Meadows Campground, Steamboat Springs, CO

My RV Charlene happily situated in space #13. Oh, and let’s not forget PeeWee, my faithful little Yamaha XT250.

Meadows Campground is a Forest Service campground in the Routt National Forest (sometimes known as the Medicine Bow Routt) along US 40 about 15 miles east of Steamboat Springs, CO. Google Maps link. It is near Rabbit Ears Pass at an elevation of about 9300′. 7 miles of the journey from Steamboat Springs is up a 7% grade.

The loop on the right side of the map with sites 15-27 is more open in terms of forest cover

GPS: N 40.37687, W 106.72212

Fee, 2014: $10 or $5 with one of the passes accepted

Reservations: non-reservable

Number of sites: 31

Stay limit: 14 days
Campground Host: There was a volunteer host when I camped there.
Pets: On leash
Hookups: None
Water: None
Restrooms: Vault toilets
Showers: No
Trash: Yes
Fire rings: Yes
Firewood for sale: No
Cell Service:
Verizon: 2 Bars, LTE on my iPad Air
AT&T: 3 bars, Off Network voice only, no data on my iPhone 5S

When I arrived during a weekday in early August the campground was probably less than half full, but it filled up pretty well over the weekend only to empty out again during the next week.

Flowers: Meadows Campground, Steamboat Springs, CO

The campground is largely wooded. When I was there an abundance of wildflowers delighted the eye and wild strawberries were growing alongside the road into the campground. It would appear that the campground was named Meadows because it is adjacent to a meadow.  During my stay the campground was a popular hangout for hummingbirds. My neighbors had a hummingbird feeder on their picnic table and I once counted as many as 10 of the little birds feeding and hovering around.

Wildflowers near Rabbit Ears Pass. A short drive and hike from Meadows Campground.

The road to the campground from 40 is dirt and gravel with a few small potholes but I don’t think the condition of the road should deter anybody. It’s only a few tenths of a mile to the campground. A couple of the sites are walk-ins. Many are suitable for RVs. My 33′ Class C fit in space 13 easily with room for a towed vehicle. Quite a few other sites can handle RVs that size or even larger. Sites 1-14 in the loop on the left (see campground map), are more shaded in general than those in the loop on the right. Some sites are more level than others but you can probably expect to need to level your RV in most if not all of them. Tent campers have to fend for themselves when it comes time to pitch a tent as tent pads are not provided. In that sense this campground seems more suitable for RVers.

Meadows Campground map

Although the campground is adjacent to US 40 and traffic can be heard, there are often periods of several minutes between vehicles one can hear. At night, inside my RV I didn’t notice much traffic, if any. I’d say it’s pretty quiet as campgrounds go.

People come to Steamboat Springs in the winter to ski, and in the summer to hike, bike, and petal-peep as the wildflower displays in the area can be just spectacular. Look for the one near Rabbit Ears Pass. I’m not an expert on the area so you’ll want to research reasons to other come here. You might start with the Chamber of Commerce. “Boat” as the locals sometimes refer to Steamboat Springs is large enough to have a Walmart, Safeway, City Market, and a natural food grocery. There are several local beer breweries. In the summer there are free concerts. There are kids activities, a museum, a farmers market, hot springs and spas. There is a terrific, newish library with lots of public computers, free WiFi and a tiny coffee shop. The town is still small enough that there are no parking meters.

 

Meadows Campground rules. Note, there is no water. No hookups of any kind. There is a trash hopper as well as vault toilets.

 

I counted as many as 10 hummingbirds hanging around my neighbor’s feeder and they didn’t mind you getting to within a couple feet of them.

 

---

This blog takes an enormous amount of time and energy to build and maintain . If you have found something useful or entertaining please Favorite (bookmark) this Amazon.com link and use it when you shop at Amazon. Doing so will cost you no more and in some cases I may receive a small commission. Your support in the form of using my Amazon.com link or making a PayPal Donation will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.