Anyone here have experience staying at KOA campgrounds?

Wife and I are planning a ATV trip out to CO next year and want to stay in some small cabins. KOA campgrounds have small "camping" cabins at fairly reasonable rates.

Locally to me, we have a KOA campground and it always seems like a nice place.

WAY over priced generally. Look for individual cabins in the area.

Some good some not so good. We stay mostly in state parks. We stayed at a KOA in Durango that was pretty nice, centrally located and staff was very nice.

I have been in a lot of KOAs between Ga & Idaho, most always had good results. they are useful for planning where you are gonna stopover the next night, call ahead & get a res.

Appreciate the input.  In this case, I've been pricing various options and they are competitive with other places and the one I'm looking at is right where I want to be.

I have noticed the KOA camping lots are more expensive generally than comparable national and state park campgrounds.  They are usually easier to get a campsite though, especially on holidays and last minute reservations.

We won't be spending a lot of time there.  We'll be spending most of our time while there on the various trails and back roads.

We do most of our camping in national and state parks as well.  In this case, we will be towing a trailer loaded with two ATVs so we can't bring our camper.

I do not know anything...Stayed at a bunch of KOA's as a kid - we used to do two nights camping and a night in a motel when traveling.

Would there be any benefits to be a good sam member?

Red

Seems like all koa’s Are always right off the highway and it’s LOUD!

We tend to camp off grid in the woods, but when in Ouray, we have camped at the KOA several times.  It won't wow you with the views, but it has all the conviences including an outdoor restraunt that serves BBQ on the weekends.

I have also stayed in a cabin at the Grand Junction KOA.  The campground is basically a gravel lot, but the cabin was decent for a guy, girl and dog that needed an overnight rest stop.

They make good base camps if your objective is ATVing or 4 wheeling.  A hot shower and ice cream are nice at the end of the day.  Having a hot meal available instead of cooking when you're tired is a bonus.

Great info. Thank you!

I would recommend you look into the DIY toy hauler/stealth camper concept. Get a 20 foot cargo trailer and search Google/Pintrest/stealth trailer forums for ideas. I love my stealth trailer which can sleep 2 even with my SXS loaded. Having a rooftop A/C is worth the money.

Back when state parks sold camp sites for $7-$15 a night KOA was very expensive. They had a lot more amenities though.  Nowadays, state parks can charge nearly $50 a night but they also have play grounds and laundry and hot showers, etc.  KOA aren’t much more expensive any more but they also don’t offer much more than the state parks.

Have a great time! I'm one day away from home after 6 weeks in Co.Tons to see and do.

Check into USFS cabins. They are normally somewhat cheap and very isolated. What part of the state are you planning on being in?

Planning to be in Ouray and ride the Alpine Loop trails/roads over a 3 day period.

Avoid at all costs  

I returned to one of my favorite campgrounds in Colorado this summer only to find out they had changed owners and it was now a KOA

The new owners were rude assholes, they said they would honor my old reservation and price but they charged my card for more money.  A mudslide closed the campground while we were there and the owners wouldn't let us back in to retrieve our own shit.  Sheriff actually told them they had to let us in to get personal property, it was getting bad, several of us were about to start throwing fists.

Over 3 months now and we are still trying to get refunds but they wont answer emails or phones.  Corporate KOA says they cant do anything as each park is individually owned.  Once a bunch of people started complaining on the corporate website the said they would try to help us but so far nothing.

They are fucking crooks!

Which one in CO did you stay at where you had all these problems?