Hi. We have a combo popup camper/atv hauler that is not really set up too well for camping without water and electricity to run the furnace/water/AC as needed. It is also a major pain to break it down to transport the atv's to a trailhead.

The question I am asking is, where can we camp in colorado with this rig and walk over to the atv's and start riding?

We were in pitkin two years ago but we stayed in a cabin south of town.

Taylor Park.

Taylor Park Trading Post. They have a campground with full hookups. Gives ya full acces to all the riding in Taylor Park.

http://www.taylorparktradingpost.com/

Are there any other areas in colorado? Are there any other campgrounds at Taylor?

quote:

arcticrancher:

you are letting your rig *really* limit your options!

Consider buying a generator and hauling water - or park close to a stream and use a sump pump & filter to re-supply your water for showers & such and just carry bottled water for drinking & cooking.

There are a LOT of places you can ride from camp, if you can forgo the hook-ups (and fees, btw).

There is a whole lot of NFS & BLM land in Colorado, and unless it is posted as no camping, you can camp just about anywhere you can park, and you can stay for up to 2 weeks before you are *supposed* to move.
There are lots of places to "boondock" in and around Taylor Park, and there are also some really good spots around Tiger Run (Breckenridge), Holy Cross, Texas Creek, just to name a few.

If you limit yourself to improved campgrounds with hook-ups - you may as well trade in the camper for something that works, or just sell it and stay in a motel (you could ATVER for a neighbor!)

arcticrancher,

There are other places to ride from camp, Bonanza, Lake city and others, but I have found that Taylor park is by far the best, you have so many options with tons of trails, we started going to Taylor in 2004 every year 2 or 3 times per year, The trading post is centraly located and has Water sewer and electric, trust me I think you will like it better then anywhere else, but...... on the other hand, we dont want it to get every body going there so maybe you should go somewhere else! The only real drawback was not having cell service but it is such a fantastic area, we just delt with it, I heard that a cell tower is being built so that will be great.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: AtvGo,

The rig. Well it is admittedly a compromise. After trying to sleep in a leaky horse trailer and spending six weeks recovering from pneumonia/bronchitis last year, I made a decision to upgrade the people portion of the trailer. I cant say Im excited about listening to my generator or anybody elses hammer all night either. I have built a fresh water tank that can stay in the pickup and resupply the camper. I havent solved the electrical supply problem yet, which is no problem if the weather cooperates. I do remember that we needed heat in the pitkin cabin every night we stayed there.

TP is one of the best for trail access. You can also ride out of many RV camp sites near the Lake City area. I just came back from a week at Lake San Cristobal which is at the start of Cinnamon Pass, Wager Gulch. You can ride everything in the area from there. The only drawback is the long commute up Cinnamon or catching a ferry through Lake City if you come down Engineer. Castle Lakes campground has RV hookups. We stay at Wupperman but I don't think they have power and only a central water spicket.

I added my own living quarters to my 24ft hauler. I have a big battery and 12 volt propane furnace and dual power water heater. 30 gal tank and 12v pump, lighting etc. I run my genny for a few hours each day to recharge and run the microwave if needed. I shut it off before 9pm to be courteous and the battery runs the furnace all night. My genny is also one of those ultra quiet cubes so it is not horrible to run in camp.

Check out the KOA in Gould, CO.

BTW, those cabins south of pitkin are nice but they owner is making a big deal of the fact that it is not legal to ride from his place into the town of pitkin. The owner also appears to have something of a temper and made me feel pretty bad for wanting to pull out a day early. I dont remember the fun we had as clearly as the tantrum a grown man threw.

i had been looking pretty seriously at "state park" in the northern part of the state, but it appears the camping is booked.

I appreciate any and all suggestions. Im getting prepped for boony camping if necessary but still looking for the creature comforts.

What kind of a campground is union park near taylor? A group from KC we are kinda affiliated with going to stay there.

UNION PARK is an old town site. There is nothing left just trees and wide open spaces. You have to share with the local ELK.

It's primitive camping. One of the guys is bringing a genny to keep his stuff charged. Don't think he plans on running it all night. If you get a quiet one, probably wouldn't be heard behind a truck. I've PM'd you my number on our local site. Let's talk about getting you and the wifey out to TP.

This is Unoin Park. That is where we camp every time we go to Taylor. Its just a big wide open grass prairie that the elk bed down in at nite and the cyote run threw in the day.

Its our favorite spot to camp. We bring a quiet generator and let it run all nite long. My camper battery wont run the furnace all nite so I have to leave it run but we cant even hear it run with it 10 feet behing the camper so it dont bother anyone.

http://i130.photobucket.com/al...Krukow/cotrip063.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al...Krukow/cotrip061.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al...ow/Colorado06006.jpg

This is Union Park in the bottom of the vally.
http://i130.photobucket.com/al...ow/Colorado06013.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07036.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07033.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07032.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07031.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07030.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/al.../TaylorPark07029.jpg

On rant:

I guarantee you ANY generator running all night long is going to be heard by other people. People that think they have a quiet gen and can run them all night long are sadly mistaken. People need to get another battery for their camper or put on another blanket.

Off rant:

Thank you for the pics Brandon! I'm going to get in touch with foneman this week and see what their group is doing for sure. I think I can get our rig up to snuff for boonie camping since I have some lead time, I put together a water barrel with a 12V pump to restock the camper freshwater, I have a generator on loan and I looked at adding another battery today. I had already added a second propane tank.

quote:

Originally posted by tmm2good:
On rant:

I guarantee you ANY generator running all night long is going to be heard by other people. People that think they have a quiet gen and can run them all night long are sadly mistaken. People need to get another battery for their camper or put on another blanket.

Off rant:

I just have to "second that emotion" (anyone young enough to remember the song by Smokie Robinson)? I camp Spring, Summer, and Fall in the Colorado Rockies, mostly boondocking. It amazes me what outtastaters who come here for a long weekend or a week of Colorado camping think is OK concerning, loud music, kids running M/Cs and ATVs around their camp, dogs running amuck, and generators.

We enjoy the camping experience away from Urban stuff.

Flame away....

Friend of mine had a I think YAMAHA generator. You had to standing right next to it to beable to hear it running. Any more many are SUPER QUIET

quote:

Friend of mine had a I think YAMAHA generator.

I'm reading the same thing on some of the camper web forum sites, most are like me and Papabear, no generators when camping/boondocking please! But they seem to be changing their tune a bit. Let's hope it's true.

On the other hand, a couple batteries and a solar panel seems to be a better way to go. We're looking at campers and that is one of the top priorities.