Wish I could help you but I haven’t camped out in Colorado. All of my stays have been at hotels and resorts.

The places I have visited have been Breckenridge, Colorado Springs, and Golden. They are all very nice and I’m sure there are camping spots pretty much everywhere in Colorado (other than Denver). However, I really can’t give you any specific camp sites as recommedations since I haven’t camped out.

Sorry I couldn’t be more help.

oo! i would definitely have to say rocky mountain national park. last time i was there (mind you, that was a few years ago), the prices were very reasonable… however it’s more primitive camping than other places around… ie: no electricity, no showers… but they have flush toilets. if i remember, there’s also a place right in town (estes park) that has laundry/showers. but for beauty it really can’t be beat… we often got one of the sites that backed up to the edge of the camping area so we just had this huge hill and then it looked out into the meadow… often filled with elk and stuff :)

sorry for the bad grammar – i literally JUST woke up but was happy to voice my opinion on this!!

Colorado is awesome. I lived there for 10 years, but alas, that was 12 years ago.

Things to think about…Are you hoping to be near anything in particular? Boulder? Denver? Great Sand Dunes? Telluride? Ski resorts? A lake or river? Anything besides horseback riding you’d like to do?

As mentioned above Estes Park is great.
And I really enjoyed the great sand dunes. SOrry I can’t be more specific, we usually just winged it by driving off somewhere (no toddlers).

Check out these websites for more info on camping in CO…
http://www.campcolorado.com/
http://www.coloradodirectory.com/Tents/
http://parks.state.co.us/
http://www.trails.com/stateactivity.asp?area=13838
http://camping.about.com/cs/campgrounds/a/colorado.htm

And if you’re looking for something to do…Here are some links for Colorado festivals…
http://www.coloradolinks.net/Colorado_Festivals.htm
http://www.festivalusa.com/states/colfest.htm
http://www.coloradofestival.com/

No matter what, if you’re in the forest or higher elevations, be prepared by wearing layers. The weather can change instantly from hot & sunny to rain or cold winds. And if this is a change in sea-level elevation for you, be sure to take it slow the first couple of days and drinks lots of water. Sunblock and bugjuice will also be helpful.

Have a great trip.

I can’t suggest camping sites as I stayed in motels. I can recommend two drives you make in Colorado: through the Rocky Mountains National Park and up Pikes Peak.

You will see lots of places advertising white water rafting as well. I didn’t try it which I rather regret.

We don’t do a lot of camping ourselves, but I’d suggest Grand Lake. It’s just outside of Rocky Mountain national park, there are places to rent horses and it’s a nice small town. There are places to rent cabins as well as camping areas, and lots of camping areas in the national park. Plus, you can go swimming in a mountain lake…brr! :)

I grew up camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. We usually camped at Sprague Lake. It’s very family-friendly. I haven’t camped at that particular spot in 2 or 3 years, but although they do have running water and flush toilets, there are no showers. Reservations are DEFINITELY required. You can “hike” (walk through the woods on a nice trail) from the campground, over to Sprague Lake. There’s a trail around the lake with lots of fun things for kids to see; frogs and great fishing, a wooden walkway that goes through the wetlands, etc. etc.

Other good hikes nearby: Bear Lake (Baer Lake?); it’s so easy that I believe it’s wheelchair accessible, but if your kids are quite young, it’s not bad. If they’re a bit older (I did the hike starting at age 7 or 8 and it is BEAUTIFUL), I cannot recommend Ouzel Falls highly enough. It is one of my favorite places in the world.

The Sprague Lake campground is also close enough to Estes Park that, should you need to, you could go into town (and if you decide camping’s not for you, they’ve got mini-golf, McDonald’s and shopping…haha).

I currently live near Aspen, which is in a different part of Colorado. There’s a campground (not at all rustic; it’s just off the highway, and I believe it has showers, playground, etc.), but there are a TON of great hikes around here at all levels.

I also recommend the area around the Great Sand Dunes (southern Colorado). If your kids are scared of animals, I don’t recommend camping there TOO highly; every time I’ve camped there, I’ve heard at least one mountain lion scream, which is quite unnerving. But it’s a beautiful place (and the mountain lions aren’t going to rip into your tent or anything…I think they just like to get together to scare people, then laugh their canine laughs at us. haha).

Good luck and have fun!

I was never much of a camper, but Rocky Mtn National Park is gorgeous. Depending on where you go, there are areas (e.g., Estes Park) where you can rent cabins, which might be perfect if you have kids. This might help: http://www.parks.state.co.us/

Have fun!

I grew up in Durango, Colorado, and I can definitely help you locate some good spots near there. The first one that comes to mind is Cascade Canyon (http://www.cascadevillage.com/), near Durango Mountain Resort. It’s a beautiful spot, where you can camp near the base of Engineer and Needles Mountains. There is a beautiful, easy hike up through that area, ending at a lake at the base of the mountain where the kids can swim, you can have a picnic, etc.

If you’d like more details, just send me a msg! (http://severisth.43people.com/)

A great place for family camping is around Lake Dillon. One side of the lake has a mountain resort, while the other areas are covered by five separate campgrounds. The views and hiking possibilities are spectacular. The hiking is also very easy. It is also close to a town should your little ones or yourself need anything. The town itself offers seasonal activities. The website, should you want further information, is www.townofdillon.com. I believe there is also some horseback riding near by. Happy travels!

Hey there. I stayed in Lake City, Colorado which is in the soutwest part of the state. It was a wonderful experience. I highly recommened going there and staying at T.Bears campsite.(they have a website). Lake City is a cute little mountain town rich in gold mining history and there’s tons to do (hiking, horse back riding, fishing,) Lake City is hard to get to if you are planning to fly but great if you’ll be driving. It’s an hour south of Gunnison which is equally as great. Crested Butte is about an hour and a half north of Gunnison. I spent some time up north around the Rocky Mountain National Park area and found the camping there wonderful. The 4th of July is the worst time to try and camp there unless you plan ahead. I ended up staying at a free site along the Pouder river (Poder Canyon) where I had to hack it a little and had the most amazing experience with a moose! I have tons of info so if you would like more details just let me know, I’d be happy to share it with you via email or phone. :) Sarah

Where in CO are you considering? I can offer a little advice as far as western CO goes…

I grew up in Estes Park, and there is plenty to do outdoors in the summer! (See above comments) You can go horseback riding at the YMCA.

We stayed at a KOA west of Boulder up in the mountains for one night. If you’re looking for a less wildernessy experience, that might work for you. The drive out of Boulder will take you longer than you think it will, because it’s all uphill.

Cheers!