Colorado - General Information

  We discovered that Colorado is a wonderful place to spend the summer! A lot of other people think the same thing so here are a few tips for an enjoyable visit even with the summer crowds.

   First of all it can get very hot in the lower elevations so head for the mountains where the temperature is often 20 degrees cooler.

                                            Camping

  Sites in campgrounds close to Denver must be reserved ahead of time. Recreation.gov is a good site for this. If you can’t get reservations the national forests have  beautiful areas for free  boondocking. The spots close to Denver will fill on the weekends so arrive midweek to get a site. Most public campgrounds and boondocking areas have a two week limit which may be strictly enforced in popular areas.

The western side of the mountains is less crowded but just as beautiful. It’s the place to go to avoid a lot of the rush. Campgrounds rarely fill and boondocking spots are plentiful.

                                        Scenic Drives

  Almost every road in central Colorado is scenic. It’s hard to drive anywhere without  marveling at the beauty. It’s possible to drive on most of the roads with a RV  but because they’re steep and windy many people choose to use a smaller vehicle.  We didn’t have any problems driving our little RV on the scenic roads. We even took it up Pikes Peak. Which brings me to the…

                                        Elevation

  With the exception of the plains, the altitude of the cities and tourist attractions in Colorado ranges from 5,000 to 11,000 feet so altitude sickness is a problem for many visitors. Take it easy and drink extra water until your body adjusts. 

                                     Wheelchair Accessibility

It’s the Rocky Mountains! Great for hiking but not very good for rolling. However almost every town and city has a network of paved trails which we really enjoyed. Most follow a waterway and are scenic and shady.

                                     Stuff to Do

Wherever your interests lie, you’ll find plenty to do in – history, art, interesting towns, mining ruins, jeep trails, breweries and festivals. Two months was not enough time!

                                 Icing on the Cake

  We loved spending time in Colorado but two things made it special for me – the wildflowers and the artwork. Flowers are everywhere! They sprout out of the sidewalk cracks, between the rocks on mountain peaks and along farmer’s fields.  Art in the form of sculptures decorates random street corners, public parks and is even along the bike trails.