Best Glamping near Granite, CO

If you like to have a nice relaxing time camping… don’t come here! Seriously! If you can… cancel and go literally anywhere else.

• Do you camp with dogs?
• Do you camp with Kids?
• Do you camp with an RV?
• Do you camp with more than 8 people?
• Do you camp with a grill?
• Do you like to NOT be micromanaged when you camp?

Then read on, Baby Doe is NOT the place for you in 2021.

First of all, you need to know are a family that camps with kids, and camps a lot! We are respectful camp neighbors. We have never been treated this way. (Please read my other reviews)

The camp host are Camp rule vigilantes. They don’t need a complaint or a “danger” to harass you. They are actively looking for things that no one is even complaining about, and they are enforcing rules that I’ve never even heard of.

Not only do the camp host have the extremely excessive camp rules posted on the tables (included in pictures), after you’ve arrived they come and ask you if you I’ve read the rules.

DOGS - They said if your dog is off leash, they don’t give you a warning, they consider the posted rules the warning, they only give fines. Also make sure you have an in-ground dog steak because they are enthusiastic about dogs not being tied to trees.

KIDS- Their posted rules include “children should never race bikes / shout throughout the camp site” … are you kidding me. So basically don’t bring your kids. The camp host were so aggressive about the other rules I was scared for my children to wander to far from our campsite. Our friend that had an older child was told to slow down when she was riding her bike.

RV - a friend in our group left their exterior lights on and sure enough the camp host came knocking. She started with “I’m not saying you’re breaking any rules but…” … long story short, he was asked to turn them off.

8 PEOPLE PER CAMP SITE - I’m not joking, they were trying to enforce 8 people per camping site. It was us and a couple families calmly hanging by the camp fire (no music playing) they told is we’re not supposed to have more than 8 people per camp site. The hilarious part about this is that the Ranger rolled by our campsite not even 5 mins before the host did and didn’t stop to say anything about it.

GRILL- Have you ever stayed at a camp ground that wouldn’t allow a charcoal grill because there’s “almost” fire ban?? Instead they recommend using the fire pit to cook. We stayed 6/18 and some counties are under a fire ban, Lake County where Baby does is located is NOT under a fire ban, but they still asked us not to use a charcoal grill.

QUIET-HOURS - at 9:52 they came to tell us that in 8 mins it’s quiet hours. Then proceeded to be ridiculously aggressive about it, despite us having ZERO complaints. We weren’t playing music, we were quietly hanging by the campsite.

I’d like to say the water was nice and the fishing was good but all of these positive things were overshadowed by being harassed by the camp host over non-issues.

Do your self a favor, find a better camp spot.

Please don’t take my word for it… people must be getting the memo because I’ve never seen so many empty camp sites! It was so hostile I’ve considered filing a formal complaint about how bad they were.

They have a great staff that is friendly and always accessible! We have a back-in site but they have pull throughs also. There is a playground for the kids, laundry, and bathrooms with showers. They allow fires and provide a “fire pit” that is constructed from an old washer tub with legs welded on. Just ask for one at the front desk. They also sell firewood for the fire. Oh, and they come by and pick up your trash at your site between 9-5 each day just leave your bag out by the road. There are full hookups at most of the sites. The area is in walking distance of the Gunnison River and there is a nice hiking trail on the south side of the river heading west. There is also a bike path that goes back into town and up the road toward Crested Butte. On the main road (intersection of CR11 and highway 135) there is a bus stop for a free bus trip into Gunnison. The men’s bathroom had a couple of issues, the overhead light didn’t work very well and one of the toilets was malfunctioning but they got those fixed pretty quickly. There is a nice combination of shade (from the trees) and sun at all the sites.

Nice campsite right on the banks of Roaring Fork River. Small site with 10 spots, first come, first serve. Arrived on a Wednesday in July just before noon and there were several spots to pick from. Sites 4 - 7 are on the river, which was very nice, good for sleeping. There are as fire pits and tables at each campsite. Vault toilets and a water spout on site. Plenty of lodgepole pines between sites so it feels private. Trail head for Lost Man Trail is right across the street, or head east on Hwy 82 to Independence and Lost Man Lake Tail head for a nice out and back.

Turtle Rock is the perfect spot for those looking for an experience in-between full facilities camping and dispersed. There are pull-in spots with fire pits and tables, there is a bathroom a ways down toward the beginning of the road, but everything else is primitive. The campground host, Don, introduced himself and was incredibly accommodating and hopped in to help me pitch my tent when it had started raining and offered up spots to get water, dump trash, etc. I could not have imagined a better experience at this “dispersed” site. Just 10 minutes from town and has everything you could need.

This campground is best suited for campers that have no children or pets, people who will spend zero time at their campsite or folks who are in their tent/camper by 9:30 pm.

This campground has zero tolerance for children playing

Our first impression wasn’t that great. Our site was clearly not cleaned up after the last campers departed. The remnants of their half burnt logs and ash soup was still in our fire pit. The wrong name was written on our site which left me quite anxious until we could confirm with the camp host that our spot was not given away to someone else.

The camp hosts were very rude and not helpful. They made every effort to tell us what we could not do without offering solutions of what we can do. For example, you can tie your dog to a tree if you have flat straps. Thank goodness for the kind Ranger patrolling the area that told us that!

Some of the things we were talked to about on our 3 day stay:

• Our awning lights need to be turned off. They might be bothering people.
• Your dogs can’t be leashed to a tree. They can’t be left alone in the camper or outside, even if you’re just running to the restroom.
• We should go into the woods if we want to play any games such as Cornhole so we don’t bother other campers. (Meanwhile a neighboring campsite was throwing knives and axes at a log 50 feet from us and they were never told to go elsewhere)
• They WILL yell at your children. The female camp host screamed at a little girl for going too fast on her bike.
• Quiet hours between 10pm - 8am mean: No more than 8 people around the fire, even if you’re quiet. You cannot ride your bike from one campsite to another because your headlamp might bother someone. No talking. No music, even if it can’t be heard outside your campsite. No laughing. (We were yelled at for laughing when they told us there were 6 minutes and 33 seconds left until quiet time).

The lake itself is gorgeous and had it not rained, we would have spent much more time there. Sandy beach area with rocks. Bring your sunscreen and stay at a different campground!

This became a favorite car camping spot of mine while living in Vail, Colorado. The lake is situated in White River National Forest and is accessible only for a few months during the summer via Red Sandstone Road. I have seen 2wd sedans drive up this road, however I would definitely recommend something with high clearance and 4wd if possible as the roads up there are not well maintained. There are plenty of first come, first serve USFS campsites near the lake, additionally there are quite a few service roads off of Red Sandstone Road that provide access to miles of additional dispersed campsites. It is hard to find a spot to camp without a breathtaking view of the Gore Range from Piney. In addition to camping, there are hiking trails near the lake and the privately owned Piney River Ranch offers horseback riding, boat rentals, fishing, a restaurant, and other lodging options. This area is also known for the moose that frequent the area, be sure to keep your distance if you are lucky enough to spot one! If you are interested in camping at Piney in the early summer or fall, you may first want to call the Minturn Ranger’s Station at 970-827-5715 to check on the closure status of Red Sandstone Road.

I was hoping to go here to see some people launching their white water rafting, however that was not the case when I was visiting. Despite being open year round there was not a lot of activity going on when I was there in late October during midweek. The surroundings were amazing, however I opted to not stay because a cold front was coming in to push through some snow, probably the reason why people where not rafting.

The sites for camping were nice, there were many campgrounds to choose from along the area and sites were large and spacious. Most importantly they were reasonably priced at only $18. Part of what makes these camps be able to not close their doors seasonally is their vault toilets, with no running water at camp they do not have to worry about pipes bursting or issues relating to this so camp can keep going.

Sites are equipped with traditional picnic table, fire ring and grill and there is a changing area at the campground too just to get out of the gusty winds and provide a bit of shelter for getting cleaned up each day.

The Salida campground does have a boat ramp and launch right beside camp and fully backs up to the river itself so you have amazing views from any campsite. You really can't lose with this place!!

TIPS:

• Come prepared there is limited cell service here and no store on site so you will be needing to go to town if you forget anything.

• Check weather conditions, though open year round you will want to prepare if cold fronts are passing through as this area is already a bit cooler being so close to the waters edge.