps at night and, as was mentioned, Denver covers a lot of miles. The northern suburbs may freeze while the southern may not. Right now it is 37 in some parts of Denver and 55 in others.

[Thom02099]

Start with Cherry Creek State Park. H E R E - CCSP is a link to their camping page. Note, however, that it states a limit of 14 days within a 45 day period. They may have exceptions for winter camping. The Abilene loop is open all year and is reservable as well as walk in.

There's also Chatfield State Park, H E R E - CSP is the link to their camping page. D Loop is open all year. There are FHU sites, but water is turned off between November and April. There is a dump station and potable water at the dump station during winter dates. Sites are reservable.

These two will be the best options in the immediate Denver area. Both are located in the south portion of the metro area; Cherry Creek is southeast, Chatfield is southwest. Both easy to get to.

There are commercial places to stay as well. H E R E is the link to rvparkreviews. If it were me, I'd only consider the state parks, even if it meant moving from one to the other.

ETA: Just a sidebar, March is our snowiest month. But since you are from Rochester, you know a thing or two about snow :W

[imgoin4it]

Denver is a big town lots of miles and even more traffic to get from one side to the other. You’ll likely get better answers if folks knew what side or the area of the city you will be visiting most. Cherry creek or chatfield **** , both state parks, on the south side are beautiful areas. Both very tough to get reservations and not sure if they have any time limits. If have access to military facilities there is the Fam camp at Buckley AFB on the east side. After that nice places to stay get limited .