We had such a wonderful time at this campground! The kids loved having the water right there, and…read moreeven with it running fast we found a couple of perfect little coves for them to splash around in. The nearby hikes had something for every skill level, so our whole group was able to find a great fit. Clean, well kept facilities from start to finish!

Amazing campground in the middle of the mountains…read more We took a chance on this spot and we were lucky enough to snag the last campsite on a Friday at 2pm. Sometimes trips are hard to plan in advance, and we were ISO a spot with first come, first serve sites. Kudos to the universe for allowing the stars to align in our favor! + Along the Middle St. Vrain Creek + Two vault toilets located centrally between campsites + One fire ring (with grates) per site + Firewood available on property for $9 + Sizable tent pad, bear locker and picnic table + Walking distance to trailhead + Reservable and non-reservable campsites + 8 people allowed per campsite + Pets allowed We had an extremely enjoyable camping trip a few weeks back. Roughly an hour and a half from our house in Denver, Peaceful Valley Campground made us feel like we were thousands of miles away from civilization. For reference, the campground is about 8 miles away from the ever-popular Brainard Lake Recreation Area. We did experience some rain on Saturday afternoon which was a damper (pun intended). But because of that rain we were treated to the most spectacular rainbow and sunset. It was magical, just look at the pictures I got. The consensus was that we'd come back in a heartbeat next year. There's nothing better than going to sleep at night with the sound of a vibrant creek in the background. We're creekside campers and Peaceful Valley delivered an A+ trip for us!

I hate to give them gem away, but it is an amazingly beautiful campground!…read moreCons: booking a site on line costs $9 on top of the nightly fee - which you pretty much do, since it is usually booked. This year the walk in tent sites are closed due to hazardous trees (sound funny - but i went over and looked and yeah, trees down everywhere It costs $5 extra dollars to get into the lake per night. So a weekend is an additional $10 on top of your site fee and reservation fee. Snow - there was still some there in july and it could come again as early as august.. you never know! Bring layers and big boots for hiking! Pros: It is within walking distance to the lake. The views are absolutely amazing. All the peaks! The clouds and fog did seem to descend right on top of you, so be prepared to be wet occasionally Tons of hiking trails! Beautiful - did i mention that? Sites are well maintained, flat Fire pits are nicely maintained The roads are paved, potable water, vault toilets, but plenty around and they don't smell terrible! See you there soon!

We started off with snowshoes but, it wasn't necessary. We ended up switching to microspikes. About…read morea 1 mile in we encountered a moose on the trail. We tried waiting her out but, she was determined to eat from the trees right next to the trail. Therefore, we cut our hike short and went back. It is a beautiful area, there were no cars in the parking lot when we arrive around 8:15am on a Saturday morning.

I love this trail, and one of the reasons why is the end-as you finish up a great hike or ride, you…read morearrive near the parking area and there are some nice warm boulders by the river-take off your shoes, sit and feel the warmth of the sun radiating from the rock, soak your feet in the icy water...life is good. The trail starts at 8300 ft. From the parking area the trail travels a cushioned gentle slightly downhill roll through woods along the banks above the St. Vrain. Most of the first mile+ is cool and shady even in the summer and the smell of the pines fills your senses. For bikers, there are a few bumpy sections, not a lot. Further on you will get to more technical stuff when you reach a 4x4 road-plenty of steep and rocky. From 36 follow Left Hand Canyon to the fork, take right fork to Jamestown, go through Jamestown, follow to end of pavement, keep going about 1.5 miles

Tried to "check in" while we were there but alas no reception. But that is okay. :)…read more Hermit park is a nice little area to go and get away. It is usually fairly quiet. There are lots of trees and gorgeous views of various mountain peaks. This is around 50-55 minutes from my house (or more depending on traffic). This is a county owned park, so you either need a larimer county park pass. Or there is a $9 fee you can pay upon entering if you dont have that. The park is well maintained. There are trash cans at the trail head. Also cared for bathrooms. There is more than kruger rock trail in the park. There is also saddleback and limber trail as well. Kruger is most well known and also tends to be the busiest. The trails are clearly marked and very user friendly. Dogs are allowed here BUT they need to be leashed ;) This is a really nice area to head to when you want to go into estes but dont necessarily want to deal with the crowds of rocky mountain national park. They do close for a few months in the winter. They actually just reopened i believe march 1 for the season so just be aware depending on the time of year you are wanting to go. Current trail conditions as of today were snowy and dry on parts. if you keep going past kruger onto the limber trail on the other side of kruger then you start getting into some deeper snow and snowshoes may be advised. We did about a mile that way and then opted to turn back around. Because the first 2.5 miles were not like that we had opted to not tow our snowshoes with us though we did pack them in the car.

I recently hiked the Kruger Hike trail and really enjoyed it! First of all, it's dog friendly which…read moreis always a huge plus for me. It's just about 4 miles round trip, so it's not super long. It gains about 900 feet in elevation but never feels really strenuous. Last weekend there was snow on the trail, but it was well marked and easy to follow up to the top. When you make it to the end of trail, make sure to climb to the very top of the rocks. You have to do a little bit of scrambling to get there, but the views are so worth it! You get a fantastic look at Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. The location is great, just a couple of miles away from Estes Park, which is a fun place to stop after you hike. Our group (plus 2 doggies) had a great morning hiking Kruger rock, and would definitely bring other friends and family to check it out.

Our goal was to hike to Emerald Lake, and let me tell you... It was 100% worth it. On this 3.6 mile…read moreroundtrip hike, you'll also encounter Nymph Lake and Dream Lake. While they're both beautiful in their own right, neither one of them compare to the sheer beauty of Emerald Lake with the snowy mountains as a backdrop. As I said, it is a moderate hike. We started around 930am - would've been nicer to start earlier, but it still beat the full heat of the noon sun. There will be intermittent shade, but make sure you bring a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water. We visited in mid June. Once we neared Dream Lake, we started encountering snow on the ground. I used hiking sandals, and I was able to do it in those - just be careful. That being said, with the amount of snow that was on the trail to Lake Haiyaha was completely un-doable in my shoes. Once you reach Emerald Lake, find a place to sit and just take it all in. I could've sat there all afternoon, just being at peace with nature. Absolutely gorgeous. To get to Emerald Lake, you'll need access to Bear Lake Road. Just be aware that Bear Lake Road requires a reservation SEPARATE from the reservation to the national park. There's a big lot at the trailhead, but it gets filled up. They do have a park & ride a few miles away with plenty of shuttles ready to bring you in. If you're able to make the hike, hiking to Emerald Lake is wonderful. The hike itself is gorgeous, and the final lake is beautiful. Plan it in your schedule, and you will not be disappointed.

Emerald lake is one of the stars of RMNP. Its a stunning place to hike to year round, and it's…read morepretty moderate as a hike so it's accessible to most people. I personally prefer the lake in winter when it's frozen; there's something about the towering peaks covered in snow when you can walk right up to where the flat surface of the lake meets the bank. It's just stunning! It is very slipper when there's that much snow though so come prepared -- crampons/shoe chains are very helpful, and snow shoes can also be helpful. There are areas of the trail that get buried pretty deep in snow. Watch your step! Even in summer there are a lot of steps so you can slide on rocks etc. But it is a truly beautiful hike, all the time. You pass nymph and dream lake on the way out to emerald and they are also absolutely stunning - actually I prefer dream in summer when it's defrosted :)

Wow! It's so beautiful here. I enjoyed my solo take out dinner sitting on top of a boulder and…read moreenjoying the views of the lake and mountains. Plus, the lake is only. Short walk from the parking lot, so it is accessible to most. While on a short hike on the trail, I ran into a beautiful MOOSE and caught a few photos while he ate his dinner. Amazing experience!

Brainard NRA is stunning. I was surprised how fast the tickets go for this place during the summer…read moremonths - I went in mid September and the tickets for the morning times were fully gone within minutes after they dropped online a few weeks before I went Given RMNP tix go like that I was ready at 0900 for when they dropped, and actually within 1 min the 8-11a time slot sold out so I couldn't get it! But I did get the 5-8a slot which was fine. The area itself is very easy to find and navigate, and it is well maintained by the staff. When you arrive they do scan your day pass ticket and give you a pass to hang on your rear view mirror. The lot was plenty empty at Long lake trailhead (the start to get to Lake Isabelle) when I arrived around 0730. The day was fairly cool but not cold, and partly cloudy. It was absolutely gorgeous, the hike there was even more beautiful than the lake itself! I saw a moose along part of the trail too. The lake itself was surprisingly low, I'm not sure why the water level was that low but it looked much lower compared to the pictures/tiktoks I've seen online. That said, it is still very picturesque. There were lots of places to roam around the lake, and even tho it became SUPER windy when I got to the lake, I had a good time running around (but note - my nose was running like CRAZY, if you have allergies, come with tissues!). I did end up walking from long lake trailhead to the lake Mitchell trailhead and making the hike out there too; Isabelle is prettier imo but it was still a fun walk and the trailhead at Mitchell has plenty of parking too. There is a little trail, about 15 mins walk between long lake trailhead and Mitchell trailhead, although you do briefly have to walk along part of the road. Brainard lake itself is also lovely, I saw a moose hanging out right by this lake too!

This was an AMAZING campground for a trip to RMNP! We saw so many elk and mule deer right from the…read morecampgrounds majestically roaming free. It was truly magical. Our campsite was perfect and up at the far / left end of the campground site. We had picturesque views at all hours of the day. The bathroom closest to our campground was just the potty portion, but there was a full bathroom just down the drive with showers and sinks and such. Our fellow campers were kind enough to rescue our tents and pin them down with rocks while we were out hiking (thank you, kind humans!). Our whole experience here was wonderful, and I would definitely return next time I'm in the area. The RV spots to be fair (as other reviewers mention) were more lackluster. The tent sites, especially at the outer edges, are where it's at!!

Campground was very clean and check-in and camp store were great. Bathrooms are coin operated and…read morewere very very clean! The RV campsites were very close together and were not shaded. Neighboring campers dogs were off- leash and came over to our campsite.

We were driving around Estes and my husband had to make some business calls on our vacation. So he…read morestopped to do this by this lovely lake .. so I would have some place pretty to look around while he did some work calls and emails. I walked around with my camera .. and climbed the rocks .. the rocks here are porous. I am not a fan or heights and not a rock climber but the rocks here are easy to climb. there is a camp ground.

Really nice developed campsite off bear lake road. Nice that camping reservation includes access to…read morethe bear lake corridor starting at 1pm. Bathrooms with running water are well maintained. Can access some nice lake trails from the campground.

Great views and friendly staff, only downside is there aren't really any trees on any of the plots…read moretherefore not a ton of privacy and it can get pretty windy.

**1 Star -- Site #98 is NOT Safe for Large RVs**…read more We stayed at Jellystone Park Estes Park for three nights in site #98 with our 36-foot fifth wheel. We paid $325.50 for our stay and left with expensive damage to our truck because, in my opinion, this site should never be assigned to an RV of this size. Site #98 is located on a hill and requires a very tight left turn from a one-way road, with a drop-off on one side and a large boulder retaining wall on the other. When an employee escorted us to the site, he immediately told us it was a difficult site for big fifth wheels and even said another camper had ripped off his fender trying to back into it. My husband is very experienced backing our fifth wheel, and after several attempts with direction from the campground employee, he was able to get us into the site. Unfortunately, getting OUT was even worse. When we left, my husband had to swing the truck as far to the right as possible to keep the fifth wheel tires from going off the drop-off on the left. At one point, half of our left-side tires were hanging off the edge. While I was outside watching the tires and trying to help navigate this extremely precarious situation, the truck caught one of the boulders from the retaining wall on the right, which became wedged underneath our running board. We then had to JACK UP OUR TRUCK--with our 36-foot fifth wheel still attached and sitting dangerously close to the edge of a hill--just to get the truck off the boulder. What makes this situation especially frustrating is what happened afterward. A very kind campground employee who came to help us expressed his own frustration that they continue putting large RVs in this site. He explained that after the cabins across the road were installed, along with the retaining wall, there was no longer enough room for big RVs to safely pull out of site #98. While I waited to speak with the manager, a THIRD employee also acknowledged to me that they have had issues with this site. Yet when the manager finally came to speak with us, she claimed she had NO knowledge of site #98 being a problem and told us they allow RVs up to 38 feet in it. When I told her they should not be putting RVs that large in this site, her response was, **"It's 2026 and they can't tell people what they can put in a site."** That response was unbelievable to me. A campground absolutely can--and should--determine what size RV can safely fit into and maneuver through a particular site. Three separate employees either warned us about this site or acknowledged problems with it, including one who specifically said there is no longer enough room for large RVs to pull out after the cabins and retaining wall were added. Yet management continues allowing RVs up to 38 feet in the site. We were offered no solution for the damage to our truck, and management took no accountability for continuing to place large RVs in a site their own employees acknowledge has had problems. We paid $325.50 for three nights and walked away with a damaged truck and an incredibly stressful--and potentially dangerous--experience. We will NEVER stay at this campground again. If you have a fifth wheel or RV over 30 feet, I would strongly recommend staying elsewhere and specifically avoiding **site #98**. Campgrounds have a responsibility to assign rigs to sites they can safely enter AND exit. Based on our experience, Jellystone Estes Park failed to do that.

Most disappointed by booking snafu that was revealed when we checked in on June 7 2026. Despite…read morebeing assured on the phone that our reservation for that week was in a handicapped assist cabin, no such reservation was recorded. Only a regular cabin was reserved for us. "Oh , the notes say we'd get a disabled assist cabin if it was available when we arrived. Sorry about that." Only recourse is money back with no place to go. Hey, we know there are limited such availabilities in parks like this, but if you can't book us FOR SURE, just tell us. We'll go somewhere else. Instead, my wife struggled up our cabin stairs for five days. The camp staff was polite and friendly but this was a really difficult situation.