Camping in Estes Park in Colorado

[The3ofus]

Hello,
Just wondering if anyone has stayed in Estes Park in Colorado with their Trailmanor?. We are planning a trip this summer and looking for info. Looked through the recommended campground section but didn't notice anyone who has been there. Any help is appreciated. Thanks and have a great day.:)

[RockyMtnRay]

Hello,
Just wondering if anyone has stayed in Estes Park in Colorado with their Trailmanor?. We are planning a trip this summer and looking for info. Looked through the recommended campground section but didn't notice anyone who has been there. Any help is appreciated. Thanks and have a great day.:)

If you can do without any hookups, then IMHO the best campground by far in the Estes Park area is Moraine Park Campground (http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Planning-Campground-Park.HTML#MorainePark)just inside Rocky Mtn NP. Although many of the sites are tad short (by my western standards), they are fairly well spaced (around 50-100 feet between each campsite) so you can actually have some privacy. Campground has a dump station at the entrance and flush toilet type restrooms well distributed throughout the campground. Vegetation is a bit sparse...the campground is in an open Ponderosa type forest. Park shuttle buses stop right at the campground. Interior roads are all paved (so no dust) but the campground is pretty big (227 sites, IIRC) so there's fairly constant traffic. And there will be some generator noise from the traveling busses (RVs) during the day (generators are not allowed during evening or early morning though).

If you have to have hookups, then the best of a generally sorry lot of commercial campgrounds is (again IMHO) the Spruce Lake RV Park (http://www.sprucelakerv.com/). The sites are unusually wide & deep (for a Colorado commercial RV park anyway) so some privacy is possible. All are back in though...no pull throughs. If you can get there when it's half full (or less), it's not too bad. But when full, there's a constant clatter of diesels and a lot of dust (the interior roads are all dirt). Don't be mislead by the "lake"...it's actually a tiny (maybe 1/4 acre) duck pond. With 3 inch fiingerlings for those who want to "fish". But if you can get one of the water/electric only sites on the north side, you'll be close to an actual river (nice sounds) that has 14 - 18 inch trout in it. Saw one guy pull dinner out of the river 2 afternoons in a row. Although I generally detest all RV parks with a passion, I had to stay in one during a vist to Estes in '05 and found this one almost tolerable when it was about half full. Completely intolerable when it filled but that's me.

I personally wouldn't stay in any of the other RV parks in the town if you paid me a $1000 a nite to do so.

[Bill]

I second Ray's nomination of NPS campgrounds in the park, if you can live without hookups. Otherwise ...

There are several commercial campgrounds southeast of town, on rte 36 between Lyons and Estes Park. None of them look tremendously appetizing since the sites look small, and many of them are right up against the road. If you insisted on a site away from the road, they might be better. I have not stayed in any of these parks. One of them is a Jellystone, and there was a TM parked there for quite a while last summer - or was it the summer before?

On rte 34, northwest of the town of Estes Park and just 100 yards before the entrance to the Park, there is a campground called National Park Retreats. The bad thing about this campground is that it is built on the side of a mountain, and involves a very steep pull up the side of a mountain to your campsite. The good thing about this campground is that it is built on the side of a mountain -- and once you have negotiated the very steep pull, you will be above everything else and away from the road. Nice views. They put big 5th wheels and motorhomes in an open parking lot at the top, so the sites are just parking spaces with full hookups - not particularly attractive. But there are much more attractive sites that take pop-ups all the way up the mountain. If you could persuade the reservation manager that you have a pop-up, you might be happier, though you might end up parking your tow vehicle 50 yards away from the campsite. I stayed here last July. It is certainly not my ideal campground, but we tend to leave the camper in the early morning and not return until after dark, so it was adequate.

Spruce Lake looks clean and nice and level, and it is near the river, but it is kind of in town, so I would personally steer away from it.

If I were you, I would concentrate my search south and southwest of Estes Park, in the rte 7 area out by Mary's Lake and Lily Lake. That area is in a broad valley and so is much more spread out and VERY beautiful. There is very little traffic out there, and the area is almost completely non-commercial. Some residential areas are starting to appear in the area closest to town, but as yet it is not at all crowded. I think you would be more likely to find a great place out there.

Bill

[hal]

Spruce Lake is actually on the western side of Estes Park (city limits) It is not like camping in he wilds but it is clean and level. The people there are very nice. They have some cooking facilities and a "club house" for anyone that asks for it first. The small pond is stocked with fish. One of our members caught a 21" trout in it. The campground cleaned the fish for him. Also, just a block or so to the northwest is Elk Meadows campground. It offers a few more facilities but is kind of hilly. Both campgrounds are next to the highway that takes you to the east gate of Rocky Mountain Park. The trailer spots are pretty level tho. Both campgrounds are owned by the same company. They are also purchasing St. Mary"s (?) campground. It used to be a gravel pit and was a bit dusty and windy. Someone told me they have improved it.

Moraine Park is the nicer campground in RMNP. It is more remote and sites are more in "the wild" A perennial favorite time to camp here is in the fall when the elk are rutting. You can hear their bleating clearly across the valley. You see the male elks stomping their feet to warn on an interested youngere male. They run at each other but seldom get nearer to each other than a bit less than a mile. The male's attention is intently focused on his harem as they wll try to join the harem of a younger male. The females know that a younger elk is more likely to impregnate them. He is constantly chasing after one of them and butting them with his antlers. . But they return quickly to their place in the harem. This is a neat time of the year as this continues to take place until a bit after dark. There also many kodak moments as these elk come very close to the people. (100 feet or so) There is nothing like getting a head shot of a proud elk who is pleased with his harem and has them on his mind. You can get by without a telephoto lens. Then with the chill in the air, it is time to return to your trailer and make some hot chocolate. Reservations are important. Many reservations are made several months in advance.

Hal

[kempert]

I spent a week at National Park Resorts 2 or 3 summers ago. I like to camp without a planned agenda but made a mistake as I forgot to be ready for the 4th of July camping rush. Everything in the EP area was booked. On a whim, I turned into the drive to NPR and immediately thought that I'd made a huge mistake. The drive is steep and winding and was partially washed out. They had had a recent gully-washer and were repairing it as I turned in. Turns out that as I walked into the office, they had just gotten a cancellation so I took it. I had plenty of room with only one campsite nearby (the edge being at least 30' away). I enjoyed watching the elk grasing nearby every morning and evening. The big horn sheep were just a few miles up the road so it was easy to go check them out several times. I could have easily stayed longer except they didn't have any room.

BTW - I favor public campgrounds when available.

[The3ofus]

Thanks for the information on Estes park CO. Looks like some good research and now we have an idea what to look for .
Have a great day.:)

[rlr001]

Fabulous park to stay at! Hiking in that area is beautiful.

We also love Colorado State Forest State park. Great trout fishing! Moose, all sorts of wild life!