Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
I introduced myself about 4 years ago when my husband and I were just starting to talk about full timing but haven't been very active in the forums. I'll probably have to go back and RE introduce because we are actually going to be pulling out of here in mid October, but for now I'm looking for any info all of you experienced RV'ers have :) We are looking for a place to spend a couple of months in CO but can be a little flexible on the place. Our kids recently moved to Fort Collins so our plan is to spend a couple of months in the area making sure everyone is settled as our youngest is just 18. So unlike most people who go towards the warmth in the winter, it looks like we are heading to the snow (although we are from Iowa so Colorado winters feel like the tropics to us sometimes!) The plan is to get there around Mid October and hang around for a least 2 months, possibly 3 and then figure things out from there. We are looking for recommendations on extended stay parks anywhere around there (Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, etc). We looked at a couple KOA's in Fort Collins but the Google and Trip Adviser reviews are pretty bad for both of them. This will be our first extended stay so we are hoping to kick of our full timing adventure with a very positive experience and the horrible reviews we've read for these two makes us a little leery. We will be traveling with our two dogs and neither are what would be considered a "vicious breed", but obviously they would need to be pet friendly. Anyone have any good recommendations or maybe RV parks that we should stay away from? Our new to us home is a 31' 5th wheel so pull through would be spectacular (although not required) as this will be the first time DH will be pulling one.
Thanks for any and all insights for us rookie full timers!
I sometimes use rvparkreviews.com for an approximation of facilities. Use it and also use a grain of salt if it sounds too rosy. Also, use your desires and expectations to decide if you want to stay. The website most often has a website for the facility.
IN that area, the campgrounds most often close in the winter, so, be sure you find out if it will remain open during your stay.
We stayed at the Ft. Collins Lakeside KOA for almost a month. We liked it there. We had our mail and packages forwarded there. A bit pricey and they will charge you for a fire ring each time you want have a camp fire and guests are $10 each. It's right on the Poudre River trail and not far from downtown Ft. Collins. You can ride your bike 2.5 miles to the city on the Poudre Trail from there. There is also a nice walking trail and small pet park. Horsetooth Reservoir is another nice place to stay. It was full or we would have stayed there also.
The Fort Collins Lakeside KOA is one that unfortunately had the worst reviews, but I know that satisfied and happy people don't always take the time to write up reviews so it helps to hear good stuff too. We spent some time in Fort Collins when my daughter first moved there and biked that trail that you mentioned, and they are right by Horsetooth Reservoir. We spent an afternoon hiking it to see the waterfalls it was so beautiful! One concern was the extra $10 for visitors. Since my kids live there, we were hoping they would be able to come and hang out or cook out with us once in awhile, so do they charge for that type of visiting or just if they spend the night? Is that common in other parks? Being super new, we didn't realize that would be an expense we needed to consider.
The $10 per guest is just for visiting. I don't know what the charge is for overnight. Most campgrounds have a guest fee usually about $5. At a few campgrounds we were able to negotiate a lower price when we had 5 or 6 adult guests that were not going to use the facilities. If I remember correctly they had good wifi, and the Verizon coverage was strong there.