Looking to get away and reconnect with nature? Cabin camping near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland is the perfect choice. Find the best cabin camping near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland. When you're looking for a quiet location in nature, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect cabin rental.
Camping at Steamboat Lake offers a spectacular opportunity to immerse yourself in clean, crisp air and true Rocky Mountain living.
The Dutch Hill campground includes the Marina, the Marina convenience store, swim beach, dump station and Camper Services Building with coin operated showers and laundry. The following loops are included: Wheeler loop has all-electric sites with 50amp outlets. Bridge Island sites are all non-electric.
Winter camping with electric outlets is available on a first-come-first-serve basis in our Marina parking lot.
Reservations can be made the day you plan to arrive at the park or up to 6 months in advance. Reservable dates are between the Friday before Memorial Day until September 30. Cabins are available year-round through the Steamboat Lake Marina. Campers can stay up to 14 days at Steamboat Lake during a 28 day period.
Is an awesome camping trip on your calendar this year? Our summer calendar is filling up fast! Now's the time to make your reservations for the 2017 camping season. Don't miss out..call & make your reservations today. You won't find steamboats, but you will find natural hot springs in this scenic northwest Colorado mountain community (and in the area). This KOA puts you in the heart of all the natural wonders you can experience here, from fishing or floating the trout-filled Yampa River to tackling the nearby slopes of Mt. Werner at Steamboat Ski Resort. World-class hiking and mountain biking trails wind through the surrounding mountains. Enjoy the heated pool, mini golf and other activities at the campground. Then hop on the free bus or grab a rental bike and cruise along the bike paths to downtown, just 3 miles south. A true Western ranching town, Steamboat Springs charms with unique galleries and shows, dining and even a pioneer museum. Get a taste of local culture at the many festivals, including the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo, Rocky Mountain Mustang Roundup and Winter Carnival.
$60 / night
$42 / night
Seedhouse Guard Station is located approximately 26 miles north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was constructed in 1933 and offers a unique lodging opportunity for guests seeking recreation and relaxation in the Routt National Forest.This historic cabin is available for rent in the fall and winter. Guests can drive directly to the cabin when the roads are clear; however, winter access is only available by snowmobiling, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing over three miles from the end of the plowed road. The cabin offers some amenities, but guests need to pack in several of their own supplies.
Trailheads leading to hiking and horseback riding trails are an easy drive from the guard station. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail passes near the cabin through the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness. Anglers can fish for trout in the Elk River. In winter, the area is blanketed by snow for wintertime play. Snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing are popular activities. All motorized activity, including snowmobiling, is prohibited in wilderness areas.
The guard station is nestled beneath a canopy of fir and pine forest at an elevation of 8,000 feet along North Fork Elk Creek near the Middle Fork Elk River. Mount Zirkel Wilderness is nearby, one of the original areas protected under the 1964 Wilderness Act. The area boasts ecosystems ranging from sagebrush meadows in the lower areas to alpine tundra at high elevations. Wildlife is abundant near the cabin, including elk, deer and coyote. Migratory birds, squirrels and an occasional black bear find habitat in the forest as well.
Across the road from Seedhouse Campground. Less than 3 miles from several trail heads, many with access to the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area. Close to the Elk River. Closest store and restaraunts are Clark Store and Glen Eden Resort and Hahn Peak Roadhouse.
$100 / night
$18 - $120 / night
Located on the southern end of the Medicine Bow Mountain Range in north central Colorado, Rawah Wilderness was designated by the Wilderness Act of 1964 and now contains 73,868 acres. "Rawah" is a Native American term meaning "wild place."
Elevations in the Rawah Wilderness range from 8,400 to 13,000 feet. The high peaks were carved by glaciers, resulting in spectacular cirque lakes and moraines. There are twenty-five named lakes, ranging in size from five to 39 acres. This high alpine area contains the headwaters of the McIntyre, Rawah, and Fall Creeks, as well as the Laramie River.
The Rawahs are host to mammals such as elk, moose, mule deer, black bear, bighorn sheep, marmot and beaver. There are many species of birds including the red-tailed hawk, white-tailed ptarmigan, golden eagle, raven, Steller's Jay and a variety of warblers. Lakes and streams are inhabited with lake, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout. Graylings are also found in this area.
The Rawah Wilderness is very popular with summer backpackers, hikers and anglers. It is also popular with hunters in the fall. To encounter the fewest people, plan your trip for mid-week and use less popular trails.
Always use Leave No Trace techniques to help keep this area wild, clean and pristine.
Motorized equipment, or mechanized transportation is prohibited, including motorcycles, chain saws, bicycles or carts. Wheelchairs are exempt. Group size is limited to 12 people and/or livestock combined. Camping and campfires are prohibited within 200’ feet of all lakes, streams and trails to protect water quality, sensitive vegetation and to help assure solitude. Thin soils and mountain vegetation are easily damaged by fire and fires scar rocks and soil. Use a stove, a fire pan or an existing fire ring when and where fires are allowed. Campfires are prohibited in the alpine areas above 10,800 feet. Campfires consume scarce vegetation and leave permanent scars on the fragile soils of the area. Pets must be on a handheld leash at all times if hiking. Equestrian riders can have dogs under voice control.
This tiny but mighty cabin, w/coffee included, sits up on Jelm Mountain at 7600 ft with a view overlooking the Laramie River. This cozy spot is equipped with a queen bed, Outhouse, propane gas grill, picnic table, fire pit, and gazebo. .
Little Cabin with a View sits right on the edge of Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and is close to the Wyoming Colorado Border. This makes it an amazing hiking destination and great for snowshoeing and Nordic skiing in the winter. Depending on the time of year a trip up Jelm Mountain offers some beautiful views. The lack of light pollution make for great star gazing or full moon watching from the gazebo, or the Little Cabin front porch.
There is electricity, electric heat, microwave & mine fridge. The Wi-Fi is accessible in the sunroom at the main house, located about 80 ft from the Little Cabin, but does not extend to the Little Cabin. Downloading is slow but checking messages, social media & wi-fi calling works fine. Download anything you want to watch or listen to prior to arrival.
Fur Babies are welcome. They love the room to run.
Fire Pit use is dependent on winds and the weather and how dry the surrounding area is.
$125 / night
Traveler
This small campground is located on the Laramie River at historic Wood's Landing. It has log cabins with common facilities and 5 available water/30 amp electric and a dump station. The sites are small but the location is feet from fine trout fishing and a good restaurant open Wednesday through Sunday. It has a small store and a gas pump where fishing licenses are sold. We stayed for a week and explored Big Creek Lake, the North Platte and the Snowy Range, earning the weekly rate. Some sites have a fire pit and table, ours did not.
Legend
This is one of my all-time favorite places to hike and camp in Colorado. I have not yet stayed in any of the campgrounds but have backpacked to the top of the American Lakes Trail. Not only is this hike fantasticly beautiful and full of wildlife (tons of moose especially) but there is great dispersed camping along the trails. You simply cannot find more scenic and free camping in Colorado. I would highly recommended camping anywhere in State Forest State Park!
Also, there are quite a few huts, cabins and yurts that can be rented year round in SFSP!
Guide
We stayed here for 2 nights in one of the Cabins in December. There is no electricity, bedding, or running water, but there is a propane heater that looks like a wood burning stove that casts a great ambiance. Our cabin also had plenty of coat racks, a snow shovel, and a table. We stayed in Cabin 6, and walked though 2 feet of snow 300 ft down a hill (larger hill than expected) with all our stuff to get settled in. As we approached, the propane stove was already going and the cabin was warm and inviting. We used string lights (solar powered) to provide light (there is a dim solar powered light in the cabin as well). We brought 0 degree sleeping bags in case the heater was not enough, but it was toasty warm inside and we ended up hot. The cabins are right on the edge of the reservoir (which is drained as of Dec 2021 but still beautiful in the snow). Cabins 1-3 (cabins 1&2 hold 15ish ppl for large groups, cabin 3 is ADA) are closer to the road and look like they would not have such a long walk in the snow. During my search, it looks like they also allow primitive camping in the winter for $18, but I didn't see which area this would be in, the cabins are on the north side of the lake. Daily vehicle fee of $9. The experience was incredible, we were completely alone and enjoyed great stars and beautiful sunrises. Highly recommend for a unique winter camping experience (sure it would be great in the summer as well but likely way more crowded). Be sure to be prepared for cold temps!
Legend
Fee box at entrance with all current information.
"Reservation Only" 800-244-5613 or cpwshop.com or come to the Moose Visitor Center Campground is very open. Gravel sites with picnic table
Electric $36.00 plus reservation fees Basic and tent $28.00 plus reservation fees Dispersed $18.00 plus reservation fees Small cabins $90.00 Large cabin $120.00 Yurts & Huts $80.00-$275.00 Backcountry no charge
The park encompasses almost 71,000 acres. You will find a visitor center 187 campsites for RV and tent and over 60 dispersed sites, 15 cabins and yurts, boat ramps and 94 miles of hiking trails. There are all types or recreation throughout the year. The park forest is being decimated by the Mountain pine beetle so the dead trees are being removed. This leaves a very stark deserted look. It is very difficult to observe the devastation that the state of Colorado is dealing with.
LNT
Better than when you found it
Stay safe and happy travels
LegendWe stayed in cabin #3 and it was an awesome experience! We had room enough for 4 people and 3 dogs and didn't feel like we were on top of each other. The gas stove kept us nice and toasty all night long!
There are 4 cabins. Ours seemed to be the smallest sleeping 5. The largest cabin can easily hold 30 people.
The bathroom was a pit toilet, which was up the hill and farthest from our cabin so it was a chilly bathroom run in the middle of the night.
We spent a lot of time sledding and snowshoeing and we were basically the only ones out there. There was another large group in the bigger cabin but we barely saw them until they left on Sunday.
The beds were plastic coated so it was easy to throw a sheet over them and sleep. The Couch was a bit gross, not sure if the cover gets washed much. There were shelves to hold food and an outdoor picnic table in the room to cook on.
Traveler
My wife and I rented this cabin for two nights. The views are awesome and the cabin is very cozy. The host(linda) is truly a angel and goes out of her way to make everything great. There is river access very close and they offer a razor ride up jelm mountain and numerous trails to hike on.
Scout
Rudest management and worst customer service I've ever experienced. Would give 0 stars but that's not an option. In January we booked a cabin for our family for 5 nights at the end of July. We were then contacted this week(2 months later) saying they've decided to do a construction project and can no longer offer the cabin we booked. They asked if they could move me to a tent site since they had no other cabins available. I advised we don't have a tent, that's why we booked a cabin. They then told me that they had a cabin but it was only available for 2 of the 5 nights we had booked and asked if I wanted that. The other"great" option was they could just cancel all together(with full refund, as if that was them doing me a favor) and we could find somewhere else. Well, at this point I've lost 2 months and the majority of places are fully booked due to a large baseball tournament happening this same week. So, I agreed to take the 2 night so that I could at least have something while I looked for another place. I was then informed that the cabin they were moving us to was$100 more per night and they could not adjust the price(even though this was completely their doing). When I asked to speak with a manager I then had the great pleasure of speaking with General Manager Bob Junker. Bob began to get very rude when I asked if there was anything they could do due to the incredible inconvenience they caused us. He acted as if this was a bigger inconvenience to him than us and initially threatened to cancel even the 2 nights in the more expensive cabin they moved us to. He proceeded to tell me that they can get full price for the"premium cabin" they were moving me to and had no reason to give it to me for our original cabin's price. At this point in the conversation I asked to speak with his boss to which he said"No" and stated he can make whatever decisions he wants and ended the conversation. You'd think that would be the end but the story gets better! After attempting to contact the owners of the campground to lodge a complaint I received a call the next day from good ole Bob saying they were just going to cancel my reservation all together and hung up. I guess my call to the owning companies office made its way back to him Thanks Bob for the incredibly horrendous customer service! Really well done! I hope you're proud of yourself for ruining our trip and making that extra couple hundred bucks! Here's to hoping you're not actually the owner and they eventually decide to get rid of you for causing their sales to decline by losing customers.
GuideA basic family style campground directly on the Yampa River within city limits of Steamboat Springs. Tent sites, RV sites, tent cabins and full fledged cabins. We had a tent site right on the river. Miniature golf. Various bikes to rent. This was the priciest camp site on our cross country trip. But it is located within an upscale ski resort town so probably expected. A little noisy from road traffic.
Scout
Cute little place, very quiet and pretty. Creekside cabin, with fire ring and picnic table.
BYO toilet paper, just in case ... we had 1/2 a roll.
Cabin is definitely showing its age, though the four-burner electric stove and the white fridge-freezer work just fine. It has three sinks, two showers, one toilet, plus a long outdoor laundry line.
We were there with our Girl scout troop (six 13-year-olds). The picnic table and the large kitchen table were great for meals and crafts, such as tie dying shirts, making scented candles, etc.
The kitchen has plates, bowls, mugs, forks and glasses/cups. You may want to bring a measuring cup, spoons, knives, napkins, sponges (for washing up).
DONT FORGET TO PACK OUT ALL OF YOUR TRASH. The two groups before us didn't; what jerks.
We drove 12 miles from this cabin to hike to Crater Lake; it's pretty country. Dusty roads, loads of stars, other little creeks nearby.
Guide
Great in the fall to listen to the elk bugling! Gorgeous aspens that quake in the breeze. Beautiful forest! Very well-apportioned cabin with shower.
ScoutWater and electric hook up for RVs. Cabins. Laundry. Near a beautiful river. Only downside is that it’s a little expensive and right off the highway
LegendRight outside of Steamboat Springs is Steamboat KOA. This campground has so many perks. Not only is there a beautiful Mountain View but it also has the Yampa river running through it. It has Rv sites, cute cabins, and tent sites. The Rv sites are separated in areas by what you need(electric, water, sewage). The RV sites each have picnic tables and a fire ring. There are regular cabins and deluxe ones which both include tables and fire rings. The tent area is located across the river and is so peaceful. There is a general store, putt putt, propane fill, a small dog run, bikes for rent, swimming in season and the city bus comes to take you to town for free. Although it is located right off the road, it was still peaceful and I felt safe. My favorite part about this campground is the fact you can stand on the bridge or sit by the Yampa River and enjoy the beauty and sounds, and watching people fly fish.
TravelerWe stayed at North Michigan Campground. The campground is beautiful. We had site 221 which is right above the water with it's own little trail going down to the reservoir. From what I've seen, I think this is one of the best sites available. Bring bug spray! Also, there is no water directly in this loop of the campground so make sure you fill up near the cabins before driving up.
TravelerThis is a wonderful campground on Michigan Reservoir. It’s busy for sure, but never in a way that deters me from visiting. There are cabins to rent, which are fun too. Fishing, hiking, off-roading, kayaking or canoeing, or simply sightseeing - there are big mountain vistas to enjoy. There’s a ton of beetle kill in the area, so that hurts the views a bit, but that’s pretty typical in this area.
Traveler
This is one of our favorite campgrounds in Colorado. We make a habit of visiting the week after Labor Day. The crowds are gone and the campground is peaceful. Amenities as small boat rentals remain open. The local deer migrate into the campground. A site on lake’s edge is usually available. Fall’s morning fog greet you in the morning. Outstanding mountain and lake views suttound your campsite.
Traveler
To say we love Beaver Meadows would be a huge understatement. We spend just about every other weekend there all year long - winter and summer. We got married there in 2014 (as our photos show) and it was beautiful. The outdoor wedding area is amazing and right by a river. The reception hall for after is so cool with giant windows so you can look out in every direction on nature and you celebrate your big day. Ever since we've been hooked. They had cabins, condos, lodges, and camp spots so every guest had a place to stay the night.
When you pull around the corner and into the valley it takes your breath away every single time. Lush green fields, ponds, stunning mountain backdrops, wildlife, horses running free, people fishing and riding horses. It's a playground for adults and kids and it's only an hour from our house in Fort Collins - we can't stay away. They have a yummy restaurant too so we never even bring food - we just eat there.
In the winter we go snow tubing (12 + runs with a lift) and stay in one of their little heated cabins which is so cozy but also provides all the amenities of home (kitchen, bedrooms, entertainment, etc). We love to go up before a storm and watch the snow start to fall. In the spring and summer we are up there camping along the river all the time. Each site is unique so we like to change it up each time - we go hiking, horseback riding, and fish in the stocked ponds! There are some unique fish in there - really neat. In the fall we like to go up and do the "river walk" - a series of paths and bridges through tall foilage that feels like your in a different world. Watching the leaves change is awesome in the fall - compares to any drive you can do in the state - soooo many aspens.
If your looking for a romantic weekend with the significant other or a family vacation with the kiddos - I would highly suggest making the drive up - I bet you will fall in love with it just like we did and won't be able to stay away.
ScoutI stayed a week here for a backpacking trip in July last year. It was absolutely beautiful! I especially enjoyed the American Lakes trail up to Michigan and Snowy Lakes. That amazing landscape will forever be a special place to me. They were doing a lot of work while I was there, preparing for a potential fire and recreating a trailhead. I saw more heavy equipment along the Kelly Lake trail than I would have liked but such is life. The staff at the info desk are really helpful and local. They helped me plan my trip and answered a lot of questions for me. You are allowed to camp off trail (.25 mi) so you can pick your campsite really well. I unfortunately found a few old fire pits along the way but I didn't have to pick up garbage after anyone. I'm considering going back with my family to stay in one of the yurts or cabins scattered throughout the park. Highly recommended!
Legend
We absolutely love staying here! Many options to stay including walk in camping and covered wagon cabins. There is a long steepish trail that leads to many camp sites along the river. You are not allowed to drive to camp, you must walk your gear in. Very shaded and flat areas built for tents in each site, picnic table, gas grill with propane, fire pit, showers and bathrooms are a short distance away. Running water and easy access to the Hot Springs too.
The place is always updating and staying on top of upkeep. It has many pools of various sizes and temperatures. Even river access to cool off when it's not moving too quick.
As you can see on this visit, we were snowed on. As it seems to be a crazy season this spring 2019- be prepared for muddy rough conditions on the road to the Hot Springs entrance. It can require 4x4 and sometimes is not passable. Depending on weather and conditions. See there website and/or call!
RangerWe stayed at the Steamboat KOA for 2-1/2 weeks on a business trip and greatly appreciated the solid Wi-Fi. The setting is idyllic with mature trees and the beautiful Yampa River running through it. The first half of our stay we were in the original Campground with a center, gravel, pull thru, #71. Then, moved to #31 a back-in site against the fence and away from the road. Although it was smaller, we personally liked #31 better. It had more privacy then the larger open center one. The park opened a new section for Memorial Weekend doubling the size. The new area added 27 paved RV lots as well as 10 deluxe cabins and 14 improved tent sites. They had a large friendly staff, working nonstop who took care of everything!! Every arrival received a person golf cart escort to their site. The general store is well stocked, there’s movie nights and a playground for the kiddos. All the facilities were clean and well maintained. By the end of our stay we felt like family thanks to Lance, Ruth and Beth.
Legend
Primitive camping was great here in the North Camp Area. From what I can tell all the Primitive sites have fire rings. Site 470-480 even have a vault toilet but they are close together. I stayed at site 410 which has a stream behind it and was a beautiful spot. I would also recommend sites 411-414 & 421 for the primitive camper. The hiking is just beautiful and there are several lakes (2 are only accessible by hiking in). Most of the sites around the large lake are for RV or Cabin campers and fill up fast. There is no picnic area near the lake so if you are primitive camping you have to be creative. ALL RESERVATION FOR CAMPING ARE DONE ONLINE. There is no cell serves past the entrance so be sure to book in advance. The vault toilets are well kept there is no indoor plumbing that I could find. There is also Yurt camping here. There is no electric hook up for the RVs but there is a dump station. Water can be found in a few areas around the park.
GuideWe camped here in a trailer for almost a week. We were shocked at the availability of spaces given that Colorado is notoriously booked up by February.
Our space was The Overlook and it had an amazing view. The stable horses came up next to the site every morning. It is a massive site that accommodated our trailer, a 2-person tent, 2 vehicles and still had room to spare. The only downsides were no picnic table, little shade, and lots of wind up there.
We drove around to view the other sites. Many options including walk-in sites, riverside camping, and campsites with corrals for horse camping. If you have a larger trailer, avoid the lower sites. Keep to 1-5 or the Overlook for access.
There are stocked trout ponds. You have to pay an additional fee to fish in them. We bought fish food and never saw a fish. The ponds really needed to be maintained as there was a lot of weed growth.
The office is on the first floor of the condo building. Usually open until 4 pm. There is a restaurant (closed while we were there).
Showers are available for $5.
A gift shop/store is available with various small items and treats.
WiFi is available at the office and restaurant. Campsites are too far away. Couldn’t reach it with our WiFi extender either. (Normally wouldn’t want to but working sucks.)
Water for trailers is available bit a tad challenging to access simply because of sharp turns. I can’t speak to water availability for lower campsites.
Trash containers at both the lodge area and at the lower campground.
There is no dump on-site. However, there is a fee-based dump about 1.5 miles away in the Crystal Lakes Community. $10 per use with free water.
The stables are managed separately but are directly across the road. Super friendly and reasonable rates for trail rides. Our 5 & 7 year old granddaughters were able to ride their own horses and had trail riders lead them. Super nice folks!
This is open year-round (condos/cabins in winter) with tubing, skating, and X-country skiing in winter.
GuideWe've stayed at the Steamboat Springs KOA multiple times over the past couple years for many reasons. It's close enough to downtown Steamboat, right on the Yampa, and has plenty of things to do for the whole family. There is a small pool, updated miniature golf course, trike rentals and the Yampa running through the campground.
I love the ability to ride into town to the mountain bike trails on Emerald Mountain. On your way back from the amazing singletrack, be sure to stop at Taco Cabo to grab to-go grub and head down the road to Storm Peak Brewing for a cold barley pop with your amazing takeout.
Some of the RV spots are close to each other, but the park is quiet overall. Across the bridge over the Yampa River, there are plenty of tent spots. The facilities are clean and there are plenty of showers to keep all campers clean.
GuideThis is by far our favorite campground in the Colorado State Park system. It’s great for families because you of the swim beach and marina. The views are spectacular. Don’t miss the homemade fudge.
GuideColorado does a great job with their parks and this is no exception. Stayed here spur of the moment booking two nights prior to the stay. It’s a large facility and when we booked, for a midweek stay, there were 11 sites available, one with power. We had a large site with great views of the mountains and if we stood on our tippy toes we could see the lake.
We’ll be back aiming to snag one of the sites with lakeside views.
LegendWe found State Forest State Park on a whim this past July 2018. We were on a road trip from California to Colorado for a wedding in Granby, CO. We were camping in Utah at Dinosaur National Monument, but due to the smoke from a nearby wildfire and the high heat of the summer, we decided to cut our stay one day short, and head over to the Rockies a day early. We wanted to be fairly close to our final destinations, Granby then RMNP, but wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. My boyfriend and I are both animal lovers, and our dream was to finally see a moose on this trip out to Colorado. In researching moosey areas on the internet, we found the Moose Visitor Center at State Forest State Park. We figured that a place with a Moose Visitors Center was as moosey as it comes, so we reserved a site online and headed out to Colorado.
It was late afternoon when we arrived, but since we had already eaten, we didn’t have much to do besides set up our tent and sleeping pads for the night. Getting to the campground and visitors center is easy as they are both right off the highways 41 and 14, but it is quite a drive to get to, in general. The scenery is so pretty, that we did not mind the drive to or from SFSP. North Michigan Campground is right by a lake, it is pretty.
The sites are primitive - each site had picnic benches and a firepit, but at the time we visited there was a Stage 2 fire ban in place, so we couldn’t have a campfire. The fire ban included the burning of wood and charcoal - using a propane stove was OK.
There were pit toilets, and they were well maintained. The sites appeared to have once had more in the way of trees and shade, but it looks as though SFSP was hit by the pine beetles, like so much of Colorado. It’s sad to see the destruction the beetles left in their wake, and fewer trees mean less privacy and less shade for tent campers. We would have had a hard time setting up extra tarps in case it had rained that evening. Bringing an easy-up or canopy would be smart in the summer to protect against sun and heat, or a passing thunderstorm.
WARNING: You ARE in bear country and there were no bear bins in the campground - be bear safe and bear smart, lock all of your food and toiletries inside your car at night. I was once told by a ranger in Yosemite NP that bears can recognize coolers when peering into car windows, so we always put a towel and gear over our coolers when keeping them in the car overnight.
We packed up early and arrived at the Moose Visitors Center when they opened. The visitors center was educational and interesting, and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. After studying some maps of the area with the rangers, we decided to try our luck driving along Highway 14 towards Fort Collins.
We stopped at various spots along the highway, and ended up walking around the Joe Wright Reservoir for a while. Thunderheads were rolling in, and some rain and thunder started, so we decided to start making our way back towards SFSP then head down to Granby, our next stop. We were around Cameron Pass and had given up on seeing any moose when we saw traffic slowing and cars stopped alongside the road - there were two young bull moose snacking by a small river on the side of the road! We pulled over, turned our hazard lights on, grabbed the camera, and jumped out to see our first moose. The moose seemed unconcerned by their growing audience, and continued to chomp away on their lunch - there was a small ravine between the moose and their human audience, so neither moose nor humans felt threatened.
According to the staff at the Moose Visitor Center, there are only about 1,000 moose in the entire state of Colorado - and here we stumbled across two moose at once! We were ecstatic, and so happy we made the impromptu, unplanned trip out to State Forest State Park! We returned to the Moose Visitors Center to share the experience with the rangers (they record the specifics of moose sightings in the area on a board), and the ranger gave us a high five for spotting our first ever moose.
I would like to return to the area someday to hike, I imagine the nearby trails must be goregous!
CAMPSITE SPECS
Fees: $18/night
Plumbed Toilets: NO - pit
Drinking Water: Yes
Showers: NO
Picnic Table: Yes
Firepit: Yes
Cooking Grates: Yes
Shade: Limited!
Cell Service: NO
Animal Bins/Food Lockers: NO
RangerThis campground is part of State Forest State Park but used to be a KOA. As we understood (from talking with the park rangers), the State Park bought the rundown KOA and is doing repairs as they can. The campground is on Park Property.
The good: The scenery is unbelievable, truly exactly how Colorado is portrayed in movies and dreams. You will probably see wildlife-deer and moose are common. The fishing in the park is awesome. The sites are well spaced a very level. You have privacy and lots of room to roam.
The bad: The bathrooms/showers were rundown from the leftovers of the KOA. The State Park is a haul to get to. There are no real towns of any significance nearby. Be prepared to come into this park and stay here for the weekend!
No hookups but the views are worth it!
Word to the wise-we were there in late June and we saw about 6 inches of snow overnight. It was cold!
LegendFor those looking for dramatic scenery and endless wildlife, State Forest State Park should be at the top of your list. This is one of my favorite places in Colorado for hiking, backpacking, backcountry skiing and of course, camping! The campgrounds in the park are wonderful and offer plenty of amenities, this review in particular though refers to my experiences with the dispersed campsites in the park and my winter camping adventure near Montgomery pass. According to their web site, there are over 60 dispersed camping sites throughout the park. Due to the winter season of our trip in particular, we were snowshoeing to our campsite and didn’t go too far into the park. We approached along Montgomery Pass and camped at approximately site #416. This is a high elevation site and there was plenty of snow, so there was no access to toilets that we could find. However, there were toilets at the trailhead which were still open during our trip. Overall, I cannot express enough how wonderful this park is and all of the campgrounds and dispersed sites are very well maintained. For those looking for well maintained and scenic campgrounds, there are 4 awesome campgrounds to choose from. Those looking for more of an adventure should check out any of the dispersed sites throughout the park. Note that camp fires are not allowed in the backcountry. Also, this park is home to a large population of moose, and visitors should educate themselves on safety precautions specific to these giant and beautiful animals!
Stay tuned for my reviews of their campgrounds which are coming soon as well.
Experience the charm of cabin camping near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland, where stunning landscapes and outdoor adventures await.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland is Dutch Hill Campground — Steamboat Lake State Park with a 4.3-star rating from 26 reviews.
What is the best site to find cabin camping near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland?
TheDyrt.com has all 31 cabin camping locations near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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