Colorado Get Away- but where to?

Peak One Campground in Frisco, and next to it Pine Cove dry camping. On the Dillon Reservoir. Pine Cove is basically parking spaces, good for a couple of nights, but we spent a week there when Peak One was full. A little over 9,000 feet. Lots of hiking and kayaking in the White River NF. Close to Dillon and Breckinridge and about an hour from Denver.

We decided on the Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park Area for our next 2020 get away.  Their Weather looks Nice!

Luckily I did stumble upon the GOV Website stating you had to buy time frame arrival Tickets for each day to enter the Rocky Mountain National Park park due to COVID 19 and them limiting cars, Staggering them entering the park.  Due to COVID without these Vehicle Tickets you can't enter the Park.  I went ahead and secured the entry TIX I wanted for certain days when we will be there.

I purchased entry to the park for 8 of the days to the Park, and we left a few of the days off to explore other stuff and or just relax and walk the dogs. 

I did not get Super Early Arrival which is my strategy most times going to Major Iconic Areas / Tourist Traps, but locked in at least 8-10 Arrival Windows ensuring we can at least enter the Park.  It does appear from their website they still had real early arrival time TIX availability and would be releasing more for these earlier arrival times in the "future".  I was not wanting to hold out and wait for a maybe I will get a earlier ticket, and then missing out on them all.

I also left some days off wanting to make sure we have a few days time to explore other camping opportunities and places in the area as I can anticipate we may return to the area as it is not that far from the Desert here where I live in TX.

We both can't wait to see the Area.  Going to make it a point to Relax, see some beautiful views of nature and have fun!

JD

Let us know when you're around. Maybe we can get together for a Coffee or lunch.
We're just down the hill.

There are some nice drives outside the park that are close by, too.

Where are you staying while visiting the park?

Trail ridge road is a must do. I have seen class A RVs on it. I have ridden it twice, both from the Granby end. Wow. The view up at the top (11,000 ft +) is amazing. I spread my late wife?s ashes at the continental divide on trail ridge road. She loved that spot.

Lynx0849 said:

Where are you staying while visiting the park?

Trail ridge road is a must do. I have seen class A RVs on it. I have ridden it twice, both from the Granby end. Wow. The view up at the top (11,000 ft +) is amazing. I spread my late wife?s ashes at the continental divide on trail ridge road. She loved that spot.

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While you can take some fairly large vehicles over Trail Ridge Road, I recommend NOT doing so.
A 26-30 ft RV can tie up traffic very nicely, and the driver will spend most of the drive managing the drive and have little time to actually enjoy the view.
There are few easy places to pull over and get out to look around, and even fewer that accommodate a larger vehicle.
If you just want to do it to put another check on the list, have at it, but you likely won't really enjoy it, and neither will most of your passengers. I recommend unhitching the Toad and enjoying the day making the trip.

All of that is my opinion, and has little authority, but it comes from experience.

If you want to make the trip to move from camp in Estes Park to camp at somewhere on the other side, that is another story, because the alternative would be to go all the way down to I-70 and through the Tunnel. An even less enjoyable drive.

Trail ridge road is a must do. I have seen class A RVs on it.

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I agree that it's a must do, but I strongly agree with LarsMac that taking a motorhome along that road is a poor idea. There are some areas that are almost white-knuckle just in a pickup, and you'd likely be holding up traffic while not being able to enjoy the view. Parking would also be a real problem at most of the scenic parking spots.

If you want to make the trip to move from camp in Estes Park to camp at somewhere on the other side, that is another story, because the alternative would be to go all the way down to I-70 and through the Tunnel. An even less enjoyable drive.

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You wouldn't have to go to the Eisenhower Tunnel. You could take the U.S. 40 turnoff from I-70, go over Berthoud pass (better than Trail Ridge, but steep) and go through Winter Park, Granby, etc. And it's another pretty drive, especially after you get off the interstate.

I wasn?t suggesting he do it just for sightseeing, but just to give some perspective. Another great loop is Over to Granby, up to Walden, and down the Poudre Canyon to Fort Collins.

Have not narrowed down the eXact route into Estes Park, but we will be coming in north from Pueblo, CO RV park on a Wednesday morning. 

I am not wanting to pay tolls (See: "Tolls" below) but, not wanting to take IH 25 down into the Concrete Jungle of Denver during Rush hour either. 

I am unfamiliar with Denver traffic but at a length 32'5" and a 4 door Jeep Wrangler, I am not nimble, nor fast.

I will probably look at the road map and may go into Estes Park skirting Denver to the West on our morning that we leave Pueblo. 

If it is rush hour dependent and I choose to go IH 25 thru Denver I will time it to avoid. 

Does anyone have eyes on that stretch of IH25 roadway that runs thru the Heart of Denver if one was traveling thru in a north easterly direction?  Just curious if IH25 in Denver has some major "Road Project" On-going on in the heart of the concrete and Steel madness.  It looks like IH25 runs straight thru the Heart of Denver, at my initial quick glance when I was splitting the drive up by miles planning my outbound. I need to come back and look at that again.

I tend to try and avoid these Interstate Highway Roads roads while getting to Point "B".  To me it just takes the Fun out of driving the RV, the constant Stream of 18 wheelers. 

We like the road less traveled, but I do not like getting into situations where I am stacking traffic behind me endlessly either. 

The Ford V10 will make it, but some of those steep Mountains it can get Slow and Loud.  I personally have only been up to 9600 ft towing and traveling Scenic Highway 12 coming out of Bryce/Cannonvile, Utah area traveling east to Moab.

(Tolls In 2019 coming from Texas I got on a toll road somewhere near the Denver Airport. I went to Ft Collins.  Not sure when the Toll Road Actually started or stopped.  I took this same stretch of the road (Denver to Ft Collins) twice.  Upon getting home, I received a $80ish Toll bill in the mail for the two trips thru skirting Denver to the west.  I though it was excessive.

This trip no $80 TOLL Bills in the mail will be a major objective of mine. 

I can't wait.  It is going to be EPIC, going to take in some Beautiful Views!

JD

(Tolls In 2019 coming from Texas I got on a toll road somewhere near the Denver Airport. I went to Ft Collins.  Not sure when the Toll Road Actually started or stopped.  I took this same stretch of the road (Denver to Ft Collins) twice.  Upon getting home, I received a $80ish Toll bill in the mail for the two trips thru skirting Denver to the west.  I though it was excessive.

This trip no $80 TOLL Bills in the mail will be a major objective of mine.

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Avoid E-470, it's ALL tollway. Coming up from Pueblo, just as you get into the south metro area, there'll be a C-470 west bound that you can take as far as I-70 (way west and north), then take U.S. 6 to Colo. 93 then north to Boulder. As you get into Boulder take U.S. 36 north to Lyons, then into the mountains to Estes Park.

Should you decide to go through town on I-25, then you can get off on Colo 7, just 3 miles north of me (would love to have an eyeball), then west through Boulder to U.S. 36 to Lyons, etc. OR, you could get off just north of Longmont on Colo 66 west to Lyons, etc.

The traffic through Denver isn't nearly as bad as it was before COVID, but there are still times when it's congested. The heaviest construction that I know of on the I-25 route is between Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, and that stretch is frequently congested.

Where are you staying while visiting RMNP?

If camping in Estes, definitely take the Jeep up trail ridge rd at least to the visitor center.

Maybe do the loop I mentioned but head up US34 from Loveland back to Estes.

Larry N. said:

Avoid E-470, it's ALL tollway. Coming up from Pueblo, just as you get into the south metro area, there'll be a C-470 west bound that you can take as far as I-70 (way west and north), then take U.S. 6 to Colo. 93 then north to Boulder. As you get into Boulder take U.S. 36 north to Lyons, then into the mountains to Estes Park.

Should you decide to go through town on I-25, then you can get off on Colo 7, just 3 miles north of me (would love to have an eyeball), then west through Boulder to U.S. 36 to Lyons, etc. OR, you could get off just north of Longmont on Colo 66 west to Lyons, etc.

The traffic through Denver isn't nearly as bad as it was before COVID, but there are still times when it's congested. The heaviest construction that I know of on the I-25 route is between Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, and that stretch is frequently congested.

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Thanks Larry,

I am going to have to look at those road options closer and see what makes more sense. If the planets align a quick hello could definitely be in order. 

Made note of the E-470 Toll way.  As much as they charge, maybe this trip up there the roadways might be paved with Gold, but... I don't plan on finding out either.

We are Staying in Estes Park while we are in the Area. 

I read on the internet to break the park into 3 sections when making your day trip break down planning various segments of the park. 

See if this makes sense to the Audience of people who know the area. 

I don't want to arrive to a National Park this big without any plan. 

1. Grand Lake Area

2. Trail Ridge Road

3. Bear Lake Area

I am going to plug in some of the Can't miss trail hikes, POI, etc on a My Maps Google for future reference. 

I want to make sure we see alot of the, "Gotta See", places.

Right know I know nothing more than the Rocky Mountains are Rocky and they are located inside a big National Park, so I am getting my game plan together.

I need to break this down logically and plot out these tourist spots on a map and see just how far away from each other and from where we are staying. 

This COVID-19 staged arrival to the Park will make it interesting. 

I have seen some of the you tube videos where the traffic looks Horrible inside the Park, but I am sure the video is PRE-COVID. 

The traffic inside the Park will be the wild card in the deal this trip.  I am expecting Super Busy. 

I saw a you tube where a regular to the Rocky Mtn Nat Park area stated don't drive thru the Town of Estes Park to enter the Park but take the reverse route of the way 99% of the people stuck in traffic took. Judging by his you tube video where the passenger was filming on coming sea of cars it was a Great Strategy he had.  He was without any traffic ahead of him. 

I have time to plan as the trip is a bit in the future. 

Our main goal of the trip is to get out of the heat, and see some beautiful places, so no set agenda. 

Will definitely entertain some 3 mile and maybe a bit more hikes in the park so if anyone know a certain trail to hike or a can't miss I would appreciate the... "Hey, check this out."

I want to go to have some day trips in my back pocket and ready to eXecute the plan when we get there.

I know that in normal times shuttle would be what I would opt for, but I think this time will take our chances with crowded parking lots. Last Month we got Lucky in Bryce Utah the Shuttles were running but parking was ample at parking lots of major loops hikers loved to take.  The majority of my entry times are a window between 8-10 AM.  We will be closer to 8 AM to increase our chances of parking lot success. 

JD

I agree with Larry on route. Its single lane from Golden all the way to Estes Park. There are passing lanes on 93 from Golden to Boulder. Scenic route. Getting thru Boulder will be a bit of a challenge, but the route thru town (93 turns in Broadway) is 2 lanes almost the entire way. Once on 36 it turns back into single lane in Lyons. When you turn west into Lyons, stay in the right lane as you will need to go that way. 2 lane road will split and you will be forced to turn left or right. Both ways will take you into Estes, but 36 is faster. Hwy 7 is beautiful and less traffic if you choose that route. In which case stay in the left lane in town.

Having lived close to Estes Parks for over 25 years, I can tell you, you won't be disappointed in RMNP. Its breathtaking.

I've driven my coach over the pass many, many times. Not a biggie for me, but I live here.

Enjoy your trip. Stay safe.

but the route thru town (93 turns in Broadway) is 2 lanes almost the entire way. Once on 36 it turns back into single lane in Lyons.

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Obviously that's the lane count in each direction. I had to think about it for a moment, since what you are calling single lane I usually think of as 2 lane (one each way) and your 2-lane road is what I think of as 4-lane.

I agree with the rest of your assessment except that I still would discourage him from using Trail Ridge in the MH.

John, the Winding River Resort in Grand Lake is a wonderful place to stay. It's huge, has many sites among trees and such, though the full hookup sites are a bit closer together, but the place is huge, and they have facilities for many people with horses to camp there, along with Chuck Wagon, horse rides and more. AND, it's on the edge of (but not in) RMNP. On the edge literally, since a two minute walk from the entrance across the "winding river" puts you in the park. Check them out at: https://www.windingriverresort.com/

We have a place Secured for the duration of the upcoming stay.  Right now we travel with the Four Legged Kids, Chinese Shar Pei, Archie and Ashley. 

Without stepping into it too deep, Let's just say my boy Archie does not like to drop a duece (2) while being paraded around on the leash, so.... when we book reservations, Fenced Dog Park is a must. 

For our Estes Park trip duration it would be a absolute show stopper if it was not provided. 

I love walking my boy Archie, but he is getting up there in age and I prefer knowing he took care of "His Business" prior to our departure for our day trips.

Having him off leash, he will take care of business. 

..I've yet to understand all the mysteries of Life?

JD

Larry N. said:

Obviously that's the lane count in each direction. I had to think about it for a moment, since what you are calling single lane I usually think of as 2 lane (one each way) and your 2-lane road is what I think of as 4-lane.

I agree with the rest of your assessment except that I still would discourage him from using Trail Ridge in the MH.

John, the Winding River Resort in Grand Lake is a wonderful place to stay. It's huge, has many sites among trees and such, though the full hookup sites are a bit closer together, but the place is huge, and they have facilities for many people with horses to camp there, along with Chuck Wagon, horse rides and more. AND, it's on the edge of (but not in) RMNP. On the edge literally, since a two minute walk from the entrance across the "winding river" puts you in the park. Check them out at: https://www.windingriverresort.com/

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Sorry to have thrown you off on lanes numbers. As you can only travel in 1 direction at a time, i though count was obvious.
My bad.

Koodog said:

Sorry to have thrown you off on lanes numbers. As you can only travel in 1 direction at a time, i though count was obvious.
My bad.

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Not a big deal, but it's just a different way of stating it than what I'm used to. Language (especially English), unfortunately is so often not obvious, even in different parts of the same country. What's Beantown? What's "regular coffee?" What's a frappe? Those are apparently well known in the northeast, but I ran into these (and others) cold a number of years back and, for example, when the waitress asked "Regular or light?" when I ordered coffee, generated confusion -- she apparently couldn't grasp what "black coffee" is and I'd never heard of "regular coffee."

So no big deal, I mostly mentioned it in case someone else was briefly thrown as I was.

Koodog said:

I agree with Larry on route. Its single lane from Golden all the way to Estes Park. There are passing lanes on 93 from Golden to Boulder. Scenic route. Getting thru Boulder will be a bit of a challenge, but the route thru town (93 turns in Broadway) is 2 lanes almost the entire way. Once on 36 it turns back into single lane in Lyons. When you turn west into Lyons, stay in the right lane as you will need to go that way. 2 lane road will split and you will be forced to turn left or right. Both ways will take you into Estes, but 36 is faster. Hwy 7 is beautiful and less traffic if you choose that route. In which case stay in the left lane in town.

Having lived close to Estes Parks for over 25 years, I can tell you, you won't be disappointed in RMNP. Its breathtaking.

I've driven my coach over the pass many, many times. Not a biggie for me, but I live here.

Enjoy your trip. Stay safe.

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Thanks Dog,

We are looking forward to the views.  Probably easily top the Mesquite Trees, Cactus and 100F plus temps we are dealing with down here right now without too much problem  ;D. 

Looking at current pics on google of some of the areas, I am going to resist the temptation to Not Pack a Jacket, and pack one.

Not a natural for a Texan to look for a Jacket in July - August Time Frame of the year.

JD

Not a natural for a Texan to look for a Jacket in July - August Time Frame of the year.

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True, but you'll definitely want one in Colorado on many evenings, and even in daylight at times in the high country, especially on the higher treeless areas of Trail Ridge Road, or similar places. Some of that area is tundra, similar to the arctic.

Larry,

We had a Great Trip. Was thinking about you when we drove thru Westminster yesterday, but unlike my venture up where I put myself in at lunch rush hour, I had my ears pinned back and we hurried thru, over thru on IH70 then South to Lamar. Wanted to go back this way as opposed to long stretch of IH25. Did not like the construction down thru that stretch of Colo Springs .Estes Park, RMNP was Great. A couple of the evenings I could feel Fall Temps in the air.

Spruce Lake RV in Estes is a seasonal RV Park that closes 3 October. We loved the little pond stocked with cutthroat trout watching the kids and their Dads doing that time honored tradition of fishing. Dog park and proximity to Beaver Meadows Toll, RMNP entrance.

Loved it. Great trip. Now back to the Desert. Looking forward to getting my hands done. I got a couple carpal tunnel ops on the burner.

Will explore some Lone Star parks later this winter. I have my eye on Magnolia Ridge a CCC park and Garner State Park, down by Uvalde.

John.

Glad you enjoyed it, John. It's probably a good time for you to leave Colorado since most of the state is smoky from all the forest fires. Enjoy the Texas parks, too - there are some really nice ones.