Rocky Mountain National Park

[Acei]

We are planning to visit RMNP in late June and I can see that most of the campgrounds are already booked (well, the weekends at least). It really is popular!

We currently don't have a RV yet, so this will be a simple tent/car camping and our main focus is to hike within the RMNP and also explore near-by National Forests and BLMs to prepare for our eventual RV travel.

How easy/hard is it to get into those campgrounds that are not reservable? Do I have to show up at 6am on Sunday morning to reserve a whole week? (Hope not... lol)

We actually don't mind which park we end up sleeping - RMNP or near-by National Forests as long as the condition is not harsh and it is not too far away from the main area of the RMNP where the trailheads are located as we will be hiking on every single non-rainy days.

[4runnerguy]

Thom02099 wrote:

4runnerguy wrote:

Acei wrote:
We actually don't mind which park we end up sleeping - RMNP or near-by National Forests as long as the condition is not harsh and it is not too far away from the main area of the RMNP where the trailheads are located as we will be hiking on every single non-rainy days.

If hiking is your main goal, I'd suggest staying on the east side of the park, which is, of course, the most popular. Many trails of short to moderate length on that side. And if the park gets too crowded for you on weekends (parking can be a problem - get to the Bear Lake parking lot early), head a little south and hike into some lakes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Brainard Lake trailhead is a good, but popular starting point. Even the walk-up NFS CG's on the east fill for the weekend by noon on Thursday. The earlier in the week you can get there, the better the selection. If you're in decent shape and want an all day adventure, climb Longs Peak. Get an early start (many are on the trail by 5:00 a.m.) and don't go if there's any chance of rain. But the views are amazing. The trailhead is south of Estes Park.

If you do stay on the west side, be ready for long approach trails before you get to the high alpine environment. There are far fewer alpine lakes on the west side, so your destinations aren't so predefined. Round trip to the high country lakes are typically 12 to 15 miles on the west side vs. 6-8 miles on the east side (depending on your destination). The trails above Monarch Lake and Meadow Creek Reservoir do lead to some great high country.

Ken is spot on here, regarding the hiking. Only thing I can add/suggest is, rather than driving up to Bear Lake and trying to find a parking space, take one of the shuttles that run frequently. Stops include Moraine Park and Glacier Basin CGs as well as the Beaver Meadows Visitor's Center and various locations in town as well.

I should have been more specific and mentioned the shuttle parking. I have heard that even that parking lot gets pretty full on weekends. Anybody here had that experience?

[Thom02099]

4runnerguy wrote:

Acei wrote:
We actually don't mind which park we end up sleeping - RMNP or near-by National Forests as long as the condition is not harsh and it is not too far away from the main area of the RMNP where the trailheads are located as we will be hiking on every single non-rainy days.

If hiking is your main goal, I'd suggest staying on the east side of the park, which is, of course, the most popular. Many trails of short to moderate length on that side. And if the park gets too crowded for you on weekends (parking can be a problem - get to the Bear Lake parking lot early), head a little south and hike into some lakes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Brainard Lake trailhead is a good, but popular starting point. Even the walk-up NFS CG's on the east fill for the weekend by noon on Thursday. The earlier in the week you can get there, the better the selection. If you're in decent shape and want an all day adventure, climb Longs Peak. Get an early start (many are on the trail by 5:00 a.m.) and don't go if there's any chance of rain. But the views are amazing. The trailhead is south of Estes Park.

If you do stay on the west side, be ready for long approach trails before you get to the high alpine environment. There are far fewer alpine lakes on the west side, so your destinations aren't so predefined. Round trip to the high country lakes are typically 12 to 15 miles on the west side vs. 6-8 miles on the east side (depending on your destination). The trails above Monarch Lake and Meadow Creek Reservoir do lead to some great high country.

Ken is spot on here, regarding the hiking. Only thing I can add/suggest is, rather than driving up to Bear Lake and trying to find a parking space, take one of the shuttles that run frequently. Stops include Moraine Park and Glacier Basin CGs as well as the Beaver Meadows Visitor's Center and various locations in town as well.

[Lauren]

Having lived in Estes 1995-2003 I can tell you this. Thom and 4runnerguy are right. I HIGHLY recommend the Estes (east) side as that is where 95% of anything is. DW and I have hiked / been all over the Park; including the west side.

[Acei]

Really good advices! Thanks guys! 🙂

[2gypsies1]

Here's a list of hiking trails all around the park - east and west. Enjoy!

http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/hiking-rocky-mountain-national-park.htm

[4runnerguy]

Acei wrote:
We actually don't mind which park we end up sleeping - RMNP or near-by National Forests as long as the condition is not harsh and it is not too far away from the main area of the RMNP where the trailheads are located as we will be hiking on every single non-rainy days.

If hiking is your main goal, I'd suggest staying on the east side of the park, which is, of course, the most popular. Many trails of short to moderate length on that side. And if the park gets too crowded for you on weekends (parking can be a problem - get to the Bear Lake parking lot early), head a little south and hike into some lakes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Brainard Lake trailhead is a good, but popular starting point. Even the walk-up NFS CG's on the east fill for the weekend by noon on Thursday. The earlier in the week you can get there, the better the selection. If you're in decent shape and want an all day adventure, climb Longs Peak. Get an early start (many are on the trail by 5:00 a.m.) and don't go if there's any chance of rain. But the views are amazing. The trailhead is south of Estes Park.

If you do stay on the west side, be ready for long approach trails before you get to the high alpine environment. There are far fewer alpine lakes on the west side, so your destinations aren't so predefined. Round trip to the high country lakes are typically 12 to 15 miles on the west side vs. 6-8 miles on the east side (depending on your destination). The trails above Monarch Lake and Meadow Creek Reservoir do lead to some great high country.

[jkmac408]

on the west side of Rocky is Timber Creek Campground, it is first come first serve with 98 sites. It is along the Colorado River. The only drawback is because of the pine beetles there are very few trees in the campground.

[Thom02099]

On the east side, there's several USFS campgrounds that are available to the south of Estes Park, along CO 7/CO 72. H E R E is a link to some of the sites, specifically Olive Ridge, Camp Dick, and Peaceful Valley. They are all in close proximity to RMNP. They are also quite popular on weekends, so you're going to need to get there early, like shortly after 11am at the latest, when folks are checking out.

On the west side, there's a couple of commercial campgrounds (Winding River) as well as the Timber Creek CG within the park. It's all first come/first served, and though it's popular, it frequently does NOT completely fill up.

In addition, on the west side, there's a variety of USFS CG. H E R E is the website for those on the west side; they are noted under "Granby" for the town. Every one of them are nice...and popular as well. Some are reservable, some are first come sites.

ETA: Something else to consider, on the east side in Estes Park, two campgrounds that are managed by the Estes Park Recreations and Parks Dept -- Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake and Estes Park Campground at East Portal. Since you're tenting, East Portal may be more enjoyable, having some basic amenities, but being in the trees. Mary's Lake is nice, but for tents they are in an open, sloping meadow, and there's a residential neighbourhood around the campground. Nevertheless, both might sute your needs. H E R E is the website for more information on both.

[Acei]

Thanks guys. So to get a non-reservable site, they start taking people in at noon?

[missnmountains]

You most likely would get in at Winding River on the side near Grand Lake.

Ken

[2gypsies1]

We used un-reservable campgrounds a lot with our 40' motorhome. Don't try for one on Thurs - Sunday at Noon. We moved around Sunday, noon to Wed. then stayed put for the weekend. It's very doable especially if forest service campgrounds are o.k. for you.