RV Park Rating – Dakota Ridge RV Park (Golden, CO)
A quick review of the RV Park we stayed at in Golden, CO before we get back to travel tales and frivolities.
The park doesn’t have a dedicated website, but you can see general info in this link: Dakota Ridge RV Park
- Site Quality = 3.5/5
Overall decent site quality here. Long, paved, flat surfaces with 30/50-amp hookups (although you pay extra for the 50-amp), decent water pressure and sewer. Sites near the entrance are shaded whereas the ones in the East-side are not. There’s a slice of green between each campground with the one negative that you share it with your neighbor which is why we gave them a ding. No cable. - Facilities = 4/5
Good facilities here. Large showers (with separate bench) and clean toilets in a modern environment. The only negative is that water-pressure (in the shower) gets affected every time someone flushes the loo, but otherwise no issues. - Amenities = 3.5/5
Good selection of amenities here. Pool, hot-tub, fitness room, playground, lounge-room (with billiards, book-swap and movies), and a good-sized laundry-room. Only two dings were no cable and the WiFi, albeit free, was very, very inconsistent (in fact it didn’t work half the time we were there). Thus the ding in ratings… - Location = 4/5
This is a fairly convenient location in Golden. It’s close to hiking trails, but only a few miles from town, and there’s a mere ~10 miles into Denver. You’re on the outskirts of town, but still within town. I’d give ‘em a higher score if there were more hiking trails right off the site and it was a tad quieter, but otherwise this is a good base to explore the area. - Pet Friendliness = 4/5
They’re open to pets (no breed restrictions) and offer poo-bags and a dog-run on-site.
Overall rating = 3.8
Summary: Overall this is one of the better campgrounds in the area. They keep it pretty, offer good service and work on greenery and amenities. I would have liked to see a little more space between sites with a private area for each RV, but when I compared to the park across the street (where RV”s were literally packed like sardines) this is a much nicer set-up. Being one of the fancier parks also means it’s jam packed. In our 10 days there we never saw a site sit empty for more than ½ a day, so if you’re coming in the summer, book ahead. Being busy also means it a bit on the noisy side and you do hear traffic on Hwy 6 which runs right in front. Location is decent as far as exploring the area. You’re close to town, Denver and the parks. There’s only one hike on-site which requires bush-whacking across the field behind the storage facility (gets you to Hogsback), but otherwise you’re close to many hikes in nearby William F Hayden Park and other areas in Golden. Overall a very decent “city” RV park, but if we come back we’ll probably try to find something quieter and closer to nature.
Thank you so much for all these ratings of parks. I am diggin’ it…
🙂
CAMPERS BEWARE! We will absolutely and unquestionably never be staying at this place again! No amenity will ever be enough to bring us back. From the moment we got to our site, our stay was downhill. Our vehicle broke down, so we had to rent a UHaul truck to get our bikes, propane tanks and water jugs (all typical camping items) over to Dakota Ridge. While unloading the truck, the manager Bob (better named the Campsite Nazi), came over on his power trip. He very aggressively told my husband we weren’t allowed to have a UHaul here while we stayed. Because, apparently, people just own their own UHaul? My husband explained why we had it and what was in it and Bob rudely told him the truck better not be staying. A couple hours later, we brought our last item in, a kayak trailer. Clear Creek is a well known kayak river. Why would we not include kayaking in our stay? Bob stopped me and, again aggressively, asked if I was with “that guy” (although he will tell you he said gentleman). I explained again our vehicle was broke down, so we were hauling it with the truck. He told me, “Relax lady, I don’t know what’s going on when a UHaul pulls in here.” I explained that I was relaxed, but didn’t appreciate him giving both my husband and I negativity, that all he needed to do was ask and we would be happy to explain. My child was in the car, I was not about to raise my voice. The next day, he stopped my husband and, once again, got rude and told him we weren’t allowed to have the kayak trailer. He said we have to pay for it. I would’ve happily done so, but was never told when we checked in that our trailer was considered a charge. We were only asked how many cars we had. This really dampened our mood and the stay. We spent a great deal of money to stay there and had been treated so rudely. I went to the office to ask to speak to an owner. I was told there was no owner on site, but there were two managers. I asked to speak to someone besides Bob, but he refused to let me speak to the other manager, who happened to be his wife. I calmly told Bob that I didn’t appreciate the way he had spoken to us since we arrived. I told him, if he had questions on any of the things we brought, there was a more professional way to go about it. He immediately got on the defensive and said, “I’ll tell you this. Enjoy your stay for the next two days, after that you’re banned.” Trust me…we had no desire to return, so no hurt feelings there. I continuously tried to explain that the only thing we were asking was for a more polite approach. But he continued to get aggressive. He finally said the conversation was over. I told him I understood now why there were so many horrible reviews online. He walked back to us (my husband had joined by this time, as he saw the conversation getting heated) and told us he didn’t care what the reviews were, they were all just from people mad that they hold the park to a “higher standard” and enforce rules. My husband stated that didn’t give him right to be rude. He began to aggressively walk towards my husband. I stepped in front to try to tell Bob we just wanted to get our stay over with and would be calling the owners and to make sure things didn’t get too heated. Bob PUFFED his chest at me and said, “You’re going to step up to me? I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He then looked at my husband and said, “Tell your wife not to get in my face.” What the hell had just happened? I stepped in front of my husband and suddenly Bob is trying to make it a full on brawl! We gathered our children, who were nicely playing by the pool table, and started to leave. He told us our children weren’t old enough to be in there. I told him there was no sign stating an age requirement. He walked towards me again and said, “Now I have to put a sign up saying how old you have to be?” Yes! If you don’t want kids under 16 in the room…a sign would be helpful! We had stayed at Dakota Ridge previously and our kids were welcomed in the play area. And our kayaks were welcome at our site. We had a pleasant stay…under old management. Campsite Nazi aside…this place is not as ideal as the website leads you to believe. It’s across the street from a less than desirable neighborhood. There are two biker bars next door with loud live bands almost every night and the sound from the freeway is less than relaxing. It’s overpriced and the lots are tight. If you want an amazing RV stay in a truly beautiful area, take yourselves to Clear Creek! Don’t allow Dakota Ridge to benefit from your business. They don’t hide the fact that kids aren’t all that welcome and will upcharge you for anything they can…cars, vehicles, kids, pets, etc. And when I informed them the dryer stole $6 of my quarters only to give me wet clothes, no offer for reimbursement. Customer service sucks and this wannabe elite campsite for older campers.
Geez…what a horrible experience. Certainly sounds like different management from when we stayed there. Really recommend you leave your review on rvparkreviews.com.
Nina
Although our experience was not nearly as horrific as Bel’s, I will not return here either. I found the sites very tight for the price. The number of rules was totally obnoxious, especially as it relates to pets. ONLY WALK YOUR DOG IN DESIGNATED AREAS… KEEP OFF THE GRASS. PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET (duh!) The only pet areas are in drainage ditches (which were flooded) or behind some other units… no fenced area for off leash running. And although there were a number of signs noting the $25 fine for not picking up after your pet, there was a huge pile in our luxurious, overpriced site when we arrived.
We only stayed here a day and 1/2, and it rained most of the time, so we didn’t check out any amenities.
But the other realllllly obnoxious thing is the obvious lack of control over the rabbit population. Almost impossible to walk your dog without rabbits running in front of them every 6′. And the dogs are the problem?
So sorry to hear about this. I’m pretty clear we wouldn’t go back to this park again.
Nina
Will never stay at Dakota ridge again. If I hadn’t already paid for our stay we would be gone. We were never told about the $80 charge per kid and were told there would be no charge for our extra vehicle but once we got here that was an extra $100. Water has given all of us stomach issues and for the month we stayed here the electrical bill was $324.00 for our camper. Our 2500 sf house wasn’t that much. Parking is bad, no grass in front of our door just mud.
Bathrooms and showers were good and park staff was friendly.
Thanks for the report back! Always appreciate updates to my older reviews!
Nina
When we stayed there in summer of 2015 for a few weeks, we found the roads to be terrible. It was overpriced. This summer we stayed at a great Cherry Creek State Park with tons of room and A+ roads and room. Also had some deer for neighbors. Cherry Creek gets full on weekends so plan accordingly and book early.
Thanks for the feedback. We’ve had several friends stay at Cherry Creek and they all rave about it. It’s on our list for a return visit.
Nina