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Secret Colorado:
A short guide |
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A FEW PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS
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Secret Colorado:
A short guide |
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( Septembre 29 - Octobre 20, 2014)
| Maps We landed in Denver, and spent one or two nights in each place : |
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A few practical comments on our trip :
We wished to land in Denver, without going through any of the large airports, where immigration formalities may take hours : we then selected a direct flight from Paris to Salt Lake City, then a flight SLC-Denver. It was a delight !
We rented a car at Denver Airport, and returned it at San Francisco Airport. Watch out : fees for one-way renting may vary a lot, depending on the rental agency. We rented from Budget : $232 (+taxes) as one-way fees. The car had a non-contact toll pass. We did not see any toll station, but we received a (reasonable) bill after we came back to France.
We choosed the time of the year (Septembre 29 - Octobre 20) in order to enjoy the aspen fall foliage. Maybe we should have gone a few days earlier ?
To be noted :
- We always camped at a fairly high altitude (2900 m in Longs Peak, 2700 m in Chapman, 2700 m in Beaver Lake, 2100 m in McPhee, 2400 m in Zion) : one must take along good camping gear and warm clothing. In Longs Peak, it even snowed during the night.
- We (almost) always went to National Forest Campgrounds : they are well equiped (tentsites, table, a place to make a barbecue, toilets - with toilet paper !), clean and well maintained. We were (almost) alone, and we had to pay only once... But in most places, there was no water : one has to bring its own water.
- It is not easy to find out in advance if a campground is open or not : informations on the Internet are not reliable - no more than the information given by the rangers... If the campground is "closed", that means that the toilets are locked - but I guess we could camp anyway...
- Watch out for the opening of the hunting season.
Trails :
A few informations are to be found on the site of the US Department of Agriculture - Forest Service.
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ESTES PARK : This is the only reservation we made from France, before leaving (and we did well too : our plane was 3 hours late, because of a thunderstorm...). Swiftcurrent Lodge - $83 a night (no breakfast) : quiet, perfect. |
LONGS PEAK CAMPGROUND About 20 campsites, almost all occupied, but widly distributed under the trees : we could not hear the neighbours. Camping was free - the toilets were open and clean, but no running water The altitude being 2 900 m, it was rather chilly, as soon as the sun set - and it even snowed during the night... |
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DILLON One of our neighbours in Longs Peak campground advised us to take Route 6 to cross the Continental Divide, instead of taking the tunnel. Excellent advice : Loveland Pass is superb ! We spent two nights in the Best Western Hotel in Dillon. Excellent. |
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CHAPMAN LAKE According to the National Forests Internet site, the Little Mattie Campground was to be open. It was not, and we drove all the way to Chapman Campground, which was still open, and cared for by two lovely ladies, Fran and Vick. 11 $ a night... Potable water was available. We were alone... Walk towards Chapman Lake, not very well marked - but very nice. Do not miss the red cliffs just outside Basalt, along the Fryingpan River ! |
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BEAVER LAKE Best Western Hôtel in Montrose (a rainy day). An excellent steak house right next to the hotel, which we will not forget ! Then camping at Beaver Lake. 2 nights at the entrance of the Uncompahgre National Forest. No charge. Alone the first night, and another camper the second night. No water (but the toilets were open, and clean). This was the week-end of the opening of the hunting season. We saw several pick-up trucks loaded with hunters, who went to camp higher up in the fields. And we heard a few gunshots... |
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DOLORES Friendly little town. Only one motel - good. Also an excellent restaurant. |
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MCPHEE RESERVOIR Actually, this is a "Recreation Area", which is said to be very crowded... Following the advice given by the lady of our motel, we went directly to the area reserved for fishermen, prohibited to campers. |
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MOUNT CARMEL Hotel Best Western, not far from the East entrance to the Zion National Park. Excellent |
LAVA POINT At this time of year, and being there early, we figured there would be no problem in finding a place to camp in the Park : two campgrounds and more than 300 tentsites. But both campgrounds were full : tents and camping cars. We ran away... We then left very quickly, to camp at the Lava Point Campground. 6 tentsites only. No water, but clean toilets (and toilet paper !). All the sites were occupied at night, but there is plenty of room : the place was very quiet ! And we could fully enjoy the sunset, and the sunrise, from the cliff located 100 yards from the campground. |
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