Cheyenne Mtn State Park - Colorado Springs

[Al-n-Sue]

We just returned from our "shakedown" camping trip to Cheyenne Mtn. State Park. This state park is the jewel of the Colorado State park system. It has 51 level sites, all with water, elec (30 and 50 amp), and sewer. The sites have level concrete pads, a picnic table, a tent pad, and a fire ring. It is at 6300 feet and sits on the side of Cheyenne Mtn - best known as the home of NORAD. We saw wild turkey and deer while we were there. Some of our group swore they heard "mountian lion noises" while we sat around the campfire on Friday night.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. It was cold and windy with scattered snow showers all weekend. Saturday was decent but still chilly. We packed up and folded the TM in a bit of a snow storm on Sunday. But our electric space heater kept it comfy during the day and the TM heater augmented it at night.

The Mile High Trailblazers also had their monthly rally there this weekend and we (our group had 6 couples - 4 with TM) joined them for the Saturday pot luck dinner. It broke up quickly when the skies clouded up and it started snowing! Fortunately dinner was pretty much over.

If you are passing through Colorado and need a place to stay, this is a good choice. And it is not far from Camping World if you need any RV "stuff".

One caveat - in July and August it can be pretty warm during the day. And you may encounter rattlesnakes on the trails if you hike away from the campground!

But a thumbs up for sure.
Alan

[tdepouw]

Looks like a great spot. We will be traveling through SD, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado for 6 weeks this summer. Do you have any other great spots you want to share? We have never been to this area and would welcome any suggestions.
Thanks
Tom & Barb

[Al-n-Sue]

Well, I don't know if this space is large enough to hold all the places you could see in S Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado! Just the National Parks alone would make a great trip. Rushmore, Devils Tower, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mtn, Black Canyon, Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde come to mind right away. That is probably 6 weeks worth right there!

I could wax elequent on most of these. We have a trip to Yellowstone and GT planned this fall. We go to Rocky Mtn for day trips. We have a trip to Black Canyon in July. So here are some hints based on my experience.

Rushmore - there are lots of private campgrounds close by, plus Custer State Park. Depends if you want to dry camp or have hookups. My favorite is Rafter J Bar. The monument is a day's worth, Black Hills are worth exploring, and Custer SP is a nice day trip - lots of bison. Most will tell you to skip Crazy Horse. There are some caves south of Rushmore.
Yellowstone - haven't been yet but feel like I know it - I found a forum that is very helpful - www.yellowstone.net - look for the link to "Online Forums" - a wealth of knowledge there. Fishing Bridge has water and sewer but electricity is off this summer for construction. All other camping is first come. Private campgrounds outside the park are available but driving in to the park each day eats up a lot of time.
Grand Teton - haven't been but will this fall. Great scenery and wildlife.
Rocky Mtn. - all camping in the park sans hookups. Estes Park has lots of private campgrounds but they have gotten a little pricey. A good alternative is Riverview RV in Loveland. Our TM group stays there on a regular basis. It is about 25 minutes to Estes. If you like to hike you can spend several days there. If not, a day or two may suffice. Lots of elk.
Black Canyon - take the boat ride in Curecanti Natl Recreation Area - www.nps.gov/cure/planyourvisit/boattour.htm - then drive the south rim of the Black Canyon and take in all the scenic overlooks. Black Canyon has some camping with hookups, but in summer is it likely to be pretty warm. Blue Mesa has a few private campgrounds and there are some in Gunnison as well.
Mesa Verde - a must see if you are going to be in the SW part of the state. Stay in Durango - lots to do there as well.

Colorado State parks are very nice. Our favorites include Mueller, Golden gate Canyon, State Forest, and Ridgeway. Check them out at the state parks web site - http://parks.state.co.us/Pages/HomePage.aspx. Weekends you will need reservations - if you can get them. BTW - Cheyenne Mtn is a great campground, but I wouldn't stay there in July. June and August can be iffy - heat and rattlesnakes would be the deterrents! But to spend a night on the way to somewhere or a couple of nights to see Colorado Springs it would probably be ok.

If you have any specific questions, let me know. We've camped in Colorado for going on 10 years so we've been or studied most places. Sounds like a great trip you have in front of you. Enjoy!
Alan