Reviews

Christina Mowers

We have stayed at the East Portal a number of times over the last decade (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2024) and always enjoyed it. Our most recent stay was about a week ago. We tent camp but still enjoy having flush toilets and a hot shower so it’s a nice compromise for us. They now have three (3) bathroom/shower locations so it’s pretty close for carrying dishes to wash or making a trip to the bathroom (headlamp recommended after dark). The bathrooms are by no means luxurious but are reasonably clean and well maintained. The tent sites each have a picnic table, bear proof storage, and campfire pit with a cooking grate. Firewood and extra ice can be purchased when you check in. They have upgraded their picnic tables from wood to metal which has been nice (sometimes the wood tables were warped and uneven) and I’m glad to see they finally put in bear proof storage at every site. This was not always there and was long overdue. A lot of tent sites now have a built up level site which is also greatly appreciated. The hosts have always been friendly and the other campers respect the quiet hours 99% of the time. **The only negative we have experienced was on this last trip and it was atypical based on our past experiences. That being said, we had someone steal our firewood during the night. I was woken up between 3-4am by continuous footsteps and what appeared to be a headlamp near our tent. I thought it was someone getting up exceptionally early to enter the park before time entry is required (prior to 5am) and making a number of trips to the bathroom and cleaning dishes. In the morning, all of our firewood bundles were gone. Based on that experience, I would not recommend leaving ANYTHING out while you are away from camp OR at night. Always a bad apple out there somewhere I guess**. Overall, we would definitely camp here again as this was the only time we had an issue and hopefully it was just a one off.

Brent Miller

I highly recommend coming here if you are looking for a quiet campground with some amenities. 1) small trailers/popups/tents only 2) advance reservations are required 3) sites are very uneven, so be prepared for leveling 4) city water hookups, 30 amp electric available, and on site dump station 5) showers are available and are free with camping 6) the only critique is that there is no recycling so that was like stepping back in time to the 1970s. That should be quite embarrassing for management. Maybe half of the trash in the dumpster was recyclables. You will likely see wildlife in the campground. The playground is the best I have ever seen at a campground!

Whitney Evans

This is a wonderful campground! Nice hosts, a playground, quite a bit of shade, perfect distance from Estes and RMNP! Hot showers and clean bathrooms. We stayed in 48 which did have a kind of steep hill, but was still great l.

Victoria Smith

Our camping experience here was great. The location is perfect while being close to the town of Estes park with plenty of shops/food/coffee and only 10min from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. The campground is quiet, has friendly staff and very clean. The updated shower house was a plus with hot water and a large sink outside for dishwashing. You can also hike into the park straight from the campground.

outdoor element

Family friendly, dog friendly, clean bathrooms, hot showers, super easy access to hiking trails into Rocky Mountain National Park. 100% loved this place. Camp sites are large (comes with 2 large bears boxes) All of camp hosts were so kind. One of them even let us borrow her personal skewers so we could have a family s’mores moment. We will be coming back to this place! When you have 4 daughters and a bride that all approve, you know they are doing something right. (8 ponds of ice is $3 and a bundle of wood is $6.50 …plus they will bring it to your campsite so you don’t have to carry it.)

Abigail Michael

We camped for 3 nights. Staff was very nice and helpful. Bathrooms and campground in general where super clean. Definitely coming back next summer!

Christopher Daane

Good sized campsites clean bathrooms but the showers are not vary private other than that it a good campground.

Justin Jackson

Very chill. Good camp sites and kind hosts. Close to everything Estes park.

Lynn H

This is a beautiful campground, but because of the staff we will not be back. We have been to many campgrounds and the people working there have always waved and been friendly, not at this one. We couldn’t get a second night at this site, so we booked at a nearby one. Check-out time is 11am and our next site had a check-in time of 2pm. We have a family and a dog, so this would be tricky. We asked the campsite if we could check out at 12 instead (just 1 hour.... only 1 hour!) The lady at the front desk was rude and said that they had another reservation coming in. I asked, isn’t check-in at 2pm? She said, yes but they may come early. I said, so I can’t stay late on my reservation, but the next person can come early, 3hours early?!? She said, “yes” and just said I would have to be out by 11. If you don’t want friendly service and you don’t need any additional accommodations, then this could be the place for you. We were very disappointed and definitely will not be back, nor recommend this place to anyone.

Rayannan Morris

We really like this place. The Amenities were some of the best. To bad they didn't have the play ground open. Have been to many campgrounds with playgrounds open for the kids even through Covid and been just fine.