RVing: White River National Forest
We usually take a long RVing trip during the summer, and this year we decided to go RVing in White River National Forest. It’s a a huge area—we didn’t even scratch the surface, but here’s what we did and some tips and tricks for you to plan your own trip to this beautiful area.
Tips and Tricks
Start on a Sunday
Many times we’ll start a trip on Saturday or even later Friday afternoon, but we chose to wait to find our spot for the week until Sunday. This didn’t mean we started our trip on Sunday though. Since it was a longer distance for our parents, we all met at a campground on Saturday before heading into the National Forest on Sunday.
This turned out to be a great plan (as we had hoped). Many people who were up just for the weekend were leaving as we were driving into the National Forest on Sunday. This meant there were plenty of spots for us!
Bug Spray Was A Must
Though the spots were plentiful, so were the mosquitoes. As you can see in the first video for this trip, we didn’t stay in our first spot (and it wasn’t the first spot we tried). The spot we stayed in for most of the week was much better, but mosquitoes and other bugs were still present. Sometimes that’s just how it is when you’re out in nature.
Activities
So Much Riding!
There are miles and miles and miles of trails to ride on a motorcycle or ATV in White River National Forest. We actually couldn’t even show all the riding video we had from the trip. It was great fun and a good time for our oldest to get more comfortable on his new motorcycle.
Meadow Lake
This stop is an absolute must if you’re camping in the area. Actually, you can camp very close to the lake as there’s a campground right next to it.
Cliff Lakes
We visited Cliff Lakes twice. Once while the boys were in Glenwood with the grandparents and once with the whole group. The hiking trail was lightly traveled and was a little difficult for some in our group. We were all able to hike to the lakes, but my dad went back on his own to get his truck and drive us back. There is a road that goes almost right up to one of the lakes (this is how we went the first time), so it’s a place just about anyone can visit.
Rifle Falls
Rifle Falls State Park was definitely the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed exploring the waterfalls and caves. We’d recommend bringing a flashlight or headlamp if you’re going to explore the caves. One in particular was pitch black without a light!
Rifle Arch Trail
While this was a neat trail and a beautiful ending, it was very, very hot. Do the hike in the morning or early evening. We were hiking in the middle of the day…in July. Not our best plan, but we drank lots of water and still made it (almost) all the way. You can climb up to the arch, but we opted not to do that.
Meeker, CO and White River Museum
We were ready for some civilization and wanted to check out this little town. The people alone in Meeker made our day. They were some of the friendliest and kindest people.
While the museum is small and not exactly a “destination” on it’s own, it was interesting. Check out part 2 of our videos to see some of what we saw. A lot of it is just old stuff, but it was neat to see the boys try to figure out what some of the objects were once used for. The best moment was when our oldest saw a bunch of old irons (the kind you had to heat on a stove). He’s only ever known those as a door stopper, because that’s how Grandma uses one. We laughed and laughed!
Where We Camped
Just saying we were RVing in White River National Forest doesn’t really give you an idea of the actual area in which we stayed. After all, it encompasses 2.3 MILLION acres. We stayed in the area north of I-70 and were near the New Castle Buford Road. The Cliff Lake Trail and Meadow Lake were not too far from our campsite. Other than that, get out, explore, and find your perfect spot!
YouTube Videos
If you haven’t already, check out our YouTube videos for this trip. It was a fun week, and we’re sure to go back and explore more of this beautiful area at some point.
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