Campground descriptions usually read like a foreign language to the beginner camper, so without further ado here is my first campground breakdown for my fellow newbies. More to come...including campgrounds outside Colorado! Yes, I did go camping a few times before moving here. And by that I mean three times. One was really more of an RV park. Anyways...here's what you need to know before you go to Green Ridge Campground!
Green Ridge Campground sits on Shadow Mountain Reservoir, about 2.5 hours northwest of Denver,
making it an easy drive for an overnight trip or for the entire weekend. The
drive takes you through Winter Park, which is a perfect stopping point for
food, gas, etc. You will go over Berthoud Pass, meaning a sharp incline
and then steep decline as you go over the mountains. I am admittedly a little
bit intimidated by driving in the mountains, and this was the first pass that I
actually drove through myself.
Coming home was a little bit much for me, but I just pulled
over and let everyone else go so I could go as slow as I wanted to down the mountain. If you want
to get yourself acclimated to driving around the mountains, this is a great
route to start. Unless you’re my boyfriend (or probably any member of the male
species) and you don’t actually worry about the certain death of careening off
the mountain if you go over 25 mph. Then you can just sit back and enjoy the amazing views from Berthoud. Yes, I know this is an unreasonable
fear…I’m working on it.
Green Ridge Campground is a recognized location on Google,
so just type that into your phone and you’re good to go. Like I said, the drive
is easy, and if you get hungry on the way, stop at Elevation Pizza just
outside of Winter Park. The Library in Winter Park is also delicious. Or you can go low-brow and stop at McDonald's. I won't judge you. Okay maybe just a little bit.
Campsites
All of the campsites have nice big tent pads (they measure 11'
x 12'8"). A tent pad is a slightly elevated surface that makes for a more comfortable sleeping experience since you're not directly on the ground. Don't let the word "pad" fool you...like any outdoorsy pad it is not a true mattress replacement (which I discovered after sleeping on my first sleeping "pad." My bed has set my expectations too high.) Each campsite only has one pad, so if you are camping
with friends you’ll have to get two sites.
The lake and surrounding areas are beautiful, but the
campsite loop where we stayed is a bit exposed. From what we could see of the
other sites, they all seemed a little lacking on shade. Although there is a
very steep embankment up to the reservoir, it was still quite windy which made
for some interesting tent set-up! Plus, it is VERY warm in the tent once the sun comes up.
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| We stayed approximately where that red circle is. Campsites to the left (I think that is south in real life) were a little bit more shaded, and also larger/more private (next picture). |
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| Blue tent is Luke & Rachel's campsite, which had considerably more shade than ours. Ours was in the giant sunny patch you see in the background. |
Each site also has a nice big bear locker, which is awesome because you don't have to run back and forth to your car constantly (not that it's very far away...but still). This place is busy enough that I highly doubt you will ever see any bears, but the lockers are a precaution that also make cooking and storing food much more convenient! Usually you have to keep EVERYTHING in your car.
Campground Fees
In addition to your reservation fee of $19 per night, you
also have to pay a use fee for the Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA).
This fee is $5 per day. Longer term passes can also be purchased if you think you'll be coming back a lot, or if you're staying for several days in a row. The
machine that you can purchase the ANRA pass from is not in the same place as
the campground – it is on the same road, though. Turn left at the boat
launching entrance prior to reaching the campground entrance and you will find the machine in the upper left hand corner
of the parking lot. You can pay with cash or credit card.
If you would prefer to set up camp and then get the pass, or
if you forget to stop, you can also get there quickly through the campground loop to get
to the boat launching area.
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| Where you can find the ANRA permit machine. As an aside, I'm really thrilled with my freehand circle-drawing skills in Paint this evening. |
Reservations
We camped here at the end of June, and made reservations in
advance since we were going with friends and wanted to be reasonably close to
each other. That being said, we arrived around noon on a Saturday and there
were still several campsites available that were actually closer together than
the ones we reserved.
There’s no cost difference in first-come, first-serve
campsites vs ones you reserve, so if you prefer to live on the edge and take
your chances, don’t bother with making a reservation. You CAN pay with a credit
card if you reserve in advance, which is nice.
To reserve a campsite, go here.
Toilet Situation
The nice thing about this campground is that it has REAL
bathrooms!! Really great if you’re a first-time camper. I have a higher
tolerance for more rustic accommodations since I have been around horses all my
life, and the bathroom situation at barns and horse shows is usually pretty
tragic.
Gross barn memories aside, Green Ridge Campground has REAL
bathrooms AND sinks. They did run out of hand soap mid-way through our first
day there, though, so I would suggest you BYOHS or have some hand sanitizer.
While we’re talking about bathrooms, please note that they
do not have showers. If you’re looking for a campground with showers, you’re
probably really looking for an RV park. Half the fun of camping is that you can
be totally gross and no one cares! Unless you don’t wash your hands. That’s
just unacceptable.
Nearby Activities
The Green Ridge Campground is right on the coast (that doesn’t
seem like the right word…edge? Shore?) of the Shadow Mountain Reservoir, and
like every mountain lake, it provides some stunning scenery.
There is a ton of hiking immediately surrounding the
campground, including a hike that takes you into Rocky Mountain National Park.
You can also simply walk around the reservoir. It seemed to be mostly flat and also
on a nice wide gravel path.
You can also travel north past the dam and follow the river
to cross into RMNP. If you’re not feeling that adventurous, you should still go
this way to spot some awesome wildlife. There is an observation spot (complete
with telescopes!) that points straight at an osprey nest, and on the sunny
afternoon we were out and about, the ospreys were really active.
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| Not where the ospreys are...I just really liked this picture from our hike. Full disclosure, I took this picture from a nice wooden bridge, not any sort of bad-ass watercraft. |
I highly recommend driving into Rocky Mountain National Park, which is just down the road outside of the town of Grand Lake. Turn right
out of the campground, then go left at the fork by the welcome sign to Grand
Lake and you’ll drive right in. Go here to read about the awesomeness that is
all the hiking in this area. Super beginner-friendly and completely stunning.
Other Intangibles
This is a dog-friendly campground, which is great if you’re
also dog-friendly. If you’re not dog-friendly, you may want to reconsider. Normally I would tell you to rearrange your life priorities if you don't like dogs, but I understand that people go camping for solitude and that usually does not go hand-in-hand with other people's canine friends. However, our
friends had a dog with them, and there were also a ton of other people with
dogs, and we didn’t hear a peep from them in the early morning or late evening
hours.
The dogs really enjoyed playing in the lake, so if you have a water-inclined pooch this could be a good spot, especially because it is one of the few dog-friendly campgrounds within reasonable driving distance to Denver.
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| Probably didn't hear anything out of this one because his first outdoors experience was SO.EXCITING. He crashed pretty early. |
The dogs really enjoyed playing in the lake, so if you have a water-inclined pooch this could be a good spot, especially because it is one of the few dog-friendly campgrounds within reasonable driving distance to Denver.
Keep in mind that you can NOT go hiking with your dog in
RMNP, so unfortunately your doggie pal does limit your hiking options greatly.
Overall Impression
While the campsites are a bit exposed (no shade = cooking
alive in your tent once the sun comes up over the ridge), being so close to
RMNP, the great scenery and the easy drive from Denver makes it worth the lack
of shade. It’s bathroom amenities also make it a great place to try out camping
for the first time, even if the wind (which could have been a fluke) makes
setting up your tent a little challenging.
