Moraine Park Campground

I love staying in National Park Campgrounds and this one is no exception. Sure, there are no hookups or showers (solar shower stall only) here, but it is totally worth it to be in the park! We had an incredible view from our site and enjoyed sitting outside listening to the nearby elk. You can also walk to the shuttle from the campground which will be crucial once the crowds really start to arrive. Our site had incredible views and we couldn’t be happier with it! There are many many trails to explore in the park. We did our best (loved the hike to Emerald Lake even though it was busy!), but couldn’t do as much as planned due to all of the snow - even though it was the first day of summer!! Luckily Trail Ridge Road was open so we could drive that. I highly recommend it!

Had a very nice stay at this campsite. Had turkey, deer and elk walk through the campground each morning. Elk were down in the valley and each morning really enjoyed hearing the "elk sounds" . Next time I would like to stay where I could actually see the valley from our campsite. We had a generator and had no issues with rangers asking us to stay quiet. Bathrooms were clean. Only complaint that our site didn't have any trees to hang a hammock and rangers left a not so nice note warning us about our mosquito candles being left out. Lot's of exclamation points and capital letters. Our fault won't do it again. Scenery was beautiful and Colorado continues to be our favorite state to visit. I hate that you have to plan your visit so far in advance. Glad we got a campsite.

Unfortunately so many national park camping facilities suffer from lack of maintenance, with crumbling roads and barely usable sites. Moraine Park was a welcome exception to this rule! The loop roads are in pristine condition, and we found our site to be perfectly level and well groomed. The sites around us (A loop 42, 44, 46, etc.) were all similarly situated and suitable for big rigs. The rangers who checked us in didn't give great instructions about the correct direction to drive to get proper access to the angled backin site, but we figured it out by looping around. The bathrooms could use work, and some sites are quiet short (check recreation.gov carefully when booking), and picnic tables and fire rings seem to be weirdly distant from sites (and close to neighbors) but our specific site was nearly perfect for what we needed. We had plenty of open sky for solar generation, we had daily visits from turkeys and deer, and being right on the shuttle system was a major plus during the busy summer season. There is a ranger station right in the campground which was ideal for getting detailed hiking information.

The campground is about 6 miles from Estes Park, so it was easy to head into town to stock up at Safeway. There are several gas stations within a few miles of the park, which is helpful when driving long distances to get to trailheads. But use the shuttle system when possible! It's so much easier than fighting traffic at popular locales like Bear Lake.

AT&T cell service at our specific site was generally zero on our phones and 1-2 bars on our MyFi, but it was so clogged as to be virtually unusable during the day. The good news is that we had great AT&T service (3 bars LTE) at the first pullouts on Bear Lake Road, just after turning off the main park road toward the campground. We drove the 2-3 miles from the campground when we needed consistent service.

We stayed the weekend of Aug 3, 2018. This was our first time staying in the Moraine Park Campground. Last year we stayed at Glacier Basin Campground. Moraine is a great choice for staying in the park. Like all campgrounds in RMNP we booked months in advance (6 months to be precise). Our site was not too crowded, but driving around it looks like the sites can pack in kind of tight. Because our neighbors were pretty quiet, it was a very quiet experience for us. Our site C227 was closest to the campground amphitheater, which was very convenient if you like that, but a tiny bit loud during the 8:30-9:15 presentation.

A few minor complaints... The bathroom with the flush toilets on the C-loop was sanitary, but cosmetically rundown and dirty. (The vault toilets were closed because flush open). There is a single dump station for all 86 RV sites, so if you catch it at the wrong time there could be a couple of RV's ahead of you.

A couple of years ago we were staying at nearby Estes Park Campground. Being new RVers in a small popup, we opted for water and electric, not quite ready for dry camping. Now, 2 years later, we feel like we've become pros at the whole dry-camping thing. We had scoped out this campground back then and are so glad we had a chance to stay here!

Of all the campgrounds in and around RMNP, there's nothing to compare to this amazing place. It's beautifully wooded with boulders and evergreens all over the place. We lucked out with one of the best sites in the campground. We were on the outer edge of the on the B loop, and while we didn't have an amazing view from our site, 45 feet up a little hill took us to an overlook of the entire Morraine Valley where we could see and hear elk.

There's not much in the way of amenities. No showers. No camp store. No electricity. No water at your site. Vault toilets. So, it's a little on the rustic side. But you are in one of the prettiest places in Colorado and close to all that RMNP has to offer. The things that this campground does have is a single dump station (kinda cramped), a single threaded water source (at the dump station), a few water pumps (unthreaded) forested sites and beautiful views.

There aren't a whole lot of sites that can handle a 30'+ camper so plan ahead. On top of that, there are limited generator zones and limited generator hours. They're picky about the generators too. I have an offbrand (non-Honda) inverter 2000w generator. It's quiet, just not quite as quiet as a Honda. The CG host almost made me cut it off and asked me to put in in econ mode. So don't bring your non-inverter generators!

It's tough to snag a site here. And, they only let you reserve 7 nights cumulatively a year.

If I had any beef at all it's that at least the two sites that our party were using were very un-level (front-to-back). We were on a curve and a really big hill so it was a little tricky to back in. If you're in a decent size RV, I'd highly recommend the outer loop B.

It's hard to beat this place. Some tips...

-Get donuts from the donut shop just before you get into Estes Park. They're amazing!!!
-Hike to Emerald Lake
-If you're going to try to park at Bear Lake, you better get there before 8. Otherwise, go ahead and park at the bus stop.
-See Alluvial Fan
-Download the "Up Ahead" app that tells you all about the park as you drive
-Eat pizza at Grand Lake. It's amazing!

Love this campground. We try and camp here at least twice a year, but you have to make sure and make your reservations way ahead of time or hope for a cancellation ("B" loop is open year round on a first come first serve basis during the winter). It's definitely a popular campground with four large loops (total of 239 campsites) that are a mix of tent only and rv sites, with several that are large enough for up to a 40 foot motorhome. Some of the sites are pretty close together, but each loop has some great sites as well. My favorite is the "C" loop that has several sites overlooking the Moraine meadow. Our last visit was early October, and we spent the evenings around the campfire enjoying the sounds of the elk bugling, owls hooting, and coyotes yelping.

This campground is a short distance from the east entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. At the campground entrance there is water and dump station. As you would expect the campground is hilly and had many large rocks to maneuver around while parking in your campsite. The views were great. The pit toilets were clean.

While we were here we drove the Trail Ridge Road, which connects the west and east sides of the park and is reported as the highest paved road in the US. The views were outstanding. We found the west side to be less busy.

Estes Park has a nice dog park, which was about a 15 minute drive from our campsite.

Our last stay was last July. We have camped here many times over the years and this is our favorite site. The nightly rate is due to our senior pass. The sites here can be challenging and some are close together but found that to be a minor issue. The view of the Moraine and the mountains is spectacular. The ranger programs are great fun and very informative. This campground is a short drive back in to EP so anything you need is close by. Hiking trails are also easily accessible and further up the road is Bear Lake. All in all a magical place.

I stayed here back in 2010. The camp sites are so tightly packed in that your neighbors are touching your elbows at all times. There is very little room to move without encroaching into other sites. During the peak months (May-August) you would need to have a reservation months in advance.

This is the main campground to see the Eastern side of the park, which is also the most populated side. If you want to experience RMNP with a quarter of the tourist traffic, and a significantly better campground, go to the West side (Trail Ridge Road is a must-drive) and camp at Timber Creek Campground.

Even though a cell tower in Estes Park is visible from this campground I did not get any Verizon, Sprint, or TMobile signal. Maybe another carrier will have better luck?