Stillwater Campground at Lake Granby, CO

Lake Granby, CO

You know it has been too hot and dry when rain is a welcomed guest on a camping trip.  Like much of the nation, Colorado is in the midst of an  unusually dry and hot season, and any precipitation is appreciated, even if it occurs in the middle of a hike.    Although mostly a sunny and pleasant weekend, we experienced downpours and a lightning storm that cut short our leisurely hike and turned it into an all out sprint to the car for cover.


We were hiking around beautiful Monarch Lake in Grand County, enjoying all the summer sights and sounds you come to expect near a mountain lake.  We watched for birds and deer, and a couple hikers we met along the way even warned us of a recent moose and calf sighting just up the trail.  

Hike around Monarch Lake

 Instead we encountered thunder and rain.  Fortunately for us, we were near the end of the trail that looped back to our car, and when the rain finally let loose, we only got thoroughly soaked instead of drenched.  The gravel road back to the highway was a dirty, sloppy mess that left the car covered in a thin crust of mud.  I was just thankful I didn't have to tow the Bambi through all that muck; it would have taken days to get it shining again.

Stillwater Campground on Lake Granby

We stayed at Stillwater Campground on the shore of Lake Granby - a perennial favorite  for us.  It is near the town of Grand Lake with easy access to the West entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  On this particular weekend, Grand Lake was hosting an antique boat show.  There were many beautiful boats on display from a rich and and romantic bygone era.

Grand Lake Antique Boat Show

The annual Grand Lake Antique boat show is always a pleasure to see.  This was my second year attending, and although many of the same boats were on display again this year, I never grow tired of seeing these gleaming beauties, varnished to perfection, and glittering in the summer sun.

On top of Trail Ridge Road

We made a long weekend of it, coming back home over Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park on Monday.   It is so much more enjoyable driving the roads after the weekend traffic dissipates.   Another summer weekend gone by too quickly though - I am so happy and thankful to have the Airstream travel trailer to help motivate and enable me to get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoors of Colorado.

Many more photos here: Stillwater Camping Album

If you go:

Stillwater campground is located 6 miles south of Grand Lake, CO, and sites can be reserved on recreation.gov.  The campground is built on a hill, so some sites are terraced with separate levels for tent pad, picnic table, and parking.   The main drawback about Stillwater campground is that, like many in the area, the pine trees have been cut down because of the pine beetle infestation.  So, shade is hard to come by, but it also means that many sites have unobstructed, spectacular views of the Lake.   

The campground has hot showers (no coins needed) and flush toilets.  Some sites have electricity and water, and there is a dump station at the entrance.  In addition to the $20/day camping fee there is a daily use fee (~$5) for entrance into the Arapahoe Recreation Area where the campground is located.  A multi-day pass can be purchased with a credit card at the entrance to the campground.

There are a couple small grocery stores located in Grand Lake for food and supplies, and a large, modern, supermarket can be found about 10 miles south of the campground in Granby, CO.