After driving a mere thirty minutes north on Interstate 25, we took the Hwy 119 exit and within minutes we pulled into the St. Vrain State Park in Longmont, Colorado. Don’t you just love short commutes? Check in was quick and in less than 15 minutes we were set up for our five-day stay.
We scored a beautiful lake front site that had Al and me smiling during our entire stay. The weather was hit and miss but with the lovely view we didn’t mind.
After lounging around camp for a little while, I set off on an exploratory hike.
I walked around the various campground loops and quickly discovered we booked one of the nicest sites for our needs.
I so enjoyed this campsite with a water view not to mention watching the various birds. I’m definitely in my element when camped near water.
St. Vrain State Park encompasses 604 acres with several dispersed ponds. These ponds make perfect habitat for a host of birds; Egrets, Herons, Falcons, White Pelicans, Ducks, Geese, and Eagles just to name a few.
And yes, I did say White Pelicans. That sure was a strange find considering this is Colorado after all.
The ponds are stocked with a host of fish (bluegill, crappies, large mouth bass, perch, catfish and rainbow trout) making this state park a popular destination with anglers. Most of the folks we saw were fishing from shore, but from time to time we did notice a kayak or belly boat.
These ponds are so pretty and full of life now, it’s hard to believe they were once part of a huge gravel pit. There’s groomed trails around and between all the ponds making it great for hiking.
The St. Vrain State Park has 87 campsites and is open year-round. Sites 1-41 have electric hook-ups with water near by and a dump station conveniently located. The campers services building has clean restrooms and showers.
Sites 42-87 have full-hook ups; electric, water, and sewer. We stayed in site 53. As beautiful as this looks, do note; this Colorado State Park although conveniently located next to Interstate 25 the location does make for a less than tranquil environment. One can expect a steady supply of traffic noise at any of the campsites.
As I continued on my exploratory hike, I hiked around the last campground loop where I stumbled upon LuAnn and Terry’s campground site and of course I had to drop in and say, “Hello”. It was great seeing these two again. It had been a while since we last ran into each other.
Next up….. girls just wanna have fun!
Live Laugh RV 
Two things about this post that I truly love… one, the view you had.. two the bird life you captured and then the special moment… running into LuAnn and Terry, how wonderful to see you both on different sites blogging and then you run into each other… just goes to show, America isn’t so big …
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It is amazing what a small world this is occasionally. While hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, we ran into a women on the trail who went to college with hubby. Although they didn’t know each other well, they had mutual friends.
I’ve got more blogger meet ups coming up…. always fun!
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I’m with you, I like camping near water best of all. It certainly looks like a beautiful spot, even if there is a bit of traffic noise. That’s when I pull out our white noise machine and turn on the surf. 😉
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After a while, we didn’t notice the traffic noise any more. We loved the water scenery and the campsites were beautifully spaced. It’s was a very enjoyable 5 days 🙂
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Beautiful park and scene via your lens! And you saw LuAnn and Terry, how cool! 🙂
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Thank you Amy. LuAnn and I had a lovely visit that was over way too soon 🙂
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Beautiful!! The water and reflections are just incredible. I don’t think I would mind the highway noise too much. Our house is right next to a major freeway. I hardly hear it now. I guess I am used to it. Love those hiking trails!
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You do get used to the noise, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned it just in case other folks visit per my recommendation and are disappointed. Everyone has their own expectations, but for us, we loved it 🙂
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Looks like a nice park. I like the sites that are laid out like yours with no neighbors out your side windows.
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This is a great park to keep in mind for future travels. Even with your size, you wouldn’t have any problems. I love that there aren’t any little obstacles like decorative boulders, which always has me questioning, ‘whatever were they thinking?’
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Agree with you about the beauty of a short commute. The best thing about traveling is NOT the traveling down the road part!
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You are spot on Judy. I love exploring different parts of the country but don’t always like the time ‘on the road’. Oh well, gotta get from point A to point B somehow lol.
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Ingrid, these are great photos! I’m happy for you! -Maureen
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Thanks Maureen. It’s been a fun summer in Colorado but I’m starting to look forward to meandering south for the winter 🙂
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As always, amazing photos Ingrid! I admire your skill at capturing birds and animals. I’ve tried a few times but have been foiled by a combination of my own slowness and the speed of the animal. Part of it is that I need to get in the habit of having my camera nearby if I want to catch animals. By the time I fetch it, they’ve moved on.
I plan to keep practicing and, eventually, I’ll get off a shot worthy of posting. 🙂
The lake looks like a great find. Very peaceful looking!
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Thank you. I have a special method when it comes to wildlife photography. I’ll share it with you but shhh it’s my secret. It’s called ‘point and pray’ and it works great but first you have to have the camera in your hand LOL 🙂
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Hope you get some time with LuAnn and Terry between trips:)
Yes, I was surprised to see the white pelicans. They sure are adorable.
Thanks for the beautiful photos of the park. We just might need to check this place out.
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This is a great state park when wanting to stay at the far north side of Denver. It’s also convenient to make a day trip into RMNP. I know we’ll return 🙂 Hoping to get together again with Terry and LuAnn before heading south!
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Great photos of the park Ingrid. We do not even notice the noise at night, just if we are here during the day. I have yet to spend much time exploring as the weather has not cooperated or we have been in Ohio. Just got back today and trying to catch up on a few things. I can’t believe we will be heading back to the airport next weekend again. 😦
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We found the state park rather relaxing. Thank you for bringing the park to our attention. The weather should be nice this week so hopefully you’ll be able to fully enjoy 🙂
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Looking forward to a little R&R.
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Beautiful! There IS something so special about being next to water, isn’t there? Say hello to Brenda and Hector for us when you see them this week. Have fun!
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Yep, love being near water and I’m so looking forward to seeing Lake Mead again along with some favorite RVer’s. Will certainly say hello to Brenda and Hector. They’re always fun 🙂
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Ingrid the photo with the birds on the wires and the flowers below is absolutely superb. On another front is that gentleman about to fall asleep and fall in the water from his boat? Now that would make quite the photo!
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Aw thank you Sue. The guy in the kayak was looking down trying to find his phone which he did and then started taking pics of the fish he caught before returning it to the water. I think he was well versed in his kayak so the idea of him tipping over didn’t even occur to me. Too bad…. could a been more blog material LOL
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Isn’t it funny how stories can come from photos? Definitely great blog potential with that one!
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That’s a beautiful park. What are your plans for the winter?
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We really enjoyed St. Vrain SP even with the I-25 noise. I just checked your itinerary and I bet we’ll run into you this winter in AZ. We’ll be in Texas Nov, Dec, Jan and part of Feb before returning to AZ for all of Mar and part of April. I need to do a better job of posting about our plans. I like how you did so on your blog 🙂
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I love your blog and your photos. It’s amazing what beauty can come from a gravel pit! I really do believe Colorado should be paying you for your blog.
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LOL and thank you. We’ve had a great summer leisurely exploring this part of Colorado. Next summer we hope to spend an equal amount of time on the western slope 🙂
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Wow, what a great looking site!
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We really enjoyed it. Ah just think, one day you too will be out and about sharing your great finds 🙂
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We live (when we are actually back in CO) a few miles from there. Our kids live in Longmont right off of 119. It is a really nice little park – it would be really great if not so close to I25. Hi to LuAnn and Terry. Wonderful pictures.
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We drove through Anthem – beautiful master planned community. We’ve really enjoyed this summer and immersing ourselves in the Denver Metro area. I could easily live here. I’m still fighting the idea of giving up my Colorado license plates for Texas LOL.
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Hi to you two as well. Hope to catch up with you two sometime down the road.
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That is a lovely place and would make a great base to see the area without having to navigate steeper roads to other campgrounds. Love your pics once again, and I will make a note of this campground for possible future excursions to the area.
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No backcountry roads or steep climbs necessary and it is conveniently located to everything. The only downside is the traffic noise, other than that it was perfect. We plan on staying here again. We had good internet connection and TV with the RV antenna which was nice when the bad weather rolled in 🙂
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What a find. I love all your campgrounds, Ingrid. With a view like that and birds all around I would be in heaven just like you.
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You would love staying here…. well, maybe not the traffic noise, but there’s plenty of room for Betsy and easy to get to Rocky Mountain National Park or downtown Denver.
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More of those luscious water reflections…great stop. Seagulls!!!! Do you follow Paleo…ads for a couple books? I’m reading one now…30 day plan, just curious if made you feel different, etc.
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Seagulls and pelicans – very funny! Yes, I’ve been following a Paleo diet for a little over a month now (not totally strict about it though) and my health has improved significantly. This past year has been a challenge for me. I do own the books I posted. I usually post one or two products we use or would like at the end of my posts and do get a few pennies if folks click on the link and purchase anything from Amazon.
We can talk Paleo in Texas in a couple of months…. that is if that’s still in your plans 🙂
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My health needs a total recharge…it’s so hard to stay in shape or has been for me. Yes, we’re slowly headed to the BIG state….I’m keeping notes for those long walks!!!
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Oh, there is a learning curve to this lifestyle, isn’t there? Consistency is something I strive for but continues to be elusive LOL.
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What a beautiful campsite! What a beautiful facility. I’m going to make a note about this state park for future reference. I think staying there would be worth a little road noise. Enjoy!
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We weren’t bothered by the road noise but then again the weather was such that we kept our windows closed and fore went any campfires. We plan to stay here again as we really did enjoy our stay 🙂
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what a beautiful park!
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Thanks…. birds, ponds, and mountain views – we love it 🙂
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White Pelicans in Colorado! What a treat! Your photos of them are great.
This looks like our kind of campground. Our first choice for a campground is always one on the water. Any water will do – lake, pond, stream, river, ocean.
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Thank you and I’m with you – any water will do. Keep me camped near water and I’m one happy camper. As long as our daughter lives in Denver, we’ll be meandering through regularly and thus we’ll definitely be staying at St. Vrain SP again 🙂
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