Colorado State Parks

[vicrider]

We are traveling to a concert at Red Rocks in Colorado in August with our 38.5 foot Bighorn 5er. Does anyone have any experience staying at the state parks in CO? Specifically whether we will fit in the sites height and length wise. My old Woodalls says nothing longer than 35ft, state park web site says 40 ft and up?? We are looking at Chatfield State Park. If not, any recommendations for a RV park on the North or West side of Denver close to Red Rocks. We'll also be heading to Rocky Mt National Park for a week of exploring too, so we'll need a park close to Estes too I guess. Thanks In advance for the tips.

Scott & Sylvia McDonough

 

[danemayer]

We've stayed in both Chatfield and Cherry Creek (SW and SE of Denver) and the sites in both quite long and no problem at all for a 39' Rushmore and truck with CrewCab/Longbed.

You can always call the specific park and ask the Ranger about a specific site.

 

[olcoon]

We haven't stayed at either of those parks, but have driven through Cherry Creek. It looked like a really nice state park, nicer than others that we've seen. They have asphalt roads & concrete pads to park the RV on. I would think that on either one, as close to Denver as they are, it would be a good idea to make reservations as far in advance as possible. We saw signs @ Cherry Creek stating that they limited the number of people inside the park, and when they reached the max everyone else would be turned away. I'm not sure if this is the total amount of people in the park, or the boaters on the lake. All in all it impressed us, and they even have a shooting range, and have guns to rent if you didn't bring one, or want to try out a gun.

Also Colorado charges an admission fee, even if you are camping there. So every time you leave & then come back, you'll have to pay this fee. I don't remember how much it is, but when we were out there, we decided it would be cheaper to buy the yearly pass, so we wouldn't have to worry about it. We got more than our money's worth...used it for 2 summers.

 

[danemayer]

We saw signs @ Cherry Creek stating that they limited the number of people inside the park, and when they reached the max everyone else would be turned away.

Cherry Creek can get very crowded, especially on holiday weekends or if there's a special event. That happened while we were there last summer. There may be a long line of cars at the entrance, all getting turned away, but if you have a reservation, they've already counted you and will let you in.

 

[rjr6150]

Scott & Sylvia
Would recommend Riverview RV Park. It's located just west of Loveland, CO. Great park on The Thompson river. Would ask for a site overlooking the river. These are all back in but it's great to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of the water. Only a drawback and to us not really a drawback is no Verizon service at all. They do have free Wi Fi though.

 

[PeternLiane]

I agree Chatfield and Cherry Creek State parks are nice parks. We've stayed at both. We also like St. Vrain State park. It's on the north side of Denver. It's also just off of I-25 and HWY 119 but it is very nice and quiet. You would have easy HWY access to and from the Red Rocks. We stay at St. Vrain a lot. It's also not packed with people all of the time. We like the full hook-ups. It's also not far away from Rocky Mountain National Park. You'll be on HWY 119 that will lead to the Park. You're also right down from HWY 34 which goes to the Park.

 

[vicrider]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas on where to stay! This website is an awesome resource and we are thrilled to start traveling!!

Thanks,

Scott and Sylvia

 

[Cimriver]

Olcoon said:

Also Colorado charges an admission fee, even if you are camping there. So every time you leave & then come back, you'll have to pay this fee. I don't remember how much it is, but when we were out there, we decided it would be cheaper to buy the yearly pass, so we wouldn't have to worry about it. We got more than our money's worth...used it for 2 summers.

Actually it is a daily charge. You can come and go as many times as you like during that day. The cost is $7.00 per day. The yearly pass is $70.00 so if you will be in Colorado State Parks more then 10 days the yearly pass is the way to go. It is good for a year so if you buy it in June of this year it is godd through June of next year.

Yup! Still lurking Roy!

 

[vicrider]

Yeah, I saw that. An $8.00 daily charge seems pretty steep to me. We will be coming and going since we have a concert at Red Rocks to see and the national park we want to visit. Probably will stay longer at another park and I have lot's of ideas where to stay from this forum, so that's great! We reserved site 181 at Chatfield for 4 days.

Thanks again for the help.