I did find a place called Mountain Meadow Campground in Empire Colorado that sounds good but I cannot find any info or a current phone number. They have 48 sites with full hook-ups and are 15 miles from Georgetown.
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I did find a place called Mountain Meadow Campground in Empire Colorado that sounds good but I cannot find any info or a current phone number. They have 48 sites with full hook-ups and are 15 miles from Georgetown.
Looking like the last two weeks of July cover the most people, Any preference?
There is a KOA in Buena Vista and it looks like many great trails, how does that sound?
Also do you want the event to be during weekdays so you can travel on the weekend or a weekend event?
I got off the phone with Gene from Buena Vista Colorado Snowy Peaks Campground http://www.snowypeaksrvpark.com/index.htm and he said he still has spots available if we are interested. We do need to pick dates soon as all the campgrounds are filling up fast.
Also Mile High Jeep Club has a big event in Salida July 30th to August 6th if anyone is interested. http://www.mhjc.org/2011all4funsite/index.html
Buena Vista is a nice area could be great for site seeing and Wheeling
Leadville, Pikes Peak, Great Sand dunes, Arkansas river.
I would like to explore this area, take a break from Silverton for a year ar two.
What do you all think of the last week of July?
Good for us
Okay, Can everyone chime in as to your preference between the last week of July or the first week of August. (The campground will have RVs to rent the last week of July if you need one, they are not available in August due to the other big event in the area).
A poll has been added to this thread.
I have found two campgrounds in Buena Vista that would make good base camps, please check these links and give me your thoughts:
Snowy Peaks RV Park http://www.snowypeaksrvpark.com/index.htm
Buena Vista KOA
After looking at the two web sites I think Snowy Peaks is the better of the two because it looks like it has shade trees and more amenities but that is just my opinion, and that assumes you all want to go to that area.
Snowy peaks has RVs to rent the last week of July but the KOA has those Kamp Kabins for those who do not have their own RV
I voted for the week in July. We should make sure Mosquito Pass is in the plans. It is the highest 4x4 pass in North America.
I voted for KOA due to the cabins, but there are also hotels in Buena Vista if need be; just wouldn't be with the rest of the group then.
BTW, the Snowy Peaks link does not work. I googled them no problem though.
If folks are willing to drive a bit over an hour to get to trailheads, Buena Vista can be fabulous. There's the aforementioned Mosquito Pass (which is pretty easy but cool for the height factor), but there's also Red Cone. It'd be a long day to do that bad boy, but it's totally worth it.
I forgot to mention Grizzly Lake, which is another old favorite: a short but moderately challenging trail, with some great fishing at the end if there were kids interested in that.
Are you saying the trailheads are not near Buena Vista? I was trying to find lodging accomidations and there seemed to be plenty there, I do not know the area at all so I am not the best to pick a basecamp location but I know WC people use RVs more than the EC group.
"Near" is quite a relative term. Things aren't quite as dense in that area as they are around Silverton/Ouray, but I think there's plenty to get to -- especially if folks don't mind an hour or so drive on a couple days to get to trailheads (a bit like driving to the base of Imogene Pass from Silverton).
I'm not sure what there is in terms of camping with hookups near Fairplay, but that would be closer to both Red Cone and Mosquito Pass, as well as Georgia Pass, Wheeler Lake, and a number of other trails.
Again, though, these things are all accessible with just a bit of driving. And barring an issue, I'm very much hoping to be trailering with y'all this year, which means I'm definitely hoping to have full hook-ups. :)
Really appreciate all you're doing to try and corral our unruly group, Knappster. It's thankless but welcome work.
Well then if nobody has any issues I am fine with Buena Vista as it does have amenities for off trail time and I too like clean camping when it is an option.
The combined votes over the two forums is 6 for July and 2 for August, I say we give it 24 hours and close the date window so we can start the reservation phase.
Any other thoughts?
Good idea. Don't want to leave it open too long
I agree
Now we need to pick which camp site on the other thread!
Snowy Peaks is a touch closer to town, and certainly easier if a person was going to walk it. I don't think you could walk from the KOA to town since it's over the river. Don't know if that matters to folks or not.
Snowy Peaks might be a touch noisier, though, as the KOA is set back quite a bit north from the road to Fairplay, if I recall.
They're both great choices, though. I'm easy!
The date is now set so please make your vacation plans, please go to the base camp thread and make your wishes known as we need to set the location within the next day or two as well.
Looking at the Snowy Peaks site rate area, it appears they have a very limited number of water and electric only sites. I am fairly certain this is what we had in Silverton last year? I see 6 sites listed at @ $30 per, then a few more if someone wanted "premium". I also saw that the rates are for one or two persons only and each additional child over age two is $4 a day.
According to KOA's site, a back-in 20 amp electric hookup at KAO is with $35 per night extra charge for kids starting at age 7. KOA had a much wider selection of options for those with other types of rigs (larger motorhomes, etc) and I can only assume the prices went up from there. The KOA is also very spread out which might make it harder for evening chatting.
Knappster, did you talk to Snowy Peaks? Being a smaller place maybe there would be more likely to either give us ammenities or give a discount? Photos of both places look nice, so if everything else is equal I think Snowy would get my vote based on price. Gas is supposed to be expensive this summer and anywhere we can cut costs is great news in my book.
There is no clear winner in the selection process.
I thought Snowy Peaks looked nicer and has a lot of shade trees compared to the rustic look of the KOA
The price was similar depending on the hook-ups you want
The KOA can get us all closer to each other where as Snowy Peaks is half full already so we would be spread out throught the park
The KOA has Kabins for those who do not want to tent and do not have a trailer or other RV, Snowy Peaks rents RVs but I would guess thatthe cost woul dbe higher than the Kabins at KOA
Snowy Peaks in closer to town for those who want to go for a walk into town, but not a long drive from the KOA
Both solid for me and my peeps. If all was equal, I'd favor the one that gets us closer together -- but then maybe y'all prefer being further away from me! :)
The scale is slightly tipped towards the KOA so let your thoughts be known as time is slipping away.
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KOA is good for me.