Here's one close to Golden (western metro area)about 20 min from Evergreen http://www.essentialcoloradorv.com/dakota-ridge/

Dakota Ridge appears to be a nice campground (trees & steam). I appreciate your suggestion, martym.

fmpden, You truly do have our best interest at heart, and I thank you for keeping my thoughts on track. For now, it seems that Evergreen will be a nice place to visit before the big snow season arrives. Our plans have changed so that we are now planning to head towards CO on Sept. 11 (Saturday) to visit as many cities on the front range as possible, including Centennial.

I hope the wild fires west of Boulder can soon be extinguished. My heart goes out to all of the families who have lost their homes. I just heard on the news that 9 firefighters were among those that had lost their homes.

So do those living in Boulder. It is bad. The canyons are steep, and they funnel the winds off the divide into some very strong down slope winds. The area is heavily populated with very expensive home and a lot are gone. Part of our problem is that we have had a wet year which means of lot of good under growth and then we hit our normal, dry August. It will be a problem for a while.

Centennial is basically "Littleton", Greenwood Village, and such. It is around the Denver Tech area.

Centennial is not basically Littleton or Greenwood Village nor around the Tech center. They are all independent cities but in the same general area south of Denver and a part of the Denver metro area. Littleton is an old farming community on the Platte that was the last rail stop going into Denver. It is the only one with a definite city center and a feel of a town. The current leadership of Littleton is very conservative and anti-growth. There is no center to Greenwood Village or Centennial since both are just urban sprawl that was incorporated into cities for political reasons.

If you have a chance, read bigtyke's trip report on "Pronghorns and Glenn Miller". It'll give you a small glimpse of life along the front range.

OK about Centennial, etc.. They are SOUTH Denver areas.

I've not replied before as I don't think I will have very much useful information about the area, as we have only lived here a couple of years. We live in the SW suburbs of Denver and love it. Not far from biking/hiking/dog walking trails, close to stores, nice restaurants and movie theatres. It is a mixed suburb with apartment complexes, smaller family homes and larger family homes and quite a bit of open space and convenient if you want to go up to the foothills or mountains.. We did consider homes into the foothills, but we thought just too much hassle in the winter, but nice in the summer. I'm sorry, I don't know about RV parks. I hope you find what you're looking for. If you need the name of the realtor that worked with us (he had endless patience) I would be happy to give it to you.

I enjoyed reading bigtyke's "Pronghorns and Glenn Miller". Watching the pronghorns and many birds would be quite interesting.

joto: It is always nice to hear from folks who are enjoying the Denver metro area. Which city did you choose? I would like to get your realtor's name even though we aren't quite to that stage of relocation yet. I'll tuck the name away for future reference. After our visit this month, we just might need a realtor sooner than I had thought.

Gretchen, Thanks for mentioning Littleton and Greenwood Village. No doubt, I will like all of the area south of Denver.

fmpden, Has it cooled off so much that we should bring winter clothing? Or will a jacket for evenings be sufficient?

Don't know about "winter" clothing but certainly would bring long sleeves, sweat shirt, and good jackets. It was 48 yesterday morning. Overnight and early morning can be chilly. We can still have very warm days but the nights cool off quickly and we are in the downhill slide. The fire is still out of control with over 100 homes lost.

<<...but certainly would bring long sleeves, sweat shirt, and good jackets.>>

Yes, but also bring along lighter weight clothing. The high today was 85 degrees and tomorrow will be around 88. October is my favorite month as we experience a wide variety of weather. There are days in October that I will wear shorts, followed by jeans and a sweater the next day. Just remember layers, layers, layers and you will be fine.

October is usually gorgeous so while it is probably a good month for a visit, I agree with BetsyG about spending a winter (January - March) here before you decide to relocate.

Actually, we have moved our visit from October to NOW. We are planning to arrive next week and will definitely bring layers, sweats, good jackets, and summer attire, too. We are excited about the cooler nights and warm days. It should be a good time to enjoy the changing colors of the aspens.

We will plan our next visit to the area as you've suggested to experience the winter season.

I heard that 4 people are missing in the area of the fires. I can't think of a more horrifying time that this one for the residents of that area.

bdosonxd, our realtor was Jack Moran of Moser Real Estate Group (303)379-3080. We moved to Lakewood close to the Littleton line in a nice quiet subdivision. Golden is also another nice town in the area you might like to take a look at.
It seems that the 4 missing people have now been accounted for and are safe. It is a horrible situation for people living out near Boulder and the fire fighters are doing everything they can.

Thank you for the realtor info, joto. We will visit Lakewood, Littleton, Centennial and Golden along with several others in the metro area.

The recent fire might discourage you from Evergreen. The west side of Boulder is under an evacuation alert -- get ready to go on short notice. The winds through the canyons tonight could hit the 90 mph mark and that is not good. If you make any calls here, you need to dial all ten numbers.

One thing you should be aware of, not to alarm you but there are several measures on the November ballot in Colorado which could have dramatic effects for Colorado. If they pass, I would not move here. One would reduce your property taxes significantly, Amendement 60, but consequently it would reduce the budgets of any entity that is funded by that tax. So school districts, public safety, libraries, etc. would be effected. If it passes, I wouldn't try calling 911. The bill requires that the state fill in for the schools, although estimates predict 99% of the state budget would be required for this, so I guess prisoners go free? I work for a local library district & our budget will be cut by 52%. We are very busy, many families, unemployed, seniors, etc, rely on our services. Amendment 61 will reduce the time public projects can be funded to ten years, so a lot fewer projects, no new schools although the population is growing, less employment, etc. Perhaps those bike trails won't be maintained as you would like. Finally the third, Proposition 101 reduces the vehicle tax to $10 annually. Did you want to go to the mountains, driving? Think again, that's where some of the highway maintenance come from.
So, any of you from Colorado here, I hope you are voting NO on these measures.

Before pushing the panic button and calling the movers, the probability of these amendments passing is very low if not zero. There is no organized public support (money) for these amendments and massive organized support against. Probably the only issue that both the Dems and Repubs agree on this year -- vote no. In Colorado it is very easy for any group for any reason to get an question on the ballot and every year we have several such questions.

I hope you are right fmpden. I have heard otherwise.

Then, what have you heard? Are you not reading the local papers?

Our library services have already been cut by about 50% just due to budget realities--the money is just NOT there. And our system at one time was listed as #1 in the country. Budget realities sometimes trump desires for services no matter how noble.
I would certainly hope that those propositions do not have any rational support. However, the Tea Party movement seems to be rising in colorado. Don't want to get into politics here.

I appreciate being made aware of these issues. If I lived in CO, I would not want these cuts either. Just get the word out to vote NO.

We are in Wichita Falls, TX tonight and should arrive in CO on Monday. I agree that it will be best to avoid the area west of Boulder. Thanks for alerting us.

Hello bdodsonx, we look forward to having you join us in Colorado.

I know you've gotten a lot of information already, but let me add my two cents. I've lived in Colorado for nearly 12 years. I've lived in Denver proper and in the suburbs. I'm currently in northwest Lakewood and *love it* and will probably be there for another 50 years (god willing).

Denver is a unique town (or at least unique to me) in that the city itself is very livable. Don't count it out; there are many really cute, vibrant and lovely neighborhoods. There are city parks large and small always within 10 blocks of wherever you are. There are numerous pockets of coffee shops, shops and restaurants that are usually within an easy walk. But I know budget is an issue and that may be ultimately what drives you away from the city. (It's why I left my fabulous *tiny* house in my uber-hip neighborhood for the 'burbs. I got twice the house for the same price!)

That said, if you have your heart set on "mountain living" then check out Morrison, Evergreen, Conifer and Nederland. But they, too, come at a premium. We settled for an area that is beautiful and suburban (read: affordable), but more importantly, has an "escape hatch." Meaning, we're just five minutes from I-70 on the west side of town so we can be in Idaho Springs within a half hour. You can spend a good 30 minutes just getting out of the metro area if you don't pick your location wisely, especially if you settle too far north or south.

I, too, love the city of Golden. It has a wonderful small-town feel but with all the amenities and convenience of a big city. And I'm not the only one who loves it; the property prices are quite high, almost as much as Denver, if you want to live right downtown in Golden.

Speaking of which, there is the most wonderful RV park smack in the center of town. I don't know anything about it or how you get reservations, but I do know that it is owned by the city of Golden and you can read (very little) about it here: http://www.cityofgolden.net/Page.asp?NavID=329

Good luck with your search; feel free to ask questions while you're here and I'm sure myself or another one of my fellow Coloradoans will try to help.

I have a fabulous real estate agent, too, if you get that far.

Best of luck,
B2S

I think you must be my DD's neighbor!! Lakewood is a super location to live and nice neighborhoods. The new shopping areas are wonderful. It is "on the road" out to the mountains for a fast exit from Denver. Good idea for the OP. It is also a straight shot to get to midtown Denver. Traffic on the interstates not a problem for them.

Due to the wild fires near Boulder and Loveland, we decided to go west on Hwy. 50 at Pueblo. I was disapppointed that we weren't going further north towards Denver, but we will be making other trips to CO. We spent 2 nights in Canon City and drove on to Gunnison for another 2 nights. We liked Gunnison (nice weather and huckleberry smoothies). We did some hiking while there. For the past 3 days, we've been enjoying Montrose, but it has really been hot weather. The Black Canyon is amazing (also hiked there). Monday we will be driving to Silverton for a couple of days and then on to Durango and Albequerque. I will save all of your wonderful suggestions for our next trip. Thank you! :-)

There really was no reason to avoid those area other than the very immediate area. Relatively speaking these were small fires. In your quest for a retirement area, I should mentioned Grand Junctions. Have absolutely no experience with Grand Junction so I am repeat what I have read and heard. It has become a major retirement area for a lot of Colorado residents. The city council several years decided to promote the area for retirement and they have spent some money adopting measures to support retirees. It would meet you standards for size = less than 50,000. It sits in what we sometimes refer to as the Banana Belt because climate in dryer and warmer than other parts of Colorado which is prime reason for the many fruit orchards in that area. Hope this catches you early enough to change your plans. There is absolutely no reason to spend two days or even two hours in Silverton. There is nothing there.

Have fun.

I'm late in joining this conversation, but it sounds like all the considerations you've been given are great. Gotta love living here! Everyone will have their own preferences for amenities, commutes, activities, etc, and each community offers different flavors. Littleton is a very sweet little community, and further west is Ken Caryl, Morrison, Evergreen and Genesee/Mount Vernon/Lookout Mountain. These towns offer easy commutes to Denver and shopping and a nice hybrid of mountain modern living. Should you decide to look at communities west of Denver along the Front Range, a realtor I can recommend wholeheartedly is Ann Lenane with Kentwood. She knows these communities inside out. Good luck to you and Happy Retirement!!