Traveling Michigan to Rocky Mountain NP June 2017

[RxGuy]

Looking for suggestions on places to see and things to do at or near the park. Should we stay in the park or at an RV park outside? Which campgrounds in the park are the best? If you have a suggested favorite site number that would be great. We are planning a month of travel.

Thanks

[ghaynes755]

I've stayed at Spruce Lake RV park and it was nice. Also there are a couple of Larimer County parks that you might check out. Hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, shops, museum, driving over the mountain to Granby, and the list goes on and on.

[wulfraat]

If you can get a spot in aspenglen or morain campgrounds they are great! But book fast!!!

If you have a 25' or smaller and don't need hookups I would also highly recommend hermit park in Laramie county. It's about 4 or 5 miles from the park entrance. It's one of my favorite campgrounds - very rustic and only accommodates smaller trailers and tents. There are a few sites in the bobcat loop that could accommodate a 28' or so but it can be tight navigating the roads with a longer setup.

No hookups but bobcat loop allows you to use a generator during certain hours.

Your last resort is an RV parking lot with full hookups in Estes like spruce lake or elk meadow and you can camp on a dirt lot/pad next to a bus.

[rpenczek]

Olive Ridge (South of Estes Park) is a forest service camp ground that we tented a few years ago. We really liked the facility, sites are spread out and water is available. There are, however, no hook ups or dump station. Down the road (less than a mile) was a gas station/store that had showers (for a fee) that we used. If you are up for boondocking a bit, this is a really nice campground and not too far from the Park.

Things to do - Horse back ride, Stanley Hotel tour, Downhill bike tour (if your in really good shape, some up hill too), bike down 43 to the town of Glen Haven and have a cinibunn. If you have two cars and bikes you can do this on your own or book with "New Venture Cycling" It is an easy downhill ride with a great payoff.

[VT Wanderer]

Just were at RMNP last summer (again) - love it. We have always stayed at Moraine Campground. No hookups, so you have to hone your boon docking skills and conserve water, and gray and black tank. We hike everyday and found the outdoor shower area one way to conserve - just have to bring your solar heated shower bag and hang it on their hook. On cloudy or cool days we filled the bag with hot water from our AS. If you are running low on water bring a 5 gal. "jerry jug" to bring your drinking water level up. There are drinking outlets around the campground. If you're a hiker, these are some of our favorites: Cub Lake loop (hike right from Moraine); Gem Lake; Glacier Trailhead -(mostly a loop) Bear Lake to Alberta Falls; Loch (lake); Mills Lake; (another lake day from Bear Lake to..Nymph Lake; to Dream Lake; to Emerald Lake; to Lake Hahyaha; (another) from Milner Trailhead - (western side of Trail Ridge Road) Mt. Ida. Chasm Lake near Longs Peak; Longs is a major challenge that should be started by 2am (read up on it for safety); Estes is a nice reward sometimes at the end of the day - pizza - ice-cream, etc. Enjoy it to the max.

[malinois38]

Stayed at Spruce Lake last July with a site right on the lake (POND). It served our purpose and would recommend one of the few sites overlooking the pond or along the stream. The location is ideal to park entrance and Estes Park.

As for RMNP, I recommend Old Falls River Road as an absolute must.

[Steve Bryant]

Moraine Park campground within the park is a favorite for the past three decades. Also, I see on your profile that you are a retired pharmacist. Do you have a Senior Card for US Citizens over 62 years of age? They are currently $10 and are good for life. The price goes up after 2016, so get it now if you can. The senior pass waives the entrance fee for your entire party and cuts the camping fees in half.

I also agree with the previous poster in that the Old Fall River Road is a must (closed in winter). I'd recommend visiting the park from the late spring through the early fall. Make your resiverations early at Recreation.gov.

Steve

[Skykiva]

Have lived in Estes Park for the last 22 summers. True, staying in the park is best. On the east side we prefer Glacier Basin and then Moraine Park. West side is Timber Creek. Most campgrounds in the park were badly hit by the pine beetle so most trees were taken down. Commercial campgrounds I would suggest are Mary's Lake and Elk Meadows. Have stayed at Spruce but would not recommend. Others have suggested good things to do. Enjoy!

[RxGuy]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

Steve thanks for the heads up on the Senior pass. Ordered it online. Costs $20, $10 for the pass and $10 for the processing fee.

Looking forward to the trip...

[Steve Bryant]

RX Guy, you're welcome! The Senior Pass works for all federal facilities (e.g. national forests, etc.).

Steve

[dbdreams]

You may have finished your plans by now but I have also used Elk Creek campground, on the west side of the park close to Grand Lake, a neat little town that is also worth seeing!

There is no bad place in that area, I go 2 or 3 times a year!
Have fun,
David

[Wanna EB]

Loved this thread as we are also planning a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We try very hard to always stay in the parks and Moraine sounds like a good choice. One question, what is the earliest arrival date that would offer reasonable weather. We would like to go in May if possible. We were on our way there this past April when a storm dumped 4 feet of snow.

[wulfraat]

I drove up to moraine campground today around noon with the 25' airstream in tow to camp overnight with my daughter.

Roads up 36 and into the park were dry and clear. Temperature was around 50 degrees F. Unfortunately the entrance of the campground (when you arrive at the ranger station) and all downstream campground roads were an absolute skating rink (complete ice surface, no salt, no sand, hard compacted clear ice). The rig was definitely interesting to maneuver forward / back given uneven surfaces and lateral sliding Between the shade in the campground and the fact that the park service doesn't maintain the campground roads we had to carefully turn around the 45', 13,000 lb caravan on narrow iced campground roads and head back down to the front range as there were no other camping options available up in the Estes area. Bummer! Always an adventure this time of year in Colorado

We did find a spot at a state park (with electric no less!) and are still having a good old time with a campfire, etc...

[Steve Bryant]

For those of you who have planned a trip to RMNP thus summer I have a request...please post your impressions and suggestions after completing your trip.

[VT Wanderer]

We travel there regularly from VT. Head to I-80 to I-76. Exit on to Route 34 in Greeley CO - stay on Route 34 directly to Estes. Check on campground availability NOW!!!!!!!!!! We always stay in Moraine Campground in the park (no facilities, but it's all about location). We usually reserve 6 months ahead of time at RMNP. It's a FANTASTIC park.

[PKI]

Is it possible to find a site for a couple of weekdays in a commercial or state park outside Fort Collins or Loveland in early Sept? Pat

[Steve Bryant]

Originally Posted by PKI

Is it possible to find a site for a couple of weekdays in a commercial or state park outside Fort Collins or Loveland in early Sept? Pat

I would imagine that it's absolutely likely that you can find several commercial or state park campgrounds for early September. Use a commercial campground directory, a smart phone app, or an internet search and make a few phone calls.

[Piggy Bank]

If you are still planning this trip, a great little family run RV park along the way is Kearney RV Park in Kearney Nebraska.

We stayed there last year on the way to Yellowstone. Nice, clean, flat, all pull through sites.

There is a Casey's close by. (Casey's for those not from IA/NE/KS/MO is a convenience store gas station that has really good pizza as well.) Gas up at the Casey's, get a pizza for dinner, pull into the RV park for the night.

[PKI]

Originally Posted by Steve Bryant

I would imagine that it's absolutely likely -- snip -- make a few phone calls.

Thank you Steve. Got to try this again. My edit erased the reason for asking. We usually travel without reservations. Does the area around RMNP fill up like the RV facilities in the park? Normally we would just go and take our chances. The approach worked as we toured 550 last year, but we get the feeling that Eastern Colorado gets a lot of tourist pressure in Sept. We'll give a few parks a call and get their non-binding opinion, but thought asking the forum was worth trying.

Thank you all for your thoughts. Pat