Rifle Gap State Park - Colorado

[JAC1982]

Hi friends, we are looking at staying at Rifle Gap State Park in mid-June for a few days before heading out to Country Jam. Our 5th wheel toyhauler is 38' long. It seems almost all the campgrounds there have some spots can accommodate us, and we don't care about full hookups, just electric would be nice. We will not be bringing the RZR on this trip so we probably wouldn't stay in the Sage campground.

Can anybody who has visited there give me some insight on the best campsites and/or anything else we should know? We plan on booking on Sunday, the first possible day, for a Sunday-Wednesday visit, so I think we'll have our pick of spots this early. The husband likes easy in/out without too many trees close by or boulders/rocks making it difficult to swing out wide enough. Prefer pull-through but back-in is fine too.

[ljr]

I was in Lakeview 29 a few years ago. Crew cab, long bed pickup with 30’ FW and plenty of room left over. It’s high on the hillside with a nice view.

[JAC1982]

Thank you all for the rec of the Lakeview Campground at Rifle Gap. It was very easy in/out and the views were great from site 14! We were just there for one night but next year we are planning on going for 2-3 nights.

The Park was clean and very well maintained, even the gravel on each site was raked. As mentioned, sites 12 and 14 were very big rig friendly. Site 17 also looked good. All the other sites looked pretty easy to access too. No Verizon phone access (which isn't a bad thing while on vacation).

[tmm2good]

Yup, you will have no problem in Lakeview. We spent a week there last summer. Rifle Falls was nice, but pretty tight for a bigger rig like you have. Enjoy the peace and quiet of Rifle before CJ, we are not going this year.

[JAC1982]

We plan on checking out Rifle Falls while we are there, but it's a bit more off the beaten path and the husband worries about all the large trees getting in the way... we're over 13' high. He likes to know what he's getting into with places like that, whereas Rifle Gap is pretty obvious that it's easy to maneuver in. I think it looks lovely though, we'll at least go up there for an afternoon 🙂

[IDman]

I second the idea of Rifle Falls S.P. It is smaller, quieter, and has grass and shade. The only negative is my wife always sees a lot of small water snakes that come out of the creek area. At least they are small and harmless.

[4runnerguy]

We live pretty close to this park and have been there (or past there) more than a few times. If I might make another suggestion: have you considered heading a little further upstream and camping at Rifle Falls SP? A little higher up, cooler, quieter (no boat noise), and more trees. Of course if you're wanting to be close to the lake for fishing or boating, then Rifle Gap is a better choice.

[JAC1982]

Vette Racer wrote:
We were there this last summer and stayed in the upper loop, didn't see a campsite that wouldn't work for most anything. We have a 38ft 5th and an extra vehicle. Great place!

Great, thank you! This is only our 2nd year with the big 5er so we're still not super confident with the size... so big campsites are nice!

[Vette_Racer]

We were there this last summer and stayed in the upper loop, didn't see a campsite that wouldn't work for most anything. We have a 38ft 5th and an extra vehicle. Great place!

[padredw]

Yes, I think site 14 is entirely comparable to site 12. You won't go wrong there.

[JAC1982]

padredw wrote:
We have stayed in the Lakeview Loop in site 12 the last two years. It is as wonderful site: concrete, perfectly level, covered picnic shelter, full hook up. I'd definitely go there again. Great view, high above the lake, quiet. Can't say enough good about it.

Thank you, that site does look lovely! Good view and quiet are high on our list since the latter part of that week at Country Jam is boondocking in an alfalfa field with 30,000 of our closest friends haha! The one I was eyeing in the Lakeview campground is spot 14, which is right next to 12, so good to know that they are as nice as they look in the photos online.

[padredw]

We have stayed in the Lakeview Loop in site 12 the last two years. It is as wonderful site: concrete, perfectly level, covered picnic shelter, full hook up. I'd definitely go there again. Great view, high above the lake, quiet. Can't say enough good about it.

[Itchey_Feet]

There are two separate camp grounds. the last time we stayed was on the lake campground, this is the first one you come to. There are shaded spots in the other campsite but it is a lot smaller. Pull thru sites are plentiful around the lake. if you are going to be there a few days it is worth it to visit the other campsite as there are good picture opportunities there.

[Old-Biscuit]

Here are some reviews of the 9 parks in/around Rifle

Rifle CO



Rifle CO....WOW haven't thought about that place since I left WY back in the early 70's.
Oil field derrick worker