Arapaho Bay Campground is on Lake Granby in the Arapaho National Forest to the south east of Rocky Mountain National Park's Grand Lake entrance. It's about 20 miles (40 minutes) to that entrance which takes you in on Trail Ridge Road (Route 34). From there, you can take this scenic byway to the east side of the park. Don't miss this road!

Like many parks in Colorado in 2018, there is not a lot of shade because of the pine beetle infestation. There are 3 loops which seem like separate campgrounds; there's a pay station at each entrance if you haven't paid in advance. And you'll need to pay the day use fee of $5/day if you don't have a National Parks Pass. The Forest Service gets my applause for keeping the gravel road in good shape; it's not a teeth-chattering drive.

We snagged site 72 in Roaring Fork loop on a walkup at 10 am as the previous occupants were leaving. (Other loops are Moraine and Big Rock on the way in.) The reserved sign indicated the site was available until the next day, and we confirmed that on recreation.gov. You can't completely rely on recreation.gov; some sites specified as walkup that day were reserved. There are some non-reservable sites (saw a few in Moraine Loop but did not get to Big Rock). We always check recreation.gov for info on federal campgrounds even if we're not making a reservation.

Great sites: Sites 72, 73 (double fee) and 70 (weird numbering) are out at the end of Roaring Fork with beautiful views of the lake and mountains as well as a sandy beach. Check out the photos.

Activities: Monarch Lake is a few miles away and has a 4 mile loop trail with varied scenery. Parents were carrying small children in front/backpacks, so it's a fairly easy hike. Roaring Fork Trail at the entrance to the camping loop provides a bigger challenge. It's 6 miles to Upper Lake with a 2000 foot climb. (Or Watanga Lake is also 6 miles.) The trail climbs quickly in the beginning. You can walk up for about 20-30 minutes and get close to Roaring Fork Arapaho Creek. There were great views of Lake Granby and the Roaring Fork and Moraine loops. See photos.