Y'all, we're pretty sure we have found the best KOA in America.
KOAs aren't our typical go-to for campgrounds. As our Wanderlocal mission, we're always looking
for locally owned, so since KOA looks and feels like corporate, we just assumed it was.
And we assumed wrong. There are over 500,000 KOAs in the US and Canada, and only 25 are
owned by corporate.
It was a happy accident how we ended up here. This week, we're at the West Denver KOA, and
it's a holiday weekend. They just happened to have a last-minute cancellation when I
called them as a last-ditch effort.
Cheater.
Obviously, I suck at cornhole, but this place doesn't suck. When we got here, we were automatically
enthralled with the gorgeous views, and it just kept getting better from there.
There are a lot of reasons why we would consider this the best KOA in the US. First, almost
all KOAs look the exact same. I'm sorry, but it's true. It's kind of like visiting a Marriott,
and that's exactly how we considered KOAs originally. But what we hadn't considered
is that there are so many locally owned KOAs, and they inject their own unique, creative
feel to each campground.
For instance, this one has amenities that you may not find in any other KOA in the country.
The service here is exceptional, and you can tell even the people that work here that are
not family are part of that family, and it shows the way they go above and beyond to
help absolutely everybody in the park.
They've thought of every little detail. There are signs coming in from the main road to
guide you to the front entrance of the campground. Never seen that anywhere else. And when you
pull in, it's so easy to get to absolutely any spot you need to. There are wide enough
lanes. There's directional signs throughout the park, and the platforms that you're parking
on have been extended. And honestly, that's just amazing because, as you know, one, not
every campground spot is wide. That's not a given. And two, all of the platforms are
concrete, and they're perfectly level. Like so level that this is the first time I've
been able to set up my LevelMatePRO in the RV because, up until this point, all of the
campgrounds we've visited haven't had level platforms. If you order firewood, they'll
bring it right to your campground, and they also have propane fire rings for rent as well.
In addition to some seriously competitive checker games this week, which I have won,
we thought it was really important to make a note that they didn't pay us to do this
video. We just really loved it that much. From a standpoint of the beautiful, tall,
green trees, you just really feel like you're living in the mountains. The air is so fresh.
It's just kind of a little slice of heaven. Can you tell we've really enjoyed playing
the board games this week?
That's so true. And here's another interesting fact. When it first opened, the daily rate
was $1.75 per night. And while obviously it's no longer $1.75 per night, it is still competitively
priced for the area.
It's so close to so many cool things to do. There's tons of hiking. There's rock climbing.
There are even casinos right down the road in Central City. But today, we're going to
take you on an adventure with us to check out some whitewater rafting.
Oh my goo. I almost forgot something really important. Today is our last day in Colorado,
so before we get out on that adventure, I can't forget to do my new sticker. With Colorado
on the map, that means we are officially 20 states in the Airstream. Only 30 more to go.
But first, whitewater rafting.
We just parked for our whitewater rafting adventure, and you know what? What's it doing,
Lauren?
It's raining!
It's raining! So we're going to be whitewater rafting in the rain.
Which apparently, Daniel told me earlier one of his only experiences with whitewater rafting
was on a beginner course.
That's true.
And then it rained-
And then it-
And things got nuts.
They got a little gnarly. It turned the beginner course into like an extreme sport that day,
so hopefully, it's not going to be like that this time, but it is raining, so we shall
see.
And we booked these last-minute, so the only thing they had available was an intermediate
course. Daniel's only done this once. I did this a ton as a kid, but that's been a while.
Okay, before we get started we've got to do orientation, and it's starting to-
Really, really rain.
Yeah. Mother Nature's starting to dial it up a notch.
Do you think it can rain any harder?
With orientation complete, it was time to catch the bus to the river. And with the rain
tapering off and sunny skies, it was turning into the perfect whitewater rafting day, or
so we thought. Our guide gave us quick paddling instructions, and off we went to take on the
rapids.
[inaudible 00:05:58]
We quickly discovered that while the skies might be blue, the rapids hadn't forgotten
about the rain. This is going to be a wild ride.
Oh!
Oh my gosh!
We've been stuck for a while because two boats flipped over and lost a bunch of people, so
we rescued them.
While we did our best to hang on for dear life and keep paddling, of course, the rain
decided to start back up again.
We've seen people rock climbing, doing a tight rope between mountains. Like not only is our
whitewater rafting trip entertaining, so is everything that's happening around us.
High five!
By some small miracle, we managed to make it down the rapids without flipping the boat
over, but our guide did let us know that the intermediate adventure we'd signed up for
was definitely advanced and one of the craziest rides they'd seen all season.
Well, we were looking for an adventure, and we got one. I would call that a success.
Okay, that was awesome, but now we have to take off our booties and apparently the squishy
stuff between my toes is called boot juice. Eww!
Whitewater rafting complete. Now for our next special treat that's close to our KOA.
One of the really cool things that our KOA has done is they've made partnerships with
local businesses, so we're going to check out this little cider place that they've got
a partnership with.
All right, in order to try all of the ciders they had here, there are nine. At five ounces
each, this is going to be entertaining. Cheers!
All right. You ready?
Uh-huh.
On your mark, get set, go!
Yummy. Also yummy. Not bad. It's sweet. Cherry. Yum. Mmm. Some pineapple. Oh, it's delicious.
Last but not least. That was yummy.
After some super ridiculously yummy cider, it's time to head back to our KOA. And with
super yummy pizza you can order from the campground, it was the perfect way to relax after the
day's adventures. We can't wait to come back here soon and are thrilled to know that KOAs
can be local, too. But until next time, my friend, make sure to wander local this week.
It's good for the soul.