Wheelchair Accessible Bathhouses in the National Forest

Mountain Park Campground is west of Fort Collins along the Poudre River on Scenic Highway 14. Most of the sites are level and have accessible picnic tables. My favorite amenity at the campground is the accessible bathhouse. One of the stalls on each side has a hand-held shower hose and a fold-down bench. When the bench is folded up, the stall can be used as a wheel-in shower.

Additionally, there is a single-user accessible shower room in the center of the building. This is an especially nice feature as a companion or family member of a different gender can help out if needed. All of the showers are coin-operated, so bring lots of quarters. Campsite electricity is available for an additional fee. Redstone Campground is west of Carbondale along the Crystal River. Carbondale is located between Glenwood Springs and Aspen. All of the campground sites are level and have accessible picnic tables. I suggest using sites 5 or 13 as these are closest to the bathhouse. The campground is on the side of a hill; it may be difficult to get from one site to another. This campground also has accessible single-user showers with hand-held shower hoses, and fold-down benches. The cost of the shower is included with your campground fee. Both water and electricity are available at most campsites for an additional fee. The following campgrounds in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest have an accessible SST vault toilet; however, they may be lacking other accessible features:

Big Bend Narrows Camp Dick Aspen Glen Browns Park Chambers Lake Grand View Long Draw Idlewild

Cold Springs Guanella Pass Crow Valley Sleeping Elephant Arapaho Bay Big Rock Loop & Roaring Fork Loop Cutthroat Bay Stillwater and St. Louis Creek

You may want to call ahead to get current access information. The main office is located at 1311 South College, Fort Collins, CO 80524 (970) 498-2770. White River National Forest also has a number of campgrounds with an accessible SST vault toilet:

Weller East Marvine Himes Peak Marvine South Fork Blue River Dearhamer

Prospector Fulford Cave Yeoman Park Camp Hale Gore Creek (walk-in tent sites Campground)

Again,you should call ahead to get current access information. The main office is located at 9th & Grand, P.O. Box 948, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602 (970) 945-2521. A free lifetime Golden Access Passport is available to those with a disability, they can be picked at most district offices. The passport is good for half-off your campground fees! Contributed by Rob Gilkerson - fellow wheelchair user and ADA consultant. 2-22-97

Rob Gilkerson is a wheelchair access consultant who lives in Canon City, Colorado. In addition to his work with the Forest Service, he has been an integral part of access implementation for numerous businesses, governmental entities, and universities. He has researched and published several wheelchair access guides and is a popular speaker on access issues. He can be reached by calling 719-269-7412.