Camping near Estes Park, CO

[kempert]

I found a great campground next to Rocky Mtn. NP. It is located at the Aspenglow entrance to the park on US34 outside of Estes Park. National Park Resort is built into the side of a hill so that few sites are on the same level. Across the valley is a great view of the Rockies and behind you is huge mountain of solid rock. One night, I looked up and saw 3 bull elk bedded down for the night (they were grazing when I woke up the next morning).

When I had a few minutes, I'd go 5 miles into the park to the best spot in the park to spot Big Horn Sheep. I got to watch them twice and watched 5 coyote pups playing the other times.

[k_and_p_camping]

We've been in Rocky Mountain National Park a number of times, but we've never camped outside the park. I highly recommend Glacier Basin for anyone who can boondock a few days. The sites are spacious, though a bit barren due to the heavy usage, but the meadow at the edge of the campground is glorious! You can sit on a rock drinking coffee and see numerous 14ers, glaciers, and other wonderful sights. I never get tired of the view. There is a bus to the Bear Mountain hiking area and the museum, and the rangers give talks frequently (something my kids just love).

We've also stayed in Morraine Park (a bit darker and buggy when we were there) and at the big campground on the west side of the park (can't think of the name right now, but it's pretty nice too). Both Glacier Basin and Morraine Park accept reservations, while the rest of the campgrounds are first come/first serve.

Pam

[Carol]

We agree with "Kempert" that National Park Retreats (anyway, I think this is the same one he is talking about) is a nice campground with great views and lots of wildlife. It is across from the Fall River Entrance, so you aren't in Estes Park itself. I had been meaning to write this one up, but I am just now getting around to it.

It is quite a vertical campground, with switchbacks to get to each level. I saw a number of large rigs going up to the Trailer Park area, so it was negotiable. The campsites are in terraced pods, some with 2 to 3 campsites in each group. Some of those seemed a bit close, but would be nice for a group traveling together.

We have stayed at this campground twice now, the latest on our 19 day trip "Out West" to the Rockies in early May, 2004. We also stayed here in the Fall of 2003.

The picture shown below is from our May, 2004 stay at the campground overlooking our campsite to the mountain across the road in RMNP.
http://carol.trailmanorowners.com/rmnpcg2as.jpg

For more pictures of the National Park Retreats Campground:
http://carol.trailmanorowners.com/rmnpcg.html

There was lots of wildlife at the CG. In addition to the ones I captured on film, we also saw Magpies, ground squirrels, Stellar's Jays and a Tufted Ear Squirrel. Here are pictures of some of the wildlife (red fox, lots of different humming birds, elk, rocky mountain sheep) that we saw in the campground:
http://carol.trailmanorowners.com/rmnpcgwl.html


Here is a link to the National Park Retreats' website: http://www.nationalparkretreats.com/
Click on CAMPING for more info. We were there off season both times, so we had a discount on the rates.

A few years ago, we stayed at Morraine Park CG inside RMNP for 2 weeks. There were no hookups, so we had to dump via the blue tote and "rough it" more. The sites at National Park Retreats are almost as good as what one gets at inside the park, with the bonus of full hookups, including cable.

Last Fall, the camp site we were in had a very slow sewer line. They were fixing it this Spring, so we were in C12 instead, across the road. We were there so early in the season that the water wasn't turned on at the campsites until about half way through our stay.

Both times we stayed here, we had sites that were below the "Trailer Park" that is at the top of the property. The sites that we stayed in were C3 and C12, both of which were large enough for our 2720SL TM and our Ford 150 Supercab truck. The C3 site is larger and all by itself, so it is our preferred site. Most of the full hookup sites are at the top of the property and are in a parking lot type arrangement.

Last Fall, we were there at the peak Aspen viewing season and the campground was full on the weekend. We enjoyed it much better during the weekdays. This Spring, we were the only ones there to start with. Later in the week, the new managers arrived with a large 5th wheel and they camped up top in the "parking lot" area. The best views are from that area, however.

As far as we are concerned, it is a vast improvement over the CGs in Estes Park itself and better than staying in the NP Campgrounds. I actually found it to be quieter than Morraine Park CG. They do NOT allow use of Air Conditioners, but they had no restrictions on heaters. Also, they do NOT allow the use of clothes lines, which I always find ridiculous at CGs since we are camping, after all.

Make sure when making reservations that you indicate the open size of your unit and the length of your Tow vehicle. If I hadn't been looking at the map online, I would have been put into a pop-up camper site without hookups since they didn't understand what a hard sided fold out trailer was. Of course, they had never heard of a TM before, either.

[kempert]

Carol-

You're right. I got the name wrong but as soon as I saw your great pictures, I knew that we were talking about the same place. I was lucky enough to get site C3 and it was one of the top 3 campsites that I've ever discovered. I liked how uncrowded it was along with its closeness to the park while having hookups (I developed a battery problem on the road).

BTW - I would love to see the aspen in their fall colors but I'm a high school coach and that's the middle of our competitive season. The thing that I like to do the most trumps camping (#2).