Recommendations - Denver Area

[ukulele2010]

We are looking for recommendations for camp grounds for our maiden voyage in our flying cloud. We have a new-to-us 2012 20 foot FC and need to get it out and test our mettle. We would like to follow the general recommendations of staying reasonably close to our home (within 50 miles?) and have full hookups for our first trip. I know I have dump valves - but I've never used them so there is a lot to learn.

I've also never towed anything before - I'm moving from a little Audi to an F150 towing a 20 foot camper. All vehicles seem to be registered in Colorado at this point through temporary tags. We would like an easy first voyage. Can you recommend a Denver-area (Boulder, Fort Collins, Evergreen, Golden, Aurora, Castle Rock, etc.) campground or websites, or apps, that may help us determine where we should go?

Thanks.

[mayco]

Just got back from visiting my kids in Fort Collins and Loveland. You might want to check out Boyd Lake State Park near Loveland, or Horsetooth near Fort Collins. Both are easy to get to, not too far off I25. Horsetooth gets pretty busy with boaters on the weekends, not sure about Boyd Lake. I didnt camp at either one, i just went and checked them out for future trips.

[Jack46]

This spring we stayed at St. V'Rain State Park in Longmont. About 20 milked from Boulder and a bit longer to Denver. Very nice campground.

[joej]

How about Cherry Creek State Park? Pretty nice and in town. There are also a lot of nice campgrounds up Hwy 14 on the Poudre River, not sure about full hook ups this time of year up the Poudre though.

[CloudDancing]

All Colorado State Parks are enjoyable. The website is Colorado Parks and Wildlife. We lived in the Denver area for over 30 years. I would suggest Cherry Creek and Chatfield Reservoir for in-town choices. Other state parks are Golden Gate Canyon and Mueller. Most Colorado state parks have water and electric only. This works just fine for a short trip. In addition, I recommend getting the ALLSTAYS app.

[Jack46]

BTW, St. V'Rain State Park has three point hookups. We've also stayed at the Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden. It is expensive but has all the bells and whistles.

[ttbikes]

Garden of the Gods campground in Colorado Springs.

[dbj216]

We stay at Prospect RV on 44th near I-70. It has Prospect City Park right behind it which is excellent for dog walking, or just walking. The address is Wheat Ridge. The folks that work there are super nice. It is very handy for us as we have relatives who live in Denver.

David

[Gringo]

We've been staying in our 27FB in the Denver/ Ft. Collins area each hurricane season for the past three years. We really liked Chatsfield for a park close to the city. Mostly we stay in either the Poudre Valley KOA just north of Ft. Collins on 287 at Ted's Corner. or the KOA Lakeside in Fort Collins. Great location and nice people. Big campground, all the amenities. Poudre Valley closes soon, I think but Lakeside is open year round. We're there right now but going boondocking tomorrow.

You can't go wrong with the state parks around here, either. We intend to try St. Vrain one of these days. There's also a KOA Central City, west of town with some elevation, and one in Estes Park, but we haven't stayed in either of those yet.

[KJRitchie]

I'd recommend finding a full hookup campsite close to home so you can see how your daily activities affect holding tank capacities. If you find the tanks fill fast then you can adjust your water use and drain them without hitching up and going to the dumb station. You can check how the monitor panel is working as the tanks fill and calibrate the monitor if needed. Check the black tank flush if you have it. I'd fill the fresh water tank and run all your water needs using the pump for a day. If there are any slow leaks then you'll hear the pump burb. Use your maiden trip more for checking out the trailer vs sightseeing or other activities. Take plenty of tools with you including a multimeter. When you are confident all trailer systems are working then you can find fun spots to camp and enjoy.

Kelvin

[ukulele2010]

Boyd Lake State Park will be the site for our next adventure. Based on the description, I think we will have electric but will have to bring our own water. Time to test out the water pump.

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

[ukulele2010]

Thanks again to all who responded. I have a new but related question: Is there a good place in the Denver area to take our winterized trailer out this weekend? It looks like the weather will be nice (high of 54, low of 30). So, I guess, the defining feature a campground should be that it has a toilet facility that is open in the winter since we are winterized and do not have any water on-board. Basically somewhere in the 150 miles of Denver would be nice...

I would prefer to stay on the eastern side of the mountains as I can never tell what will happen going over mountain passes and I would not want to be towing the trailer in deep snow...

[ghaynes755]

Cherry Creek state park is open all year.

[ukulele2010]

Ah, right, I haven't camped at the two closest (and reasonably nice places) Cherry Creek and Chatfield. Anyone know how these two compare to each other? I see that Chatfield now only has walk up only sites available... Is this typically an issue at this time of year?

[AtomicNo13]

Carter Lake up in Berthoud.... About an hour north of Denver.

[Reganzo]

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

Cherry Creek state park is open all year.

We stayed at Cherry Creek this past June and found it to be a great location, and is reasonably priced, and is close to downtown Denver...


Regards,

Reganzo