Camping in Colorado - Estes park or Sorrounding Areas?

GMR

I live in Denver and I'm looking for a place to go camping with my family on Labor Day weekend. I didn't reserve a spot in time and I'm having a very hard time finding a good spot.

We are camping in tents and would like a spot close to water and trees (We have a 2 yr. old and we would prefer to have a shaded area). Our first choice was the Rocky Mountain Ntl Park, but didnt have any luck there; or anywhere else we looked at. Do you know of any other places that are nice and that will take walk ins (and you think will have luck getting a spot)?

Any help would be really appreciated!

Answer
Granby, Frasier, west of RMNP

Red Feather Lakes?

Big Thompson Canyon?

How about around Carter Lake above Loveland?

The Poudre River west of Fort Collins has some great places as well. But not nice if there are any shows at the bar up there, and probably no luck finding a spot.

Check with the YMCA in either Estes Park or Winter Park (Snow Mountain Ranch) about their camping places. The Y is absolutely amazing, especially for kids.

What are the best tent camping resorts in Colorado?

ash

me and my soon to be husband are going for our honeymoon but I want to pick the best, most beautiful, most fun place to go. Where we can go to the spa, swim, horseback ride, hike, ski, bike, maybe sports like tennis, and do a lot of different things since we are planning to be there for two weeks. thank you!

Answer
Ash, I'm not aware of any tent camping resorts in Colorado. There are resorts and there are tent camping sites, but I don't think I have ever heard of them combined. Is that what you are looking to find?

Anyway, what time of year to plan to come to Colorado, there are many fun things to do, but it might be difficult to both bike and ski unless you come in the spring or early summer.

It also depends on your budget, skiing at the major resorts can be very expensive ($70-100 per day plus rental fees for equipment). There are plenty of smaller ski resorts around the State that are more reasonable.

Some places to do some research on...
Winter Park (great skiing, nice small town, sledding near by... also beautiful in the summer with lots of activities like mountian biking, hiking, horse riding etc. )

Estes Park (a beautiful summer and fall destination)

Vail / Beaver Creek... an amazing (and expensive) winter vacation spot.

Pagosa Springs - less expensive, great any time of year, not far from visiting Mesa Verde or riding the Durango to Silverton train.

Ouray - Known as "Little Switzerland", great any time of year, particularly great in the winter if you've ever wanted to try ice-climbing. A beautiful place for all sorts of summer adventures. I'm looking forward to taking my wife to the Chipetta spa this summer not far from there.

Steamboat Springs - what a cool mountain town, it has some of the best atmosphere in the state. Skiing & hot springs are excellent in the winter. Hikes, horses, bikes, and hot springs are king of the summer activities.

Aspen - Whoa, now here's a town that will really leave an impression. This is likely my favorite area to backpack in the State. I haven't skied here yet, but all the resorts in the area are world class. This would really be an amazing honeymoon spot any time of year, but I'm not sure how close to town you'll be able to stay if you want to use a tent for your accommodations.

I would suggest planning on staying in hotels or resorts for several nights of your trip to make the whole experience a bit more pleasant for a romantic get-away.

Bed and Breakfasts are a fun way to travel around Colorado, you may be able to work your way around to a several parts of the State in two weeks time.

If you fly to Colorado, you will most likely fly into Denver or Colorado Springs for affordable prices. But, if you are among the super rich you can also fly into Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat to cut drive time significantly from Denver.

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Can I make a trip in a RV with young children?

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Luna

My husband and I are planning a trip to Estes park Colorado. He want us to rent a big RV to camp at Rocky Mountains and then travel to other areas. I am not so sure that this is what I would like us to do. I prefer a cabin, since we have a 1 and a 3 year old children. I just don't know how safe or comfortable could be traveling or camping with young children. Plus he would like to camp in a kind of semi-primitive area where we would have to use generators. There is no hook ups for electricity or water. He wants to camp at this area for a day, then move to another RV park. I know this sounds like a nice adventure but I am not sure if I want to try a new adventure with young children. I prefer a cabin.

Also, we would have to buy pots, pans, silverware, sheets, comforter, cups etc. they rent all of this but it cost $75.00 per person. I just don't want the hassle to stop by at Walmart to buy all this items that I can not bring in the plane back home.

Has anyone travel in a RV with young children? What was your experience, and woul you recommend it? Any advice would be very helpful.

Answer
You obviously did not grow up during the Great Depression. My mom raised six children of all ages while camping summers in a five by seven canvas tent.

Concerning whether you can carry kitchen utensils and sleeping bags on a plane, you should be able to pack everything you need to live for weeks in a backpack. I spent three weeks backpacking in Alaska last summer. On the flight, I checked my backpack with forty-five pounds of gear. My backpack contained my tent, sleeping bag, a sleeping mattress, clothes, down jacket, rain jacket, one week of food, a towel, a stove without fuel, a spoon, a fork, pocket knife, one fry pan, one plate, two liter water bottles, a water filter, matches, and personal hygiene products. My carry-on day pack contained headlamps, a fire starter, maps, GPS, camera, telephoto lens, computer, and journal. When I backpack, I carry more than $1,000 in gear on my back.

If you are hesitant to spend $75.00 on gear, then you should be staying in neither an RV nor a cabin. You should be sleeping in a tent. You get electricity to charge batteries whenever you get to a public library. You take a shower at a pay shower, campground shower, recreation center, or heat water on a camp stove for a pot that you wet a wash rag and pour over your head to shampoo your hair. Using a gas-powered generator for electricity is not semi-primitive. It is highly-developed, highly-spoiled, obnoxious-to-neighbors camping.

Rocky Mountain National Park is ideal for you since you do not like to camp in a natural setting. However, you will miss seeing some of the most spectacular wilderness areas that Colorado offers. National Park staff are trained to hug teddies like you and help you cope with all of the necessities of surviving in a suburban campground. Estes Park has all of the food and gear that you need within a few miles of the park entrance.

If you decide to not go tent camping, there are cheaper alternatives than renting an RV. Friends of mine tow tent trailers or hard-shell pop-ups including micro-kitchens and standard beds. Set-up is a couple of minutes for these cabins on wheels.

What are the best tent camping resorts in Colorado?

ash

me and my soon to be husband are going for our honeymoon but I want to pick the best, most beautiful, most fun place to go. Where we can go to the spa, swim, horseback ride, hike, ski, bike, maybe sports like tennis, and do a lot of different things since we are planning to be there for two weeks. thank you!

Answer
Ash, I'm not aware of any tent camping resorts in Colorado. There are resorts and there are tent camping sites, but I don't think I have ever heard of them combined. Is that what you are looking to find?

Anyway, what time of year to plan to come to Colorado, there are many fun things to do, but it might be difficult to both bike and ski unless you come in the spring or early summer.

It also depends on your budget, skiing at the major resorts can be very expensive ($70-100 per day plus rental fees for equipment). There are plenty of smaller ski resorts around the State that are more reasonable.

Some places to do some research on...
Winter Park (great skiing, nice small town, sledding near by... also beautiful in the summer with lots of activities like mountian biking, hiking, horse riding etc. )

Estes Park (a beautiful summer and fall destination)

Vail / Beaver Creek... an amazing (and expensive) winter vacation spot.

Pagosa Springs - less expensive, great any time of year, not far from visiting Mesa Verde or riding the Durango to Silverton train.

Ouray - Known as "Little Switzerland", great any time of year, particularly great in the winter if you've ever wanted to try ice-climbing. A beautiful place for all sorts of summer adventures. I'm looking forward to taking my wife to the Chipetta spa this summer not far from there.

Steamboat Springs - what a cool mountain town, it has some of the best atmosphere in the state. Skiing & hot springs are excellent in the winter. Hikes, horses, bikes, and hot springs are king of the summer activities.

Aspen - Whoa, now here's a town that will really leave an impression. This is likely my favorite area to backpack in the State. I haven't skied here yet, but all the resorts in the area are world class. This would really be an amazing honeymoon spot any time of year, but I'm not sure how close to town you'll be able to stay if you want to use a tent for your accommodations.

I would suggest planning on staying in hotels or resorts for several nights of your trip to make the whole experience a bit more pleasant for a romantic get-away.

Bed and Breakfasts are a fun way to travel around Colorado, you may be able to work your way around to a several parts of the State in two weeks time.

If you fly to Colorado, you will most likely fly into Denver or Colorado Springs for affordable prices. But, if you are among the super rich you can also fly into Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat to cut drive time significantly from Denver.

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Taking baby camping?

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Q. My husband and I plan to go on vaccation in two weeks. Part of our trip will be camping in Estes Park, CO for 3 days and 2 nights. My question is . . . what do I need to bring and how do I prepare for the baby camping out? We are already going, so not going is not an option.

Answer
My baby is 8 months but was born 3 months early so he only about 5 months size and developmentally.

We go camping every weeken and hae since the last weekend in April. Trystan loves being outside. Babies seem to sleep better when they have had some fresh air.

If you are tent camoing take along a play pen to get him off the ground. You can buy small portable heaters for under 20 dollars that run on electricity or propain. I would suggest getting an electric sight even if your tent camping so you can bring a small lamp. I have found it hard to take care of a baby in the middle of the night when it is pitch dark and have not been able to find a latern that is bright enough.

Make sure you have plenty of formula diapers and if needed baby food. If you formula feed bring bottled water the water at most camp sights need to be filtered. Bring both short outfit as well as long sleeve outfits. Sometimes it can get chilly at night.

They make "bug spray" that come in wipe form. Looks like a baby wipe. This way there is no possible way to accidently spray bug spray in babys eyes. Or Walmart has bug buttons. These are round buttons that you pin to clothes that have cittranella in them. They don't work as well but they don't wear off or come off if baby sweats.

Depending on what age bring small toys to entertain. But mine is happy watching the leaves shake on trees.

Have a great time.

Where to road-trip from Dallas area?

j-homes55

I live in the Dallas area and I am trying to think of where to road trip with my fiance.

We both love the outdoors and we love hiking, camping, etc. We enjoy natural scenery and breathtaking views.

Where could we go that is within a 10-15 hour drive? The states within our reach are New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, South Dakota, etc.

I have been to Yellowstone before, and Estes Park, CO, and Mount Rushmore, etc. Any other places that would be good?

What about the Garden of the Gods? Or even though it is a little further, the Grand Canyon? We would probably tent camp/cabin camp.

Thanks so much for your help!
.
.
.

Answer
Road trip to Wyoming?
How about starting with some spectacular stuff a bit closer
Big Bend National Park, especially in spring and getting up in the Chisos
The half dozen public caves in Texas and the Hill Country west of Austin containing them - find a book on Texas Caves at the library
Carlsbad Cavern then points west for the New Mexico mountains and central valley lava fields and gypsum deserts. If you're really serious, go south to the highest point in Texas on the TX-NM border.
Palo Duro Canyon in the Panhandle south of Amarillo
At least try out the piney woods of East Texas.
And if you have not walked the barrier islands of the Padre Islands area, that is another place.

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