Palisade Basecamp RV Resort

The resort may not be busy in the fall, but that just adds to the appeal of staying this season. We arrived late, but check in was a breeze, and we were able to make ourselves comfortable. The bathhouse is heated and in pristine condition. On property their is a very lovely peach orchard, a dog run, and river access which would be ideal for the summer months. The camp sites are close together but have good trees and even plugs! The cabins are comfortable, with heating, mini fridges and microwaves. 

And the best part: Colterris winery is right next door to walk to.

Stellar amenities, electricity at every pad, great showers, easy and very close river access.

Really great spot but prepare to roll. All of the tent pads seem to be at a pretty wicked slope, including ours.

We came from 6 nights in the mountains and spent 1 night in our rooftop tent on an electric river site. It was the perfect spot in Palisade. The bathhouse was very clean and convenient. One side of the building had men and women restrooms with showers. The other side had family bathrooms with one toilet, one shower, and one sink. The bathhouse was air conditioned which was very appreciated! It was hot out!!! While we were sitting around our firebox campfire, staff rolled up on a golf cart with fresh peaches to try that were picked that day. That was a nice surprise! We bought one for later in our trip!

The location is good since it by the wineries and the Colorado river but the sites are all all jammed in together with no trees.  The bathrooms are really nice though.  The Van sites have almost no space to put out an awning.  The camp store is very limited and the hours are not good.

Everything in this area is expensive. We were skeptical of tents at an RV park but they have a dedicated tent area that is right next to the river. The tent pad was big enough for one big and one small tent. The bathrooms are very clean and nice! We waded to the middle of the river and watched the sun set against a hill. Beautiful!

The Staff is Happy! Located on the Colorado River. Winery’s & Distillery’s close by. Clean restrooms & laundry, a general store with just about everything you might have forgotten.

General: Sites ranging from tents to vans to full hookup RV to cabins. Be aware all of these options are quite pricey, ranging from $54 to$107 (not including cabins– I don’t know the price of these). We had originally reserved a site last year but had to cut our trip short; we had the option of forfeiting our money or rolling over our reservation to any date in the future, which was appreciated. We reserved our site at the end of January via e-mail and it was confirmed (and a site assigned) via phone in early February. However, when we arrived, our reservation confirmation was not waiting for us on the board with the others. There was no one at the office but Billy, a maintenance employee, was very helpful and told us we could just set up at the site that had been assigned to us. 

Site Quality: Varies. In my opinion, the tent sites by the river (Site T7-9) are the best, but these are $67 per night. We were in Van Site 2 which has a short gravel driveway and lawn area, but the driveways between Van Sites 1 and 2 are so close together, that it would not be possible for both vans to have their doors open at the same time (and, of course, there would be zero privacy) Fortunately, no one was in the site next to us. Since van campers sleep (and sometimes cook, depending on the weather) inside their vans, it would have made sense to space the driveways apart with the grass area in between. Van Sites 5 and 6 mirror Sites 1 and 2. Van Sites 3 and 4 have more separation and would be more desirable but sites are assigned, not chosen. The RV sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart. 

Bathhouse: Was very clean with plenty of stalls and sinks. The door to the handicap stall was broken but I assume that will be fixed. The showers looked very clean as well, although I did not use them. The hooks are outside of the stall, which could compromise privacy. There is a vault toilet for the tent sites, although it would not be an undoable walk to the flush toilets. 

Activities: There is a pool on site. There are nearby hikes listed on the website, but we did not stay long enough to check them out. Close to the small town of Palisade and the larger hubs of Grand Junction and Fruita. There are also nearby wineries. 

Other: There is a laundry room and dishwashing sink, as well as a picnic pavilion.  Note that the dishwashing sink was not located near the tent sites.

Although the facility was clean and well-maintained, the prices are high, and four of the van sites are too close together to make it enjoyable if all sites were occupied. Also, you will hear road noise from nearby I70 and a very loud train sometime in the middle of the night!

We were the only Sprinter van there & really nice bathrooms. We came for a wine dinner at Maison le Belle Vie. Enjoyed the morning having coffee before departing for the Farmer’s market. Great wine, peaches & relaxing setting.

Stayed two nights in July, which was hot(!), especially because there is no shade at all. Got one of the best spots (river bluff); however no actual view of the river unless you walk down to it. A nice pool area and very nice bathrooms and showers (they even have family rooms which we appreciated a lot)! Nice and friendly staff. Be aware that it is truly bear country - saw one snacking around in the vineyard ;-) so remember to pack away your food.

This RV park had a great shower/ bathroom and laundry facility. Our spot overlooked the Colorado River and had great scenic views. We had no issues with the hookups even though the temperatures were below freezing. It's mandatory to have a heated hose during the colder months. The Wi-Fi had a strong signal and we had very few issues with lagging.

Stayed two nights in late October 2021. Park was probably 10% full. Everything you would expect as far as amenities: full hookups, everything well maintained, sites are level. Weather was perfect. There is some highway noise, and we’ve had 3 trains come through over the last 24 hours. I have not had problems sleeping.

We have stayed here twice, both times with family.  We came here to meet up with family in the area and other family stay camped here also.

The first time the campground was going after some award and everything was very clean and service was great.  The second time the bathrooms weren't cleaned as frequently and the service in the office wasn't as good.

We stayed here in the fall and then in the spring so the weather was pleasant.  There are no trees so no shade so in the summer it could be hot during the day.

Wi-fi was worthless so don't count on it.

Palisade has several festivals so check them out.  We rented e-bikes from Rapid Creek Cycles and toured several wineries in the area, a great time.

I will be back here, it is a great place to stay while visiting family and exploring the area.

This camp site was friendly, easy access in and out, offered coffee and treats, some of the sites back to the river, trees and beautiful 360 view of the mountains

If you're visiting Palisade, this is a great place to call home.  Easy to get downtown for food, winetasting, etc.  If you're thinking about taking "The Plunge", it's a short ride (1.5 mi) to Rapid Cycle where you can catch the suttle and another short ride (2mi) from the end of the trail back to camp.  Spectacular views abound, and the amenities are very nice.  We had an excellent long weekend here and will return again soon.

If I were to nitpick, a couple of trees would be nice on the RV lots.  Especially when the weather was pushing >100 this past weekend.  But, this really is being nitpicky!  Everything else was fantastic.

Excellent experience. Clean, gorgeous views, clean bathrooms, lots to do nearby.

We stayed at the tent camping spots by the river for one night on our trip back to Denver. The tents sites were widely available since it was a Sunday night but I could see it being a little crowded during peak times as the tent sites are close together (However, they only allow one tent per a site so big groups would have to rent multiple spots and this will keep things more calm and not over-packed). The tent sites have a table, fire ring, and shade cover by trees. The amenities (bathroom, shop, pool) were unexpected but very nice! I would stay here again as it is clean, not too expensive, good shade, access to the river, and close to downtown Palisades for wine tastings.

Stayed here on a layover while passing through. Campground is well laid out with great staff, clean bathrooms, and great prices. We’ll be back!

Stopped here for the night before skiing at PowderHorn. Campground was easy to find, clean and quite. We stayed in a tent site and were the only ones there! There is a portapotty at the entrance of the tent sites but a shower/bath house in the main are which is just a short walk. The bathroom was very clean and showers hot. There is a fenced in dog run area that my pup enjoyed.

Clean. Super nice people on the phone and in person. Did I mention everything was clean, in good working order and ready for our arrival. The campground is beautiful, with the Colorado River on one side and peach orchards surrounding the rest. You might hear some traffic noise from I-70, and train whistles at night, but nothing you can’t deal with. Great place to camp. We’ll be back again.

We really enjoyed our time here. The spots all have great views of the vineyards and the Bookcliffs. It is right next to the river and close to downtown Palisade. They have nice grass around the spots that they take a lot of care to maintain (their sprinklers go off nightly and don’t allow rugs outside to keep the grass healthy). They have a small pool and decent facilities, but really the views and location are what make this place great. We will definitely be back!

Can’t say enough about this camp spot. Wow!! Pull throughs ... back ends available. Fabulous service from the owners. We planned on staying 2 nights but ended up staying a few more days. Dog park, showers, laundry faculties, full hookups, general store, art, great WiFi (we had Verizon) ... and some sites are backed up to the Colorado River. Just amazing .... very clean. Would highly recommend!

Decided to rent an RV and drive out to Palisade and stay at Basecamp during the early stages of Corona virus in April.  The campground's services were limited but this was a great place to stay to get away from it all.  The weather in April was beautiful.  The RV portion of the campground doesn't have many trees however there's a tent area by the river that is well shaded.

This is a beautiful area and we loved riding bike on the Fruit & Wine Byway.  The wineries were closed so we had to call ahead to get a few bottles to enjoy.

This place had great reviews but I’m not quite sure why? Just an big open RV lot with hook ups and a picnic table. No trees or shade in the RV lot. Maybe the tent camping by the river is nicer? Yes there is a winery and an orchard boardering the property and test the rocky outcrops nearby are beautiful- but overall I felt that $72 for a night of hookups in a parking lot was a bit of a rip off.

I will say they had a very well organized self registration board for late night arrivals without reservations and there is Cornhole!

This campground is well maintained, beautiful scenery, full of amenities and friendly staff! This was an over night stop from Idaho to Iowa and was great! The area was beautiful and can’t wait to come back in the future. The negative ... and it is a big one, we were sitting outside at approximately 10 pm when suddenly we hear a noise - as we adjust our eyes, we are instantly pelted with water! Apparently they are growing their grass back (trying), so they water at night. The issue was - it ruined our night. We had to go sit inside as it continued and then left our campsite a muddy mess. Other item or notation - the rv sites do not have fire rings - you need to bring your own. All in all - I did love the place and would be back.

Great find... vineyards all around, a local brewery, tent sites on the Colorado river. The winery next door (colterris) is awesome. Small family owned great atmosphere. A truly amazing stop on our way east

This place is amazing and is truly a great basecamp. Beautiful views in every direction. Super clean and close to endless Colorado adventures!

Campground Review

I only stayed for an overnight but I did make a reservation, although they were not full. They do close at 6pm (the office does) so late entry doesn't work unless you have made a reservation. I found my map and site info in a mailbox at the office entry. I chose to stay in the section along the river. All the way in the very last site, I think it was site 9. When I got to my site, there weren't very many other campers but I was quickly greeted by a man in a golf cart. Turns out he was the camp host. He was really coming down to view the sunset, which was very nice, but he also chatted with me for a bit.

The site itself was quite small. It was a good thing I had a very small tent. I spent a bit of time just trying to decide where I'd put it due to signs stating no camping beyond a certain point. The camp host kind of sorted it out with me. But I have a tiny two man tent and it was the perfect size for it. There was a picnic table, what appeared to be a brand new firing (this campground is new) and an electric outlet. Of course, there was also the fabulous view of the Colorado River just about 200 feet away. The bathrooms were up the ridge, although there was a porta potty just at the end of the riverfront sites. The bathrooms were pretty extravagant. Heated, flush toilets, free showers, running water sinks, mirrors galore. There were also family restrooms, I did not explore those. Laundry facilities were also onsite. Along with greenhouses, gardens, a swimming pool and a hot tub. What looked like an area to have a gathering with a grill. There was a trail that went around the park too. Up until recently the Colorado River has been too low to fish but I imagine fishing is about to get better now that it's really flowing.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing Morsel Sporks. I went with the XL Morsel Sporks because we do a lot of eating out of a bag when we are in fire bans, which is often. This trip was no exception, except we are not in a fire ban. At first glance, these sporks seem really durable. Which is good, camping can be rough on utensils. I noted the spoon on one end and the rubber edge for getting every last bit, also the fork with the knife like edge on it. I did use the knife like edge to cut ham and it worked fairly well, not as well as an actual knife but that can be expected. The meals I had this trip made more use of the spoon then the fork. I had a chowder for dinner, which I transferred to a bowl due to the bag it came in being too narrow to really use the morsel spork. The other meal was granola and that package was perfect for the morsel spork. I didn't have any trouble with the spoon for mixing or eating. It held a good amount of food. The spork fit in my mouth well, I have a small mouth and sometimes if a utensil is too big it can be difficult to get in my mouth, but this fit well. They were so simple to clean too. I was using just a jetboil and was able to get my morsel sporks completely clean. Food didn't get stuck anywhere. Another feature that may become useful is the hole on the end of the fork that I could use to attach my spork to my bike while I travel. They are dishwasher safe and BPA free so I am confidant that I can add these sporks to my camping routine.