Colorado camping (with some criteria)

May 25, 2009 11:16 PM

I need help finding a camping site near Denver. There will be 6-8 people, and we'll be camping Friday and Saturday nights in the middle of July. Where can we find a place with scenery, at least some privacy, and access to swimming?

My girlfriend just signed up for a MeFi account, but she can't ask anything for a week. We're cheating. She says:

"I am in charge of making reservations for a group of no more than 8 people who will be congregating mid-July in Denver from all over the country. Because some of them will be driving long distances, I'm looking for camping sites within 2 hours' drive of Denver. Having access to swimming within 10 or 15 minutes' drive (not necessarily at the same campsite) is an absolute must. And, because most of the campers are non-Coloradans, I'm hoping to find a place with scenery to wow the out-of-staters.

However, what I'm finding is a lot of campsites which are near reservoirs or lakes, but which have little, if any, shade and absolutely zero privacy. We don't necessarily want to be in the middle of nowhere, but we go camping to be crazy and isolated together, not to make friends. Surely someone knows of a place in the Denver-ish area with some shade, some seclusion, and some safe water?"

Note: this is car camping. We need to be able to drive to within a hundred yards or so of the campsite. Lame, I know, but nobody wants to hump five cases of beer three miles into the woods. I would. But nobody else wants to.

posted by McBearclaw to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

It's a bit of a haul, but Rocky Mountain National Park is about 90 minutes from Denver and has some great campgrounds. All the campgrounds have good facilities and most have really fantastic scenery. Not all sites are drive-up, but many are, and you can get more private sites if you're willing to walk a short distance from where you park your car.

I can't tell you about all of the options in detail, but I know the Moraine Park Campground has amazing views of Longs Peak.
posted by dseaton at 4:36 AM on May 26

Seconding Rocky Mountain. It was absolutely breathtaking to this flatlander. We drove right up to our site, and there were no other campers in our general area. That may have just been a lucky coincidence though, as it seemed like a popular place.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:58 AM on May 26

Rocky Mountain National Park will not have any good places to swim. Gorgeous scenery certainly but not anywhere warm enough to swim (think high alpine lakes).

There really isn't that much water in Colorado unfortunately and swimming in natural water is kind of one of those things that we mostly just miss out on. I'm thinking that any water warm enough to swim in would have to be either out on the plains or down by Pueblo. Is there any chance you can give up on the swimming part? How about some hot springs and some nudity instead? http://www.olt.org/visitor_info/first_time_info.htm It might be more than two hours away but it is so worth it.
posted by fieldtrip at 10:31 PM on May 26

Thanks, everyone. I'll post the actual location and where we ended up.
posted by McBearclaw at 7:36 AM on May 28

Um... let's try that again. "I'll post the actual location where we end up and how it went for future campers."
posted by McBearclaw at 7:38 AM on May 28

I went to Moraine Park Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park on advice above (last weekend in May, 2009).

It's very beautiful, but it was packed, and by packed I mean "imagine a subdivision in the suburbs, replace the houses with tents and RVs, keep the children (lots and lots of children), the noise, and even the traffic."

As such, there was zero privacy.

If you go, try reserving weekdays instead of weekends. That might help.

The rangers were a bit overzealous with rules and regulations, especially re: black bears and bear-proofing campsites. They confiscated a neighbors ice chests, for example.

The campground seems to be aligned with the Denver International Airport such that there's constant air traffic. I felt like I was in Washington, D.C., jets 24 hours a day.

It's relatively expensive. $14 to get into the park and $20/day to camp (in a tent), maybe more for RVs.

All said, yes, beautiful, but not relaxing or really even enjoyable.

Do bring your camera. It's gorgeous!
posted by foooooogasm at 11:55 PM on June 5

re:swimming. There were places nearby Moraine for swimming in July. Facilities (a YMCA, I think) and what looked like a water park with a water slide.

I did not see any information on lake swimming. Like fieldtrip said, it'll be too cold even in July to lake swim at that altitude.

-

Also, there are a few campgrounds other than Moraine just a few miles away. I think one was called Glacier Basin.
posted by foooooogasm at 12:01 AM on June 6

I was so unfulfilled by Moraine that I took off the same day I left for Alvadaro Campground in WestCliff, CO.

It has scenery and privacy in spades, but no swimming and it's about 3 hours drive.

It's small, but it's just perfect if you like peace and quiet.
posted by foooooogasm at 12:05 AM on June 6