Your favorite camping spot in Colorado?

[the_fixer]

Planning our summer and looking for recommendations for camping locations with our 13ft Scamp in Colorado.

This is our first year with the Scamp and I am finding a bunch of my go to favorites are not not Scamp friendly IE park and walk in sites.

Would love to get some additional recommendations.

Thanks,

Dave

[RV Doctor]

Mesa Verde NP!

[Paul O.]

Great Sand Dunes!

[C&G in FL]

I avoid the NPs for camping but I like Lightner Creek Campground outside of Durango.

[Mike Magee]

Tell us more. What do you look for in a campground? How do you feel about dispersed camping (boondocking)? What part of CO do you prefer? High or low elevation? It's a big state, after all.

[thrifty bill]

For urban camping, the Clear Creek RV Park in Golden is awesome! City owned and managed. Not cheap.

For outdoors, hard to pick my favorite. I do like Colorado National Monument.

Really, when we get this close, we tend to cross the border into Utah where all of our favorite camping exists.

On every trip we take west, we either stop at Golden on the way out, or stop at Golden on the way home. Its a once or twice a year stop.

Hiking and biking trails start right at the Golden campground. Two blocks from the library, right downtown, one block to the city recreation center (with cheap senior rates).

[bill&sandra]

Look up Blue Spruce RV Park! Camp among towering pines and lounge while listening to the birds sing and breezes through the pines!!! A+ ! Pancake breakfast on Saturday!!!

[ColoradoSwany]

Amphitheater Campground just above Ouray. Great sites, views, wildlife (including an occasional bear). Sites are too small and access too difficult for the big rigs, so it is tanquil, woodsy, generator free.

[Rzrbrn]

Buy the Allstays app.

We prefer primitive campgrounds in BLM and NFS lands when possible. During Perak season NP's are usually booked solid and we can't get in, as are state CGs. We find it difficult to boondock or dry camp in the mountains, hard to find a spot.

But it is all good.

We spend a lot of time in Southern WY, Eastern UT and NW CO.

[sjpeach]

Dave, just wanted to ask you stated that some of the campgrounds were not Scamp friendly, sorry if I am being "thick", I just don't understand what you meant by that.
Thanks, SJ Peach

[WaltP]

Ridgway SP, just North of Ridgway. Nice, open sites with great views. I love the town and it's an easy run to Gunnison NP.

Walt

[emij]

Up until we bought our first Scamp 13, we were like you - tent camping in walk in tent only sites. It has been my mission to find campsites with fabulous views and neighbors not so close. I use campsitephotos.com to view campsites, in conjunction with Google Maps so that I can get a really good feel for the layout of a campground and what the site might look like. I spend a ridiculous amount of time researching before making reservations. We currently love the Brainard Lakes area, love the area around Ouray, and love some of the smaller campgrounds near Mueller State Park.

[Jon Vermilye]

Just about any of the Forest Service campgrounds around Turquoise Lake outside of Leadville. More photos: Leadville, August 2012

[ehoepner]

Over the years our favorite camp grounds have become everyone else's favorite campground. The result is that many of our favorite camp grounds have to be reserved four to six months in advance. IE Sand Dunes, Haiden Pass. We are currently looking farther South and West of Colorado Springs. From the Denver area, you have to plan way ahead and make reservations to get the good FS campgrounds. The State has some nice campgrounds but we are not comfortable spending the amount of money they are asking. Last year we found a FS campground near Monarch pass that has not been discovered.

There is also BLM land West if COS that we like to camp on.

Since we are now retired most of our camping is during the week. This means our favorite campgrounds have open spaces. The problem with available campsites comes up now when we schedule a family camping trip. Two campers and two tents on weekends since our kids still have to work for a living.

[emij]

Originally Posted by WaltP

Ridgway SP, just North of Ridgway. Nice, open sites with great views. I love the town and it's an easy run to Gunnison NP.

Walt

Ridgeway is BEAUTIFUL. The Elk Ridge Loop is the best (I think, unless you are wanting full hookups as it's electric only). We stayed in #168 last year, which had great sunset views of the mountains, very private, large campsite with trees. It's a pull through with a lot of distance between neighbors.

[emij]

Originally Posted by sjpeach

Dave, just wanted to ask you stated that some of the campgrounds were not Scamp friendly, sorry if I am being "thick", I just don't understand what you meant by that.
Thanks, SJ Peach

I think what he is saying, is that in many campgrounds, there are often "walk in" tent campsites. Meaning you park your car in a lot, usually near bathrooms/pit toilets, and haul your gear anywhere from a few hundred feet to longer, down a path to very out of the way, private, amazing view tent only campsites. With a camper, these immediately disappear from availability as they aren't accessible. These used to be our favorite kinds of spots, too You'll notice if you use the on-line reservation system, that there are spots that are marked as tent only.

[Walt]

We have been camping in Colorado the past fifteen years in our Casita and our favorite campground is Mueller State Park behind Pike's Peak. Many trails and superior shower and laundry facilities as well as electricity at each site.
Walt

[dmad1]

Taylor Reservoir NE of Gunnison is our favorite. If not lucky enough to get a reservation, it is all gov. land and you can park about anywhere. Lots of trails for both hiking, bikes and 4 wheelers. Just west of Gunnison is Blue Mesa Lake but more open. South of Blue Mesa is Lake City and a neat little town with lots of gov. campgrounds. If you have 4 wheel drive, you can go over the passes from Lake City into Ouray or Silverton. For an out of the way primitive camping, NW of Ouray is Little Mineral campground. And then as someone mentioned, farther north is Ridgeway.

[Thom Rowland]

Originally Posted by CPW

I avoid the NPs for camping but I like Lightner Creek Campground outside of Durango.

When in the Durango area we have camped in Junction Creek National Forest camp ground. They do have one loop that has electric hookups.

[Thom Rowland]

Originally Posted by emij

I think what he is saying, is that in many campgrounds, there are often "walk in" tent campsites. Meaning you park your car in a lot, usually near bathrooms/pit toilets, and haul your gear anywhere from a few hundred feet to longer, down a path to very out of the way, private, amazing view tent only campsites. With a camper, these immediately disappear from availability as they aren't accessible. These used to be our favorite kinds of spots, too You'll notice if you use the on-line reservation system, that there are spots that are marked as tent only.

In national forest camp grounds "walk in" sites are the sites that are not reserve-able and are available on a first come first serve basis. Most are RV / trailer usable.