Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake

First of all, the entire campground was gravel. Small gravel. And although the sites were nice and level and there was plenty of space, there are literally no trees at all in the campground except for in the tent sites.

The bathrooms were very clean, but you had to pay $2 for the shower. The staff was not particularly friendly, but that isn't the primary problem

The primary problem with this location is simply the fact that you're in a parking lot with hookups. We would not choose to stay there again. Location relative to Estes Park was fine.

Well run, lots of helpful staff, clean and with good bathrooms. Only minutes away from the East Entrance to RMNP and Estes Park. Relatively quite and family friendly. Definitely choose pull through spots M01 through M22 if available. They are the two highest rows, closest to the entrance and with the best views. Spots M23-M46 are side to side and back to back... they looked kinda cramped with limited views especially if you are in the M23 to M34 row. 2 bars 5G with T Mobile.

We stayed here one night after traversing RMNP from the western entrance ( so worth it !) We got a last minute reservation instead of going all the way back . It’s a gravel lot , but less cramped than most . You have to pay for the shower ( but seriously it’s the best shower we’ve had with over 3 months on the road !) they have a pool . Good location. Would stay again .

Our site was on a precipice overlooking a marshland. It was difficult to pull into and had very little space to spread out. That said, if we climbed over the rocks to our side, we found a beautiful view. During our one night we saw elk, mule deer, and many birds. There is also a very easy hike up and over the hill to the reservoir which is amazing. Neighbors are close on all sides but they were friendly. Lots of recreation nearby.

Campers are on top of each other on gravel. It is a loud campground with no privacy and really no place to set a chair to enjoy the view since all you see are campers.When it rains, the water from the top sites piles into bottom sites and the road has to be regraded. You pay 50 dollars a night and have to pay $2 for every 6 minutes in the shower house! That is just wrong and is not mentioned on website. There is no WiFi. The cell signal is extremely poor.
The camp store is well stocked and reasonable. The camp hosts also man the store and we found them to be friendly. There are 8 different hosts.
The location is good because it bypasses Estes Park to get into the park or to go to east side trailheads.
Be aware that the campground sewer hookup is at the very back of the trailer. If your discharge outlets are towards front or middle of camper make sure you have extra hose or you will not reach.

My wife and I camped here a couple weeks ago and had a rough time. The camp manager and her entire staff are inappropriate with zero customer service skills. As soon as my wife and I came in we were the only ones who were clearly treated wrong and poorly. Not sure if they were homophobic or just immature with no manners or common sense on how to truly treat others. My tiny backyard is bigger than the sites here. You are on top of one another, hardly any tent pads, misleading/false advertisement online. The manager enjoys arguing with customers that have complaints instead of being a professional and helping the situation or even trying to resolve the problems. We wanted a refund due to the campsite being smaller than advertised but were turned away and told to pay more next time for a larger site. The larger sites are barely bigger than the one I had. The pool looks like it is only for children due to the small size, there’s many main roads with traffic, the lake is across the street and very difficult to get to by walking due to too much traffic, rocks and bushes in tent areas, no space to park your vehicle at your campsite unless you have a 2 person tent only, over priced for a parking lot size campground. I would not advise wasting your money and time here. Unless you enjoy being on top of other people that blast music late at night that prevents you from sleeping with the rocks under neath you.

Admittedly, we got the 2nd to the last available campsite less than a week from the date we were camping so we knew we were going to get the bottom of the barrel as far as campsite's is concerned...

Given our date for reservations, we got a full hookup spot in the most crowded part of the campsite. Other loops for full hookups are one row of campers while ours was 2 rows back to back meaning we were up close and personal with our neighbors most of which were spectacular. However it only takes one.

These folks were loud (I can tell you their life story) and wouldn't keep their dogs out of our campsite which is only an issue because we also have 2 dogs.

The location was excellent and the amenities are great. My only suggestion would be to get 23-47.

We had planned a two-night stay at Mary’s Lake, but for various reasons we cut it to one night. Here’s the story…

EP Campground at Mary’s Lake is in a good spot, just far enough from the taffy shops and tourist traps of Estes Park. The staff were nice and welcoming, but the park itself just doesn’t measure up.

It’s pretty much just a big gravel parking lot, with sites packed in along various loops and paths. There are hardly any trees where we were, so we were completely exposed to the wicked winds. The picnic table at our site was a nice thought, but when your view is of a gravel parking lot, sitting at the table just doesn’t hold much appeal.

The bathrooms are nice and clean, but the showers are coin-operated. Now, I don’t mind paying for a good shower, but when you’re already paying forty-five bucks a night, throwing eight quarters into a machine for six minutes (if that) of hot water seems a bit like robbery.

If all you’re looking for is a parking lot with hookups to stow your RV while you explore the park, this place might work for you. But when we’re done hiking for the day, we like a place that has some amount of charm, and sadly Mary’s Lake doesn’t deliver.