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The I-70 drive into Colorado towards Denver is not to be missed. We’ve done the drive in a car, motorcycle and now in a motorhome and it has been breathtaking each time. We were slightly concerned about going over the Rockies in a gas powered motorhome towing a Jeep Wrangler. However, going up the hill at 30 miles per hour made us appreciate the beautiful scenery much more than we did when we took the car and motorcycle.
Our first stop in Colorado was at the Fruita welcome center. The main reasoned we stopped here was to take advantage of the free dump station to empty the black and gray tanks before tackling the Rockies. We dumped around 60 gallons, which made us roughly 650 pounds lighter. The two dump stations were very clean each with drinking and non-drinking water. Many RVers stopped here to use the facility during our visit.
We made our way through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs and stopped in Eagle, Colorado for the night. There was a good gravel lot adjacent to the fairgrounds and right along the Eagle River with overnight parking. The lot was huge with plenty of room, the only downside was being flanked by semis driving in and out all night. Luckily, we got there in the early afternoon and snagged a spot right next to the fence with a view of the river. One place we wished we visited along this portion of the drive was the Hanging Lake. If you stop in Glenwood Springs, hanging lake is just a short drive away.
The next morning we hit the road at 9am and made our way towards Denver, Colorado. The drive through Avon and Vail was beautiful and we stopped at Vail Summit Pass Rest Stop around 10K feet in elevation to take a break. During our stop, we ran into a slight problem with the door to our coach – it was stuck! Once we got it open, we couldn’t get it closed. Luckily we were well prepared and Joe got out his tools and some washers and fixed the issue in a few minutes.
Going through the Eisenhower Tunnel was quite a treat. It’s 1.7 miles which is an amazing feat of engineering and very reminiscent of the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City. The entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnel was impressive and once we got through it was a downhill drive towards Denver.
Overall, this is not a drive to be missed, especially in the fall when the leaves are changing. We were a bit nervous prior to the drive wondering if our gas Class A RVÂ would be able to make it up the steep grades towing our Jeep ,but we did it without a problem. We were going about 30-35mph the entire way up, which was a nice change of pace and allowed us to see much more scenery than we had in the past in a car or motorcycle.
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Thanks for this blog. We are from south Florida and going over the Rockies was a concern we have had. We too have a gas class A motorhome and are pulling a car. This answered many of our questions.
How long did it take from Fruita to Denver at that speed? I’m debating going that way.
We didn’t time it, especially since we had the issue with our door when we stopped. Well worth the drive though.
This blog post is pertinent to my interests. I love in Denver and bought a nearly 25-year-old class A, this year. Family and friends keep saying, “Will it be able to go more than 35mph on I-70?!?” Knowing full well that I like being much speedier, as do many many other people on any freeway around here. 🙂 I just planned on traveling down south to flatter Westbound routes.
Well, it sounds like there are some views not to be missed along this route, with nice stops on the way. And nobody ran into you for traveling safely. How do you deal with that, slowing other folks down? Do RVers get used to it? Did you pull over a lot? Traveling during the day, I assume, and not during busy times? How about those steep downward slopes Eastbound into Denver? So I’m new to RVing and anxious to do all the “right” things. 🙂
Hey Jami – I wouldn’t worry about going slowly up the grade. It’s a 2 – 3 lane (each side) road and slow vehicles just put their blinkers on. On the way down, just downshift so you’re not burning up your brakes and let the vehicle slow itself. If you haven’t already, read up on driving an RV downhill and some of the techniques.
Interesting! I’ve driven a car up over the pass in the western direction. An experience to be on the summit! About 25 years ago!