Blog

Location & Map

• When – Sept. 2020
• Weather – Warm and breezy

Facilities

• Notes
  • This is a tale of two parks… One that ‘is’ and one that ‘will be’.
    • The existing park is small and the beach access is closed due to damage from hurricane Harvey.
    • However, the ‘will be’ part is the new beach access and camping loops under construction! Yeah!
  • Convenient location for access to beaches and Galveston proper.
  • The park is split by San Luis Pass Rd.
    • Camping is on the bay side of the island and not in the direct sea breeze path.
    • Beach access is currently closed in the park, however,
    • Public beaches are accessed by driving either direction on the highway just a few minutes.
  • The bay side park has trails and kayaking areas for wildlife viewing.
  • The pads space reasonably and every other one is closed due to the pandemic

• Park Map

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What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • FYI, Google maps shows the park entry at the temporary exit
  • The park roads need attention and we are guessing the bay side will be closed to camping when the beach side is reopened… and the roads will be repaired
  • No shower / Toilet in loop with water and electric sites for RV and travel trailers.
  • Only the tent camping area has facilities which were clean and operational
  • Bring bug spray! In the evening, at dusk, the mosquitos come to life and attack!

• Wildlife
  • Herons, Egrets and Pelicans were all within feet of the campsite.

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• Media
  • Houston TV, Radio and 4G services were fully available.

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Warm and muggy, (rain in the PM as we arrived)

Facilities

• Notes
  • Well-spaced pads.
  • Some shade and nice grass between pads.
  • Close to lake with paved paths.
  • Concrete level pads and rock driveway.
  • Restrooms clean.
  • We will keep this on our list to return to in the future!

• Park Map

• No paper map provided.

What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • Showers available. $.50 for 3 min
  • Dump station had hose and washout area to encourage everyone to keep the area clean!

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Warm and rain in the evening

Facilities

• Notes
  • Gravel roads in camping loops and gravel pads.
  • Some shade from old cottonwood trees which was welcomed!
  • Fairly level…
  • Nice setting around a small man made lake

• Park Map

What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • No showers in park
  • Vault toilets only (new toilets under construction)
  • Cedar Lakeview and Cottonwood share one toilet by boat ramp!!

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Warm and cool evenings

Facilities

• Notes
  • This is a big RV park with close campsites. Fortunately, the spaces were limited due to COVID 19 and only allowed every other space to be used.
  • Clean restrooms and showers.
  • Close to Estes Park proper and convenient to the National Park.
  • Estes is a great walkable tourist town with the Big Thompson Riverwalk, a farmers market as well as the tourist mainstays on Main Street.

• Park Map

What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • Gravel pads with some rutting.
  • Traffic kicks up the dust!
  • $2.00 showers (bring quarters!)
  • Rocky Mountain National Park requires reservations for entry during the day, or access before 6A and after 5P without reservations.
  • Don’t choose sites in the exit row… traffic after 11P and before 5A was excessive.
  • We wanted to be close to Estes and this park proved to be a reasonable choice. Many of the other RV parks near town were packed full… literally, slide-out to slide-out!

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Very comfortable

Facilities

• Notes
  • Some privacy in the small loops.
  • Vault and flush toilets.
  • Gravel campground loops for Cedar, Sage and Piñon loops with day-use traffic near the lake.
  • Paved campground loops for Cottonwood and Lake View with concrete pads.
  • Newly paved main roads.
  • Water in loops, but not at camp sites.

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• Park Map

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What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • Coin operated showers.
  • A very popular lake with a lot of local boating and fishing.
  • Rifle Falls State Park is just up the road is worth the drive, note, there are limited parking spaces in this park, (waterfall photos below).
  • Clean laundromat in the town of Rifle and a nice City Market for groceries.
  • Harvey Gap State Park nearby for SUP and kayakers. No camping there!
  • The 1PM entry time is upheld… We had to sit in the ‘penalty box’ for being early.
  • Hiking trails are under construction and other improvements throughout the park.

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Very comfortable, (no AC required in the evening)

Facilities

• Notes
  • We enjoyed several days at this park with side trips to:
    • Sand Dunes National Park (a side trip on the way to the park)
    • Telluride
    • Ouray
    • Ridgway
    • Montrose
    • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
  • Ridgway is a nice clean park with hiking, boating, and swimming for everyone.
  • The sites have large asphalt pads that were fairly level!
  • Many of the walkways are paved and all the paths are maintained.
  • No water at the sites, but close enough to run a hose for filling.
  • Some shade on pads and plenty of room for our screen room.

• Park Map

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What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • The picnic tables are on concrete and a separate tent pad with most sites
  • Privacy between pads with trees
  • Clean restrooms & showers
  • No need to check in at park office if you have reservations, (reservations are a must this summer)
  • Multiple laundry units accessible between camping loops
  • Limited TV, but full 4G Cell service

Photos

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Day Trips:

Sand Dunes National Park

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Telluride

• Telluride MIGHT be beautiful… however, because the city has:
  • no traffic lights and horrible traffic!
  • no parking
  • road construction everywhere
• Our experience was not memorable!

Ouray

• This is a quaint mountain town that supports a huge winter ice climbing festival.
• In the summer months, OHV seem to own the back roads.
• We drove up to the Bird Creek Gold mine – lots of single track road and dusty OHV action.

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Ridgeway

• This little mountain town serves as a supply station for the park.
• There is a memorial to Dennis Weaver outside of the town which is very relaxing.

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Montrose

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• For full services, fuel groceries, and competitive prices, head to Montrose!

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Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July 2020
• Weather – Warm and dry

Facilities

• Notes
  • We had planned to be in the New Mexico side of the lake, however, due to COVID-19, the New Mexico parks were closed.
  • This is a high desert area and this park is dry and treeless.
  • Pads are gravel but fairly level.
  • The park was quiet with so few campers at our camp area.
  • Tables and fire rings available at all sites and shaded tables only at a few pads.

• Park Map

What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • This was more like boondocking with reservations… There’s no water at the pads, so plan ahead or lug what you need.
  • The bathroom was clean, but the showers were not open due to COVID 19.
  • The campground is well up from the lake, so if you plan to boat as well as camp, your boat is not in sight of your campsite, (some safety issues).
  • The tables and their rust proof coating had long expired and all were in need of repairs!
  • We won’t be returning to this campground anytime soon.
  • No TV service. However, cell service was good 4G.

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Warm but cool at night.

Facilities

• Notes
  • Because of the pandemic closings, our New Mexico plans were cancelled so we opted for additional time in Colorado. This campground proved to be a good choice!
  • Although Trinidad is on the front range of the Rockies, the park and lake are in a nice. mountain setting just to the west.
  • Our chosen site was occupied by another camper, (his reservation error), so we had to wait a bit to get him moved around.
  • Because the campground is above the lake, the views are quite nice.
  • Narrow roads to the camping pads and parking could be a challenge for some big rigs.
  • The exterior pads in the loop are paved and interior are gravel.
  • There is a new shower building with clean restrooms and shower area.

• Park Map

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What we liked / disliked

• Notes
  • The park has a number of nice gathering spaces available including an amphitheater.
  • Park trail maps need painting!
  • We had a very nice space and some Good Neighbors to chat with during our stay!
  • TV and cell service good 4G

Photos

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Location & Map

• When – July, 2020
• Weather – Warm! (It’s Texas after all!)

Facilities

• Notes:
  • The camp pads are wooded and provide some privacy.
  • The pads are mixed paved and gravel but fairly level.
  • Clean showers and restrooms were welcomed… during the pandemic, it seems that many services have been lost in some parks!
  • The lake associated with the park is not directly connected to the campground due to a road closure but is still accessible.
  • There is a playground & pool / pool house that was part of the CCC construction.
  • Yurts and tent camping sites are available.

• Park Map

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What we liked / disliked

• Notes:
  • Bring bird seed if allowed!
  • There were lots of birds to watch and the deer roamed day and night!
  • We were separated from other pads but the neighboring sites were close across the road.
  • The trails are not marked well… (A good Eagle Scout project!)
  • Recycling was available.
  • TV and cell service good 4G.

Photos

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