By:
Submission
Arapaho Valley Ranch is a gorgeous family-owned guest ranch in Colorado’s beautiful Grand County. We are located at the base of the Indian Peaks Wilderness, within a 2-hour drive from Denver.
AVR has a rich Colorado history and has been helping people enjoy the outdoors since the early 1900s! There is a long-standing history of families and friends that have spent their summers at AVR, creating lifetimes of memories. You can feel this vibe as soon as you enter our gates!
Our ranch is surrounded by the Arapaho National Forest and is nestled in one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. This area features hiking trails, waterfalls, and historic steam engines from the old town of Monarch. We have our own private hiking trail that leads to our “kissing swing” overlooking the headwaters of the Colorado River Valley.
Arapaho Valley Ranch offers cabins and upgraded outdoor camping accommodations, glamping, and tipis, along with regular campsites.
Our lodge has a game room, a comfortable place to relax with friends, a piano and the Red Dog Saloon, the smallest bar in Colorado.
Please avoid if possible.
Honestly, if I paid the normal camping price or even a little higher, I would have rated this 4/5 or so. BUT, I paid a whopping amount of total $320 for a night at clamping tent and I felt like I was looted.
The facility is on a very scenic and remote location which make it unique in a way, but, right in front of it there is gov campsite which give you same location benefits.
Also, this one is not on the actual lake, but on a little pond nearby.
Coming to property overall, it is not maintained. They took $50 cleaning fee with the reservation and don't think anything was at all.
--> Bedding provided had holes on the blankets, tent zip was broken, no heater available.
--> When asked for the heater for like 4 times, they kept the heater outside at the time of their counter closing time ( 7 pm ), and it was kept without gas. We couldn't use it.
--> Washroom had hot water in the sink but not in the shower. There was no maintenance for 20 so hours we were there.
--> No food available in the premise, everything is 20 miles off-road away.
--> No coffee at the coffee machine they claim they have. It is only available in the morning 8 till whatever they refill lasts.
--> They have the emergency number given, but there is no network coverage, so its of no use.
AVR is an absolutely beautiful property with a variety of ways to stay and lots of things to do. We visited on the tail end of what I assume is their busy season so it was fairly quiet and very peaceful. It is a bit on the high end cost wise & while we were there the store and saloon were closed every time we attempted going but overall we’d recommend it and plan to visit again in the future. Note: There are definitely spots that would be better for travel trailer campers (as far as ease of backing in) than the one we had, so I’d recommend speaking to someone re: which are which if booking a site for a camper. Site 27 is much closer to neighboring site 21 than we guessed from the map.
AVR was outstanding! We went with a large group and stayed in the main cabin. It was so beautiful and clean. We had an amazing view of the lake and a Mother and Baby moose came to the lake every day. Our kids fished all morning and evening.
Some of our friends stayed in the smaller cabins and glamping tents, all were amazing and clean.
Beautiful hikes and lakes all in walking distance.
Highly recommend, it’s very family friendly or just a fun adult getaway!
My family and I had an amazing experience here. The location is incredible as it is surrounded by National Forest and two large lakes perfect for hiking, fishing, and swimming. There were tons of activities to keep me and my kids busy with hiking, biking, canoeing and more fishing right on the property’s pond. Our last morning we had pancakes cooked fresh for us at the lodge! This is definitely a place we will visit again soon.
We booked campsite 18 for this past weekend and couldn’t have been happier with the site and location and amenities as tent guests. Would 100% recommend for a semi private experience. From what I saw each site had a fire ring and picnic table. Each site has slightly different views but all are relatively beautiful. The outhouse was actually not terrible. The owner mike opened the little bar on our last night and we got to enjoy the lodge and play a few games of pool while enjoying simple drinks. We also hiked to strawberry lake and it was a really pretty hike only 5 minute drive from the site. Would definitely return!
