Camping in Colorado?
 

Hi,

We are considering hauling our camper from the midwest to Colorado for about 8 or 9 days in late August and trying to determine 2 main areas that would be good for camping and sightseeing with our 6 year old son. We have no desire to go to Denver, more like Rocky Mtn National Park, and fun kid stuff...

I remember doing a trip like this with my parents when I was my boy's age and going to Mesa Verde, Garden of the Gods, Continental Divide, etc...

What would be your recommendations for 2 locations to do day trips from and any suggestions on cool stuff to do and see? Also is camping in CO at this time of year just crazy busy? Will we even have a chance of finding camping spots at this late date?

Much thanks...

We have a friend who goes to Ouray every year to camp and LOVES it but that is for camping and not "seeing".
Mesa Verde is a "wonder of the world" to me and not to be missed. We didn't camp there, but I'm sure there are places in commercial campgrounds available nearby.
And RMNP would also get my vote for a second area to explore.
Another possibility for a "theme" would be dinosaur sites and I believe there are some near Gunnison. If you google "dinosaurs Colorado" you will find a wealth of areas in Colorado.
IF you go to Garden of the Gods (this would not be my choice for camping) there is an excellent dinosaur museum in Woodland Park nearby.

Rocky Mountain National Park does not have hookups or showers. I don't think Mesa Verde does either(not totally sure). We have tent camped at RMNP and love it. MV is fantastic.

Your 6 year old would enjoy The Great Sand Dunes. There is no hookups or shower there. You could catch Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which is in between all of these locations. Sand Dunes would be hot in August, do the sand in the mornings.

Pretty sure Garden of Gods would be hot too in August.

You wouldn't take a camper up to the top of the mesa for Mesa Verde and still take day trips, but if you were at the bottom (http://www.mesaverdervresort.com/) you could visit the park and many spots nearby: http://www.mesaverdervresort.com/ATTRACTIONS1.html

and the Durango area

http://www.durango.com/durango_attractions.asp

We don't need any hookups or showers, so we are good with that. Just trying to determine two areas to visit and hopefully do daytrips from - sounds like one area should be RMNP... The dinosaur bones places sounds like something my boy would love - I will definitely check that out... Thanks for all of your comments - much appreciated...

It isn't just "bones". there are places along roads where they show where the dinosaurs walked. It is amazing to see what Colorado was--it was oceans!!
There is much to see just around Denver at Morrison, on the outer belt loop. Might be able to do something on the way to or from the airport. Our grands had a great time when we did a "dinosaur tour".

You are not going to find "day trips" in the RMNP area; the park is huge, and once there you would be seeing the sights it has to offer. (Driving a camper repeatedly over Trail Ridge Road to get to one side or the other trips is a bad idea.)

Hi Sylvia,

So I am thinking we would set up our camp at say Moraine Campground in RMNP, then with our SUV only to do day trips around - honestly I don't even know what there is to be doing in RMNP itself but I figure that there has to be a number of fun things and hikes and such that we can find that are appropriate for our 6 year old as well - horseback riding etc...

Moraine Campground is beautiful, but I don't think it is a good base for day trips. I'll admit that my camping limit is about two nights, so when we stay there our focus is on hiking.

Possibly consider Ridgway State Park as a base for day trips.

http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/pa...s/default.aspx

I haven't been there for awhile, but there was a lot for my kids to do at the time including fishing, hiking and a swim beach. I liked the flush toilets and showers! You can take a day trips to Ouray and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Never camped in Colorado but love the Glenwood Springs area including the Glenwood Canyon. This place looks nice.
http://glenwoodcanyonresort.com/tent-sites.html