Since we moved to Colorado, we’ve been in search of the perfect camping spot. We’re not that hardcore, so our basic criteria is that we have to be able to pull up to it in a car and to make a reservation in advance (nothing like pulling into a campground with three kids on a Friday night and finding nothing available). An ideal campsite should be quiet, shaded, have access to toilets (showers would be nice too), and access to good spots for hiking and swimming. Armed with our Colorado Campgrounds: The 100 Best and All the Rest book, you’d think we couldn’t go wrong. Yet somehow we always seem to forget to book camping spots until a couple of months before and everything decent is taken. This year, I was determined not to let that happen. Our friend Brenda suggested that we all camp near the Maroon Bells. So I opened the book in January and went online to make reservations for Silver Bar (booked), Silver Bell (booked) or Silver Queen (booked). People in Colorado take their camping seriously. So I searched for other sites in the area and made a reservation at Site 8 at Bogan Flats, which is located 22 miles south of Carbondale.
Here’s what we loved about Bogan Flats:
1) It’s near the town of Marble, CO, a tiny town with a population of 131, home to a fantastic BBQ restaurant. While I love campfire cooking, it’s also nice to break it up with some barbecue! The Tomb of the Unknowns and the Lincoln Memorial were built from marble from Marble and there are marble statues and huge chunks of uncut marble all around the town.
Lucy and Noni at the BBQ restaurant with Marble marble
2) It’s near a wonderful swimming spot. Okay, a wonderful Colorado swimming spot. The water is like 33 degrees, but the kids and dogs enjoyed playing in the water while the adults relaxed.
The beach, Colorado-style
The girls built a fairy town along the water. Nolan engineered a water system for the fairies.
3) The Crystal River Valley is the most beautiful part of Colorado I’ve seen yet. We hiked on a trail that was lined with rose bushes to a view of snow-capped mountains.
Amazing flowers along the trail
4) It was the cleanest and quietest campsite we’ve seen. Bob and Toby brought their guitars so we may have disrupted the quiet a little bit, but no one seemed to mind…
Noni and Toby rocking out
5) We slept to the sound of running water and crickets.
Noni checking out the Crystal River, right by our campsite
Bogan Flats isn’t perfect. The river behind the sites has a strong current (probably stronger this year than usual with all of the rain) so it’s not ideal for swimming and could be stressful with little kids. We drove into Marble (a five minute drive) for the swimming spot I mentioned. Also, some of the sites are better than others. I’d recommend sites 8, 9 and 12. And there are no showers, but of course that’s getting picky. (Still, four days and ten layers of sunscreen later, I started to really, really, really want a shower.)
We have had some amazing camping experiences in Colorado. Arapahoe Bay and the Sand Dunes were two of the most memorable. But as far as campsites go, Bogan Flats is probably my favorite so far. We will continue our search for the perfect Colorado campsite. If you come across it, let me know!
Three Girls Move West 