Reasonable $ place to stay by Rocky mountain national park

[FANOFJESUS]

Does anyone know a reasonable priced place to stay by Rocky mountain national park? I am thinking about going in two weeks. I know many people on this forum have traveled a lot so I thought I would ask.

[REWahoo]

If the mods move this to the Travel Information forum it won't be OT...

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 Does anyone know a reasonable priced place to stay by Rocky mountain national park? I am thinking about going in two weeks. I know many people on this forum have traveled a lot so I thought I would ask.

You mean like a hotel/motel or camping? Or... ? Because sleeping in the back seat of my car seemed reasonably-priced, to me, once upon a time.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo If the mods move this to the Travel Information forum it won't be OT...

Done - and removed the 'OT' in the subject title since it isn't any more...

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd You mean like a hotel/motel or camping? Or... ? Because sleeping in the back seat of my car seemed reasonably-priced, to me, once upon a time.

Well it looks like any motel is $70 and up. Does a campground have a toilet and a shower? I have never been to one.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 Does a campground have a toilet and a shower? I have never been to one.

Most of them do. This is a good source to find out what campgrounds are in the area and how user's rate them.

RV Park Reviews :: Colorado

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 Well it looks like any motel is $70 and up. Does a campground have a toilet and a shower? I have never been to one.

In fact, a considerable number are now including "cabins" on the property -- eliminating the need for an actual RV. We have looked at some of them and were quite impressed (Kaytee Texas comes to mind). The KOA system, I believe, started the trend (Camping and Campgrounds - KOA Kampgrounds of America, Inc.) but there a number of others. In any event, it is certainly a low-cost alternative to a hotel/motel... and, for the most part, is very comparable.

Also, I completely agree with Wahoo: RV Park Reviews :: Home is the place to start your inquiry. Unless you are really on the frugal, then Hiker Central

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 Does a campground have a toilet and a shower? I have never been to one.

Same as earlier posters, I have used RV Park Review Web site quite a bit to research for our upcoming trip. Yes, we will be going, and will be on the road for some indefinite time, perhaps around a month. If there is no emergency at home, or if we enjoy it too much, we might just keep goin'.

Though RV Park Reviews is pretty good, it is oriented towards RV'ers. There are some other Web sites that list exclusively public campgrounds run by states, counties, cities, or Federal agencies such as BLM, Forest Services, etc...

One that I like is ALL PUBLIC CAMPGROUNDS: STATE PARKS NATIONAL PARKS FORESTS camping Canada Provincial Parks BLM Army Engineers TVA County Regional campgrounds

It shows the public campgrounds on a map, which is nice for planning an itinerary. It takes a bit of navigation to follow the included links to the Web sites of the agencies that operate a particular campground to get more information. The advantage of these public campgrounds is that they cater to campers in tents, not just RV'ers. In fact, some are geared more towards campers.

I have been to just one such campground on our first trip to test our RV, and it so happened that the site I chose was about as nice as one can expect. For $26/night, you get a grassy spot next to your car parking slot, get some shade to pitch your tent. Then, the clean showers and flush toilets were right there for campers to use. The showers there even had hot water! This campground was on the bank of the Colorado River, and had a beach for swimming, and a boat ramp. There was a hiking trail. It was great recreation for so little money!

Same as rec7, we never made use of these facilities before, and the above was the first time we stayed at one, although in our RV. The campers near us were having a reunion, with a party of around 12. They seemed to have a really good time. Earlier, I had been told by a friend who organized a similar family reunion with relatives like cousins, and had a blast with a party of around 50. I did not know what it was like, until I saw how it worked.

Now that I know they exist, I look and see plenty of similar campgrounds everywhere. Once you find a campground of interest, and want to research further, a search on the Web with that campground name would bring up interesting comments and reviews by campers. I often got lost in reading these; armchair traveling can be a lot of fun.

Now, not all campground have showers and flush toilets. One must read the campground descriptions to know for sure. Though I mainly look for campgrounds that accommodate RVs and provide at least an electric outlet, I am also interested in campgrounds that cater mainly to tent campers, and allow RV'ers to co-exist with them. These often are near nice scenic spots that people prefer a natural setting to commercial RV parks. Because these are on public land, they often occupy prime spots, such as beaches, in the forests at the feet of giant trees, a lake, river banks or a stream, etc...

I have found some of these parks on the West Coast to be not too far from, or in fact right next to metropolitan areas. I think these are intended for local city dwellers to get out of town and to get closer to nature for a short vacation. However, it might work well for visitors to stay while visiting those cities. The drawback is the drive from these parks to the city centers might be up to 30-50 miles. One also misses out on the city night life, as some of these parks close their gate at 10PM, hence you need to be back a bit early.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Yes, we will be going...

[aldo]

I was in Estes last week with my RV. Have always (>10 years) stayed at Elk Meadow RV park. Mostly RV sites, but they do have a handful of cabins as well as a few teepees and spots for car camping. Restrooms/showers are clean and managers are friendly. Wifi is free but spotty at times. It's located right next to one of the entrances to the park, on the west side of town. We'll be in Estes again in September for the Longs Peak Scottish Festival--we volunteer at the Scottish Terrier Rescue Club booth. Estes will be very crowded then (9/9-12) so reservations may be hard to get

[FANOFJESUS]

Thanks everyone I guess this is not a cheap part of the country to stay in. It looks like a tent at about $30 is the cheapest the next step up is a motel for about $70.

[lowflyer]

Not to side-track this too much, but DW and I were just talking about heading out to Estes Park for a few days later in Sept. Spent our honeymoon there waaay long ago. Stayed at the Holiday Inn in town. Any other suggestions as to hotels or resorts? Willing to spend more...

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowflyer Willing to spend more...

Well, all righty, then:

Estes Park Hotels | The Stanley Hotel - Colorado Resort, Luxury Colorado Resort

("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.")

[lowflyer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Well, all righty, then: Estes Park Hotels | The Stanley Hotel - Colorado Resort, Luxury Colorado Resort ("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.")

Yea, I probably deserve that. Now if I can only decide on the Champagne and Truffles or the Resident Psychic to "enhance" my stay. Maybe that Holiday Inn isn't so bad.

[FANOFJESUS]

I wonder if she is the Resident Psychic?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ABE3wvxzA

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowflyer Not to side-track this too much, but DW and I were just talking about heading out to Estes Park for a few days later in Sept. Spent our honeymoon there waaay long ago. Stayed at the Holiday Inn in town. Any other suggestions as to hotels or resorts? Willing to spend more...

When I first went there, we stayed at the Riversong B&B. It was nice but it has upgraded itself and is now Romantic Riversong. Now we stay at a VRBO place near the YMCA with a kitchen.