We all know RVing to a city can be a special challenge since most cities don’t have great campgrounds, but Denver is an exception. It not only has terrific campground choices, two options are state parks, which come with the recreation, views, large sites, and low prices you would expect at a state park campground, all within 20-30 minutes of downtown. We happened to have two RV Atlas regular correspondents visit Denver this summer, and we are doing a 2-part series with their campground recommendations and details about all the things to see and do in Denver. Check out this campground review of Chatfield State Park.
Kerri Cox, from Travels with Birdy, is sharing her campground review of Chatfield State Park in the guest post below, and Gretchen Holcombe, from Boxy Colonial on the Road, will share a review of Cherry Creek State Park. Chatfield State Park is located on the southwest edge of Denver in Littleton, and Cherry Creek State Park is due east in Aurora.
To hear Kerri and Jeremy discuss this campground review of Chatfield State Park and things to see and do in Denver, click play on the media player above or look for The RV Atlas in your podcast app.
About Chatfield State Park
On many of our trips to Colorado, my family has added a stay in Denver on our way west. One reason for this is that Denver is a great town to visit, but another is to give us a chance to acclimate to the elevation before we go higher up in the mountains. Famously, the “Mile High City” is 5,200 feet above elevation (while our Missouri home is a mere 1,300 feet and the campgrounds we head to deeper in the mountains after we leave Denver are above 8,000 feet).
Chatfield State Park is on the southwest side of the city, located just off Highway E-470, which is a tollway that routes you around the city. It’s super easy to navigate to the campground while towing, which is an important consideration when staying near a city.
While we have always used Chatfield State Park as a base camp for visiting Denver, many travelers and Coloradans actually visit the state park for the recreation, primarily on the lake. Chatfield Reservoir is a 1,500-acre lake that offers boating, paddling, fishing, and swimming. There’s also a boat launch and marina. 5280 Paddle Sports offers paddleboard and kayak rentals onsite. In fact, there’s a shallower part of the lake the bigger boats can’t access that is super popular for paddlers.
On land, Chatfield State Park has 26 miles of trails, a 69-acre off-leash area for dogs, a model airplane field, and horse rentals. Seriously, you could spend several days enjoying all of the activities in the park, but unfortunately, we haven’t done so! In fact, I just learned there is a waterside restaurant that I’ll have to check out on our next visit.
Campground Review of Chatfield State Park
Chatfield State Park has a campground with 197 sites. Since the campground is on a hilltop, many of the sites have great views of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains–but not all sites do, so it’s a bit of a gamble. While the Colorado State Park website doesn’t have photos of each individual campsite, CampsitePhotos.com does! This doesn’t always help you figure out if you’ll have a view due to the angles, but it’s still nice. This time, we were really surprised to find a great view from our site.
Most of the campsites in Chatfield State Park are large level sites with concrete pads. Colorado State Parks does this unique thing where they have pull-thru sites that are shaped kind of like the letter D, with the campsite being the outer arc. So, you pull off the road onto your site, and you have a nice large “yard” beside your rig. Oftentimes, we have had spots on the outer loop where we can’t even see our neighbors. The park makes strategic use of cedar trees to provide even more privacy. Plus, the sites have tent pads, too!
What makes Chatfield State Park exceptionally nice is that the majority of the sites are full hookups, with a handful offering electric only. The electric sites have plenty of access to potable water, and the park has a dump station. The price is amazing at $36 for electric-only and $41 for full hookups. You will have to pay the daily entrance fee for your carload (not per person) to enter Chatfield State Park, which is $10 per vehicle.
Now, let’s talk about showerhouses. As we’ve downsized from a travel trailer to a Class B, we’ve returned to using the campground showers (we have one in the van, but it’s a bit annoying to set up the curtain to protect the cabinetry since it’s a wet bath that isn’t a true wet bath). Showerhouses at state parks can be questionable! But, the ones at Chatfield State Park were nice. One important note: The campground loops have older showerhouses (with a sloped roof) that do NOT let you change the water temp, but the newer showerhouse has adjustable temps. While some of Colorado’s state parks require quarters for a shower, these have been reconfigured to be free! They were surprisingly clean.
To hear more of this campground review of Chatfield State Park, click play on the media player above or look for The RV Atlas podcast. Make sure to check out the paired post and podcast about Cherry Creek State Park for another great campground review and even more to do in Denver!
Things to Do in Denver
We have now visited Denver five times and still have so much left to see, but here are some things we’ve enjoyed:
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre: Even if you can’t see a show, it’s worth a visit. You can go in just to walk around or to do yoga or see a film. But, if you can see a show, this is a bucket-list worthy destination! The acoustics are phenomenal, with the massive rocks creating a natural amphitheater. I’ve seen the Avett Brothers there twice, and it was magical! The food onsite is truly good. The sunsets over the city add even more magic. Since the venue is on the smaller side, many big-name artists do multiples shows for their visits. The 2025 season has included Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Sting, Mumford & Sons, the String Cheese Incidident…and shows from Brandi Carlile, Gracie Abrams, and so many more are to come. Also, the small town of Morrison is a great spot to eat, with lots of cute local restaurants and rooftop patios.
Meow Wolf Denver’s Convergence Station: This is one of five Meow Wolf interactive, immersive art experiences in the nation with 2 more to come. We previously talked about the original in Santa Fe. Russell and I like odd, quirky things, and Meow Wolf fits the bill! You can wander around, exploring the environments created by hundreds of artists. Or, you can work to solve the mystery. We did the open-ended approach. The food and drinks onsite are actually very good, so I recommend checking them out. This is fun for both kids and adults.
Casa Bonita: Continuing the trend of odd, quirky establishments, Russell and I checked out Casa Bonita. The chain started in the late 60s in Oklahoma City, but the Denver location built in 1974 is probably the most famous. Inside, it reminds you of something you’d find at Disney, with a restaurant designed to look like you are walking around a village in Mexico at night, complete with stars in the skies above. What takes this restaurant over the top is the elements like cliff divers, live mariachi bands, talking parrots, magic shows, and other performances. You might even spot a roaming gorilla! You must book reservations far in advance (we set up an alert, though, and got a cancellation). Since I didn’t grow up with Casa Bonita, watching the documentary Casa Bonita Mi gave me a whole new appreciation of why the South Park creators bought and restored it.
Larimer Square: We checked out Larimer Square, the oldest commercial block in the city that is now a dining and entertainment district. The street is closed to vehicle traffic, creating a nice place to walk around and find open-air dining, which we love!
The Wizard’s Chest: Russell likes to visit game stores in every town, and Denver’s Wizard Chest is probably the coolest one I’ve seen, as it is absolutely gigantic and designed to be a magical environment with toys, games, costumes, and all kinds of nerd collectibles!
Lair O’the Bear Park: If you want to get out of the city and get a bit more into the foothills, this park has a nice trail along Bear Creek. There’s a variety of trails, nice shade, and some great open views.
Overall, Denver is a great place to camp, with plenty to do in the city and easy access to the mountains. We enjoy this midpoint layover on our way to the peaks, so I’m sure we will return again. If we do, we will definitely stay at Chatfield State Park again since you really can’t beat the price or the setup!
