SNOWY PEAKS RV PARK, BUENA VISTA, COLORADO

Our Opinion: Neutral. We have stayed here twice, and like it - but there are other nice commercial parks in the area, too.

Date of Stay: July 21 through 26, 2008

Weather During Stay: Typical summer weather in the high Rockies - warm days when the sun is out, frequent stormy clouds in the afternoon, and some rain. Cool nights.

Site Description: Because we wanted to extend our stay here beyond the one night we had planned, we had two different sites. Both were long and level, with neighbors very nearby on both sides. Site 81 was a 50 amp FHU with cable, facing directly west. Site 95 was a 30 amp E/W site (no sewer or cable TV) with nice shade, facing north.

Roads and sites are gravel. The 100-site park is well maintained, with pretty patches of lawn and flower gardens, plenty of trash containers, a nice office with small store, lots of park activities, friendly staff. As commercial parks go, this has a lot going for it, but the sites are very narrow. Neighbors chatting outside sound as though they are in our living room.

Rate: We paid $33/night for site 81, the 50 amp FHU. Site 95, the 30 amp E/W, was $26/night. We really appreciated the staff working to squeeze us in over the busy Fri/Sat time period after our plans changed. This park participates in Passport America, but not during the peak summer season.

Phone/radio/TV: Good cell signal for the phones. The aircard worked quite well, mostly on Broadband. Wi Fi is available (free, I believe) but we didn't use it. Some TV stations on antenna, but we used the satellite dish. Local NPR on 89.9.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: This is a flat, nicely landscaped commercial park at 8,100’ elevation. Views of nearby neighbors, trees, and distant 14,000+ foot peaks.

Lighting/Noise: Site 95 was darker and quieter at night than our first site; neither had obtrusive night lighting. We slept with the windows open and were not bothered by any traffic noise.

Favorite Sites: Not a lot of difference in the sites, other than the utilities and orientation. Pull-throughs are long side-by-sides, with the utilities between rigs, very close to each other, so we preferred the back-ins.

Hiking/Walking: Not much around the park - just the loops. We drive a few miles to a park on the east side of Buena Vista, right on the Arkansas River, where trails abound. Great hiking in the mountains in the immediate area, too.

Comments: We appreciated how friendly and helpful the staff is here. The park is very well maintained. If the sites were half again as wide, I would highly recommend this park. However, we intend to return to Buena Vista in a week, and made a reservation at another of the commercial parks - less expensive with sites twice the size of the sites at Snowy Peaks.