Colorado capmgrounds

This will be my first year with a 5th wheel, need to know some good campgrounds and some dry camping spots that have fishing and hiking.

Which side of the state?

I live on the East side, but would like to get around the state some and camp.

Mueller State Park- Divide, Co for hiking
Lake Granby, Granby, CO for fishing
South Park area for both
Poudre Canyon near Fort Collins for both
Golden Gate State Park near Denver for hiking

An excellent source for campgrounds is: Colorado Campgrounds
The 100 Best and All the Rest
by Gil Folsom

Excellent for both dry and not as well as things to do!

I'm very familiar with the sw part of the state. Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Cortez, Telluride. Let me know if you need any information about these areas.

How about a campground around the Sand dunes.

Alamosa? Not too familiar with that area. There's some nice places north of there by Buena Vista.

Scott, I've got a campground I'd love to visit again, but I can't remember the name of it and nothing seems to match up to it in the campground guides. We stayed there in 93. If I describe it to you, maybe you can think of it for me. I hope!!

I can remember we were heading west on Hwy 160 toward Durango. I know from the CG, it took us about an hr drive to get into Durango. I think the CG was either on the So. side of Hwy 160, or, we turned off of 160 just a short ways heading south. We were past Alamosa, but I don't think we made it as far as Pagosa Springs. There was a river that ran along the back edge of the CG. The CG itself was down below the hwy so we had to kind of drive down into it a bit. Because it was down in a small draw, I can remember the smoke from the camp fires kind of lingered in the air. It had pond fishing where they'd clean the fish for you. It also had paddle boats to rent. The ponds were separate from each other. One for paddling around and a smaller one for trout fishing. The paddling around pond had a club house or something similar right next to it. If I remember right, I think there were small cabins for rent on the rt side of the CG as you entered, but that part's a little fuzzier than the rest. They had hay rack rides in the evening too.

Does this sound like anything you recognize?

TC

No, does not sound familiar, but I have not spent much time over there; usually just passing through. It is San Juan National Forest, so must have been a USFS campground. There are a couple over there:
USFS campgrounds

Bridge, 19 miles NW Pagosa
Blanco River, 15 miles SE Pagosa
Palisades, 28 miles NW Pagosa
Teal, 25 miles NW Pagosa
West Fork, 15 miles NE Pagosa

Sounds like some places in Creede or South Fork - just a shot in the dark'
http://www.mountainviewsrvcreede.com/rvpark.htm

Keith, I don't think that's it. It's really nice though! I don't recall turning north toward Creede. South Fork sounds right. I looked at a CG web site at South Fork, but the layout didn't seem right either. Any furher west and we would have been over the pass and close to Pagosa Springs. That's too far west. I looked at the Trailer Life CG guide again last night and read the facility and rec info on every CG in the general area of South Fork in all four directions. Nothing sounded right. Some were close, but not close enough.
I know there were two ponds, a small one for fishing trout with a little cleaning shack/bait shop next to it, and a larger one for paddle boating and such. The pavillion was next to the large one and next to it was the rec room. And the river (I'm thinking the Rio Grande) ran along the back of the property. These things I remember as fact. The rest is a little fuzzier. Alot can happen in 15 yrs. For all I know, it doesn't exist anymore. But I doubt it. It was a very nice (but not fancy like the one at Creede) campground.
Oh how I wish my memory was better than my forgetory! :(
That's what happens when you're over 40. The warranty runs out and parts start to fail, including the CPU and hard drive.

TC

i think the campground you are talking about is fun valley in south fork colorado, stayed there several times, really nice. They don't have a website but you can google the campground and get lots of info.

scooter To the Forum

we stayed at a campground a bit east of Pagosa Springs back in the 80's that sounds like what you describe. I remember looking down to the river, smoke in the valley and watching the black bears foraging in the trash. Can not remember the name, think at the time it was a KOA.

Hallelujah...Scooter...THAT'S IT!!!

I saw a picture of the CG while doing a google search just now, and it's definitely the place!

Now that I know the name and where it's located, I'll definitely be making reservations there again. What a great CG! And from all the positive feedback I saw on google, looks like it's still a great CG.

Oh, by the way...Welcome Scooter!! And thanks again for solving the CG mystery for us.

TC

no problem, we are probably going there sometime this summer also. My parents lived between southfork and del norte for about 8 years, beautiful country.

to the forum, Scooter.

We stayed at two Colorado campgrounds last summer and we liked them both. They were on opposite corners of the state.

The KOA in Cortez was very nice. One of the best KOAs we've stayed in, a nice view to the east towards Mesa Verde National Park.

We also stayed at Elk Meadow in Estes Park. It too is a very nice park, right at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It's a bit expensive ($45 per night), but all the RV parks in that area are.

scooter and tc: my wife and i have worked at fun valley for the last 6 summers so if you come there ask for edgar goodman. would love to visit with you. wife works in the kitchen and i do different things in the campgound. great place for a family. lots of things for the kids to do.

Good to know Edgar. We'll be sure to look you folks up when we get there.

TC