Your Trip:
Going West

They’re inexpensive vacation ideas,

but that doesn’t mean they’re not the

Best of the West.

Taking a folding tent trailer to points out west opens up infinite opportunities for memorable, incredible trips.  For years to come, your family will talk about fishing at the Stagecoach campground, rock climbing at Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Colorado summer vacation that beat all the others.  See historical sites and Native American stone architecture; hike in some of our country’s most enthralling, picturesque locations.  And all with an affordability and flexibility that you can’t find in other vacation options.

NATIONAL PARKS

National Park Service

Rocky Mountain National Park

Designated a Biosphere Reserve; the park straddles the Continental Divide and features 14,000-foot peaks, massive herds of elk, and miles upon miles of some of the best hiking trails in the Rocky Mountain West.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Yellowstone was the first and still greatest National Park. Original explorers told grand tales of boiling mud, geysers taller than buildings, mountains made of glass and vast herds of buffalo and elk, along with the magnificent predators who stalked them including the wolf and grizzly bear. Not many believed them then; yet it was all true and still as amazing now as then. Next door neighbor Grand Teton NP lives up to its name, the Ansel Adams photo of the Snake River before the Grand Tetons stands as an iconic image of the American West.

Mesa Verde National Park

The first cultural park set aside by NPS features the best preserved and most notable pre-Columbian cliff dwellings and other works of early Americans.

Grand Canyon National Park

The one park that needs no introduction. Generations of humans from ancient Native Americans to today have tried to describe it, none have succeeded.

Canyonlands-Color Country

Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Hard to believe there are five National Parks in this area, as if Mother Nature rounded up the scenic areas and placed them close together. Yet each park is so uniquely different, it doesn't seem possible they are within easy drives of each other.

Badlands National Park-Black Hills of South Dakota

 Famous for its deep gorges and sharp lunar-like spires. An easy drive from the Denver area, these are the legendary Black Hills of South Dakota, an oasis of pine-clad mountains on the Great Plains. The region enjoys an unmatched brand of Old West history, with legendary names like Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, General George A. Custer, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Jim Bridger and Jedediah Smith.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Large sand dunes in the U.S. were deposited over thousands of years by southwesterly winds blowing through the passes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths visible here.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site

Features reconstruction of the original trading post built in the early 1830's that became a major trading site for Plains Indian tribes and trappers.

Colorado National Monument

Features include monoliths, sheer-walled canyons, dinosaur fossils, remains of prehistoric Indian cultures, and a variety of wildlife.

Yucca House National Monument

Ruins of these large prehistoric Indian pueblos are as yet unexcavated. Not open to the public.

Hovenweep National Monument

Pre-Columbian Indians built these six groups of towers, pueblos, and cliff dwellings, fine examples of ancient stone architecture.

Dinosaur National Monument

Include spectacular canyons cut by the Green and Yampa Rivers, a quarry containing fossil remains of dinosaurs, and diverse plant and animal communities.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

A variety of fossil insects, seeds, and leaves, as well as a display of petrified sequoia stumps, are preserved here.

NATIONAL RECREATION AREAS

Curecanti National Recreation Area

Three lakes -- Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal -- extend for 40 miles along the Gunnison River and the Black Canyon.

STATE PARKS

Colorado State Parks

Gorgeous natural resources and thousands of miles of them…we’re so lucky to have access to nature’s wonders through the state parks of Colorado. Summer vacations at Colorado's State Parks can include water sports, boating, biking and swimming; in the fall and spring, fishing, hiking, and rock climbing are popular.  Whatever you choose to do on your Colorado family vacation, our state parks system makes it easy for you to access the wonders of this part of America.

North:

• Barbour Ponds
• Bonny Lake
• Boyd Lake
• Jackson Lake
• Lory
• North Sterling
• Pearl Lake State Park
• Picnic Rock
• Stagecoach
• State Forest
• Steamboat Lake
• Yampa River

South:

• Arkansas Headwaters
• Eleven Mile
• Lake Pueblo
• Lathrop
• Mueller
• San Luis
• Spinney Mountain
• Trinidad Lake

West:

• Colorado River
• Crawford
• Harvey Gap
• Highline Lake
• Mancos
• Navajo
• Paonia
• Ridgway
• Rifle Falls
• Rifle Gap
• Sweitzer Lake
• Sylvan Lake
• Vega

Metropolitan Denver:

• Barr Lake
• Castlewood Canyon
• Chatfield
• Cherry Creek
• Eldorado Canyon
• Golden Gate Canyon
• Roxborough

NATIONAL FORESTS

For the nature enthusiast, camping in a national forest can be a paradise on earth.  Colorado has 13 national forests; each has a website with detailed information about the right spots for fishing, birding, and, of course, camping.  The portability of a folding tent trailer means that you can reach these hidden locations, and transport you and your family to a truly different—and spectacular—world.

Campgrounds

•  Colorado Directory — A list of Colorado private RV Parks & Campgrounds.

• Campgrounds in Colorado.com- Comprehensive listings of all types of campgrounds including national forest, BLM, national parks, state parks, and private campgrounds.