Family Friendly Campgrounds in Colorado

Colorado has so many campgrounds. I mean it’s a gorgeous state, with campgrounds that have incredible sceneries and amenities. But there are some places that you DON’T want to stay. Trust me.

We want to make it easy for you to pick and choose a great campground for your family. In order for campgrounds to make the list of family friendly campgrounds in Colorado, they had to meet certain criteria. Not a ton of things, but some family essentials. 😉

What makes the cut for family friendly campgrounds in Colorado

When you think family friendly campgrounds what comes to mind? Amazing features! Fun things for the kids to do while they hang around camp. We don’t need a full on luxury resort, but just something fun. Oh and full hook-ups are a plus, maybe a shower house and laundry… to name some others.

Campgrounds inside state parks and national parks always make the cut. Who doesn’t want to camp in the forest somewhere. Fishing is usually allowed and you can splash around in the water too.

• Safe location
• Pool
• Laundy
• Shower house
• Cool fun extra feature (creek, orchard, white water rafting, camp setting and/or view)

Family Friendly Campgrounds in Colorado

This is not meant to be an “end all” list. These are campgrounds that we found to be fun and have a couple of amenities that might benefit a family.

M Lazy C

M Lazy C is located in Lake George. It’s about 50 miles from Colorado Springs. Don’t let the name fool you, this is a dude ranch type campground. They have activities during the summer months, usually on the weekends. You can bring your horse. YES… if you want to camp with your horse, this is the place. They even have horse pins right at your campspot.

The ranch also offers Chuckwagon dinners on Saturday nights along with live music! They also offer hunting/fishing and horseback riding there as well for a fee. This is such a unique camping experience you must check out.

Palisade Basecamp

Palisade Basecamp is located in Palisade, which is known for its fruit orchards and wine. Basecamp is super close to all the action in town.

They have a pool, river trail, natural playground, laundry, shower house, Colorado River access, pet park and are next to an orchard. You can bring your own raft and float on the river, right at camp. This place has so many fun amenities for any family.

Glenwood Canyon Creek

Glenwood Canyon Creek is located in Glenwood Springs. They have cabin rentals, tent spots, RV sites and a section for Sprinter Vans!

They have on-site white-water and family rafting, fly-fishing, a Bar & Grill, and a bike path. You can rent an inflatable ducky boat or kayak from them as well.

In the pictures there appears to be a rope course there as well. But nothing on the website mentions it. If you are interested in this campground, it might be worth asking about it. Also if you camp with your 4 legged friend, it would be a good idea to read their pet policy.

Arrowhead Point Campground

Arrowhead Point is located in Buena Vista. During the summer last year, we went on some pretty awesome trails near Buena Vista.

** Related Posts: Family Adventure in Salida

Arrowhead Point has laundry, a shower house, camp store, badminton, horseshoes, volleyball and an awesome playground. They also have the ability to help you book off-site activities such as rafting, adventure park, horseback riding and jeep tours.

Dolores River Campground

Dolores River Campground is located on the Dolores River. Which is located in the Southwest corner of the state. Super close to Mesa Verde National Park. This campground lets you have an RV spot on the river! To us, that is the best spot in the campground!

The amenities they have is a beach on the river you can swim at, laundry and showers, scavenger hunts, bingo, kickball tournaments, sno cones and a cafe. They also have a catch and release pond that you don’t need a permit for! The lodging options here are amazing too. You can stay in a yurt, wagon, airstream, cabin, tent or your own RV. So many options!!

Manor RV Park

Manor RV Park is located in Estes Park. They are along the Big Thompson River, which means there are several RV spots that are along the river. (Our favorite) They are known for deer and Elk visiting the grounds. (Another one of our favorites)

Manor RV Park has a shower house and laundry. In the summer they have a cafe and weekend activities. There is also a fun playground with lots of room to run around. Near the playground is a community fire pit.

Alpen Rose RV Park

Alpen Rose is located in Durango. This is one of those places you want to stay at when it’s the middle of summer. Shady, grassy RV spots with amazing views! And a pool open from memorial day to labor day.

Alpen is known for its sparkling clean bathrooms and laundry. They take pride in this honor. They also have a convenient store for that “one thing” you forgot. Oh and there is a dog wash!! We have a furry dog and man she gets dirty. Being able to give her a quick wash is a plus.

Clear Creek RV Park

Clear Creek RV Park is located in Golden. This RV park is along the Clear Creek River right in town. So if you are wanting a private secluded campground, this isn’t it. If you are wanting to drop in your kayak or raft, bike or hike from camp, this is the spot.

We love Golden. So to us, this is a great campground. We can walk anywhere and get to shops and restaurants. You can splash around in the river with your raft. Take a bike ride on the trail that is right at the campground. A fun, in town campground.

Diamond RV Park

Diamond RV Park is located in our favorite little mountain town Woodland Park. Well, it’s David’s favorite mountain town. Mine is Green Mountain Falls. They are like neighboring towns. 😉

Diamond RV Park is nestled in the forest. It’s such a pretty place. They don’t have crazy fun amenities nor are they close to some big city. Just a cute RV park in the forest.

The RV spots are shaded with elbow room. Our kids played pinecone baseball and never hit another trailer! Such a major plus in our book. They have new showers and laundry. A community fire pit area that is in the back of the property along a hiking trail. It even has cute lights leading up to it. A dog park area is also along the hiking trail too. Oh and a playground for the kids with a trunk full of sand toys and sports balls.

The family secret spot

Some Weekend Warriors have “their spot”. You know the spot that they try to get to friday night before dark. The one spot that is tucked away down a trail, on the river that no one knows about. Yea that family secret spot. We don’t have one of those spots either. But every time we go on a Jeep trail I sure as heck mark a spot that we could come back to that would be epic.

I think it would be amazing if you had a “family secret spot”. If you don’t, It’ll give you an excuse to get out on a dirt road and explore. It’s way easier to uncover and explore “the spot” without the camper hooked up to the truck… just sayin’. 😉

Oh and a family secret spot doesn’t have most of those awesome amenities that I listed above. 😉 It’s still way better!

**Related Posts: RV Camping in Colorado with kids

If you are camping and want to know what what kid-friendly activities there are near your campsite, we have an eBook all about the family friendly things to do in Colorado. You can snag a copy of it below.

Wrap-up

If you skipped the post and headed to the bottom, shame on you 😉 , below is what you missed.

So who did I miss? What family friendly campgrounds in Colorado would you add? Do you have a family secret spot? If so, how did you find it?