Best Glamping near Parachute, CO

We came from 6 nights in the mountains and spent 1 night in our rooftop tent on an electric river site. It was the perfect spot in Palisade. The bathhouse was very clean and convenient. One side of the building had men and women restrooms with showers. The other side had family bathrooms with one toilet, one shower, and one sink. The bathhouse was air conditioned which was very appreciated! It was hot out!!! While we were sitting around our firebox campfire, staff rolled up on a golf cart with fresh peaches to try that were picked that day. That was a nice surprise! We bought one for later in our trip!

This campground is conveniently located off of I-70 just a few miles from Glenwood Springs in No Name, CO. The staff are pleasant and the office was very clean with some cute souvenirs available for purchase.

This place is EXPENSIVE. It is not worth the nightly rate. You are paying for the proximity to town and if you reserved a waterfront site, the view. The campsites are tiny, so be prepared to back your travel trailer into a tight spot and make friends with your neighbors. You will be in their campsite while setting up your rig and vice versa.

The No Name Grill & Bar was still closed when we were here (May ‘21), which was not disclosed on their site. The WiFi is a single unsecured access point near the laundry/bath house that did not work. There is no WiFi available in the actual campground. We had 2 bars of cell coverage on AT&T. Laundry is pricey too; $4/load for washer and $3/load for dryer. There is no vending for detergent or dryer sheets, so pack accordingly.

As beautiful as it was to be right next to the Colorado river, this place is not at all worth the cost. Save your money and drive the 90 miles to Grand Junction or Fruita for more affordable campgrounds with better amenities.

The Deep Lake area of Flat tops Wilderness offers a variety of scenic hikes and drives as well as 4x4 trails and great lake fishing. The drive up to this area is up a dirt road about 10 miles, the road can be a beat beat up in areas. I blew a tire on my truck on the way up. Other than that the drive up is very scenic, you will pass the deep creek overlook and can see Aspen, Beaver Creek, and Vail Ski Resorts all in the same view.

The campgrounds are very large and spaced out. We went with a large group, 5 cars and many tents and had plenty of room. Some site are able to accommodate an RV or trailers. Sites vary between open and exposed to set against the forest for shaded. Restrooms were located fairly close to our spot and i remember it being one of the cleanest vault toilets i have ever used! Each spot also has a metal fire pit with a grill over top.

Like i mentioned earlier the Deep Lake area is a great base camp to go out and explore. You will find many people driving off road vehicles around. The fishing in the lake is also very good, the Forest Service stocks the lake every year. Lastly the campground sits at 10.500 ft so it does gets chilly up there even in the middle of summer.

The reservoir has restrictions on all boats so make sure you follow the rules or else they can hit you with a huge fine. 

The campgrounds are large and can accommodate a lot of people and large and small rv’s. 

There are multiple loops near the water and a larger camping area on the north mesa overlooking the lake. Most of the sites have some sort of shade whether that is a picnic canopy or trees. The lower sites near the lake are tightly compacted but can fit RV's and have tent pads with gravel. There are trash cans placed throughout the park for easy access. 

There is a dump station, water on site, and clean bathrooms. Each loop has a camp host so the sites are clean and maintained. They are very friendly but are always on site and the quiet hours are heavily enforced.

The lake is stunning blue and large enough that you will rarely run into other people while out on it. There is a boat ramp for launching on the lake.

There are day use areas with covered picnic tables that you can hang out at and a nature trail through the marsh that you can walk.

Wow! This is a beautiful spot. The lower campground is for tents and smaller RVs, but is definitely the spot to be if you can swing it! This campground has cabins, glamping tents, tent pads and spaces for RVs. We camped in spaces 17 and 18 in the lower campground right by the river. The “resorts has a rafting company, zip line, and restaurant/bar on premises.

Pros:

• Easy to access off of I-70, but you feel a million miles away
• Gorgeous scenery all around
• Very easy access to the bike/walk trail through Glenwood Canyon
• 5 to 10 minute drive to Glenwood Springs attractions - Hot Springs, Gondola, downtown shopping a land restaurants

Cons:

• Spaces are EXTREMELY close together
• The train runs by, which is very nice to see and experience as it runs through the canyon, but at 5 am, that sucker is LOUD
• It’s a pricey campground, but could be worth it if you take advantage of all the amenities and it fits in your plans

Overall, this is a great campground. I might save it for a mid-week stay or slightly off season so you aren’t stacked on top of your neighbors.

The resort may not be busy in the fall, but that just adds to the appeal of staying this season. We arrived late, but check in was a breeze, and we were able to make ourselves comfortable. The bathhouse is heated and in pristine condition. On property their is a very lovely peach orchard, a dog run, and river access which would be ideal for the summer months. The camp sites are close together but have good trees and even plugs! The cabins are comfortable, with heating, mini fridges and microwaves. 

And the best part: Colterris winery is right next door to walk to.

General: Sites ranging from tents to vans to full hookup RV to cabins. Be aware all of these options are quite pricey, ranging from $54 to$107 (not including cabins– I don’t know the price of these). We had originally reserved a site last year but had to cut our trip short; we had the option of forfeiting our money or rolling over our reservation to any date in the future, which was appreciated. We reserved our site at the end of January via e-mail and it was confirmed (and a site assigned) via phone in early February. However, when we arrived, our reservation confirmation was not waiting for us on the board with the others. There was no one at the office but Billy, a maintenance employee, was very helpful and told us we could just set up at the site that had been assigned to us. 

Site Quality: Varies. In my opinion, the tent sites by the river (Site T7-9) are the best, but these are $67 per night. We were in Van Site 2 which has a short gravel driveway and lawn area, but the driveways between Van Sites 1 and 2 are so close together, that it would not be possible for both vans to have their doors open at the same time (and, of course, there would be zero privacy) Fortunately, no one was in the site next to us. Since van campers sleep (and sometimes cook, depending on the weather) inside their vans, it would have made sense to space the driveways apart with the grass area in between. Van Sites 5 and 6 mirror Sites 1 and 2. Van Sites 3 and 4 have more separation and would be more desirable but sites are assigned, not chosen. The RV sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart. 

Bathhouse: Was very clean with plenty of stalls and sinks. The door to the handicap stall was broken but I assume that will be fixed. The showers looked very clean as well, although I did not use them. The hooks are outside of the stall, which could compromise privacy. There is a vault toilet for the tent sites, although it would not be an undoable walk to the flush toilets. 

Activities: There is a pool on site. There are nearby hikes listed on the website, but we did not stay long enough to check them out. Close to the small town of Palisade and the larger hubs of Grand Junction and Fruita. There are also nearby wineries. 

Other: There is a laundry room and dishwashing sink, as well as a picnic pavilion.  Note that the dishwashing sink was not located near the tent sites.

Although the facility was clean and well-maintained, the prices are high, and four of the van sites are too close together to make it enjoyable if all sites were occupied. Also, you will hear road noise from nearby I70 and a very loud train sometime in the middle of the night!

At Glenwood Canyon Resort you get to camp right on the Colorado River in a beautiful canyon but its definitely the most expensive tent camping I've ever paid for. Amenities are taken care of from the store at the check in station to the bar and grill that's on site. It has an awesome deck with a view of the canyon but I didn't get to enjoy it. When we checked in we were told it was pet friendly but when we went the bar tender told us our dogs weren't allowed and didn't seem happy to be there, so I had to go back to the campsite and eat and drink by myself. It's okay though because when my wife came back she said the food wasn't that great and they had no craft beer on tap. Aside from all that, the number of outdoor activities and place to see around here are endless, whitewater rafting, kayaking, skiing, mountain biking, climbing, hang gliding, disc golf, etc.......are all within a short car or bike ride and that's were all 3 stars are earned. Definitely worth it if your just passing through but there are many options around here if your staying for some time.

Campground is a loop of 30+ sites. Sites on inside of the loop are mostly roadside with a few pull through sites. There is a lot of green space in the middle with a few more sites. Most sites on the outside are back in/pull in sites, and some are quite deep. The sites are a nice size, but you are in close proximity to your neighbor across the road in many cases.

The transaction fee of $10 for a Colorado state park reservation on reserveamerica.com is the highest I have encountered. Then you pay $7/day for a state park fee when you enter the park. (Or buy the CO parks pass for $70.) Add these fees to the base cost of $20/night, and two nights cost us $64 total which seems pricey for a site with no electricity. We did have water at our site so you can hook up a hose if you want. The bathroom has showers that cost $1 for 4 minutes.

Generator policy is quite liberal...and ineffective. You can use a generator any time except during the 10 pm to 6 am quiet hours. That's good for people with big RVs, but it's obnoxious if you're near a generator. Had to ask someone to turn their generator off after 10 pm because the host on duty was not around to ask (asleep). Then someone else turned theirs on around midnight and left it on all night. No one reviews campground rules at check-in so this is the result.

In addition to noisy generators, people wanted to share their music choices with everyone around them. It was the loudest campground we've been in this year (and we've been in 45 campgrounds for about 100 nights). Maybe it was people coming in for Country Jam, or maybe there were just a lot of inconsiderate people.

This seems like a park where local people come to hang out and use the lake. There is a beach along with cabanas/picnic tables and trails around the lake. If the lake is what you want, it might be a good option...if you don't mind the noise. If you are touring the area, there are federal lands that are less expensive, more scenic and quieter.