Upon our arrival at this campsite we were met with the most spectacular sunsets. The views of three mountain passes and the haze and cloud cover from a forest fire in the distance provided great views. It was windy at times so that limited the cooking we were able to do over an open fire like we typically would. One of the things that we did was purchase a new grill which the boys put together soon after our arrival. L did a bunch of the work and did a great job following the instructions. The campsite had an older section and a newer section. We didn't know this when we booked the site and was fortunate enough to get in the "new" section where the sites and driveway was paved and had new showers and restrooms. Had it not been for the windy conditions this might have been the perfect campsite. 

There was a boat launch at the campsite and the lake offers boat rentals from a neighboring marina. The rivers provided better fishing due to the high winds but the views didn't disappoint. On a positive note, the winds kept the bugs away. When the winds died down, the bugs made an appearance and were in plentiful supply.  

I am in favor of returning again, it was 15 miles from the West Yellowstone entrance in Montana. So you had easy access to grocery stores, gas stations, as well as one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country.  

The view above is of the restroom/shower area. If you look closely, you'll see L near the building. On the roof of the building was a Peregrine Falcon! That happens to be the first one he's seen in the wild up close. He's seen them flying but much further in the distance. He was so incredibly happy that he was able to observe this bird of prey up close.  

We ventured out for our most recent camping adventure and hit up Stagecoach State Park just about 20 miles south of Steamboat. This great hidden gem of a campground offered plenty of fun. There were many trails to hike around or bike around the lake and campsites. There were plenty of water activities from swimming to boating and fishing. If you do not have a boat or SUP, the marina rents them all day or as little as 2 hours. The rates for the rentals were similarly priced to other rental companies.

The protected swim beach was a hit during the day with day visitors as well as campers. Lots of the children enjoyed the warm(ish) waters and my son particularly enjoyed hunting for crawfish or crawdads.

The weather was incredibly enjoyable and there were no mosquitos out to bother us at our campsite. We had a lovely view of the marina and was able to easily access it using the steps to the beach area. Yoga was offered early Sunday morning and had approximately a dozen participants. Would have been nicer if it were on soft sand, but instead, it's rocky mountain sand.  Other activities were offered each day as well, on Saturday the Parks offered fur, skulls, scat, and tracks for guests/visitors to examine and learn about. Some of the skulls and fur were real. However, the scat that they displayed was plastic replicas thankfully. L enjoyed learning and examining the items they had on display at the marina patio.

The cute library box where you could drop off books or borrow one yourself was a nice little touch in case you already read what you brought.

While some sites were more isolated, even the ones closest to the marina weren't that "close" to each other, We still felt we had some space. All in all, it was a great time and we plan to visit it again next year.

Stagecoach is close enough and a short enough trip to get into Steamboat if you want to head into town for an event. There are great restaurants in Steamboat too. Taco Cabo ranks among one of the higher places to grab a bite to eat.

if you don't want cars and people walking by all day long, find another place to camp (Rifle Gap 10 miles away). This place is busy during the day. Quiet at night.

We had amazing weather and the most amazing view. The only thing that would have beat the view would have been to have a site directly on the water, but having the lakeside view made for a beautiful backdrop. The only negative was that there was no awning in our camp site. Note: if you camp in site 23 lakeside loop - you may want to select another location with an awning. Our camper has an awning and we always travel with our 10X10 tent, it came in handy this weekend!

There is absolutely zero cell phone coverage at Rifle Gap or Harvey Gap (only 4 miles from Rifle Gap), and if you are there, you can understand why you would want to unplug from the world. 

The weather was perfect and the sun was out almost the entire time. It was high 80's for the first week of June. If you are a boater and don't mind the reservoir being busy, there's plenty of room to have some fun. The fishing looked to be pretty good from what we saw being brought back in.

We enjoyed Fruita so much in 2016 (even though when we went it was super hot) we decided to go back again during Spring/Easter break. The bunny even visited (ha ha) There is great hiking down the road at McInnis Canyon (great trail system) and the Brewery in Fruita offers a great place to relax inside for a meal and beer after a long day.

Calm lake, best for fishing. Limited hiking within the campground area (really only around the lake) but quiet area to relax and enjoy.

We like camping location for a couple of reasons:

• Close proximity to Colorado National Monument
• 1.5 hour drive to Moab/Arches National Park
• Colorado River and great biking trails within the campground
• Can get the raft/ducky in/out easily from the boat launch within campground
• Not too far from our home base
• The amenities (hot shower for a few quarters, as well as some of the campsites offering water/electricity/sewer hookup.)
• The views of Colorado National Monument from our campsite
• The rangers and their programs have been wonderful each time we've stayed