James M. Robb Colorado River State Park

Tent camping area smells disgusting. Located just downstream from the pit style toilets, one doesn’t need much of an imagination to know what it smells so strongly of. The tent camping is walk in, literally. There are wheelbarrows provided to accommodate this. In a quite place I would appreciate this, but next to I-​70 and a railroad, it is a bit of a burden. Very noisy, very stinky. At $ 23/​night to boot

Honestly I’ve stayed here in the camper for a couple nights and this park seemed great from that standpoint, however we came this time to tent camp and was poorly disappointed. When we showed up it was 100 degrees out. Thinking back I remember the Rv trips where we had shaded and sheltered picnic table covers. Tents have ZERO shade with little or no trees behind them and you have to cart your stuff from the parking lot to the tent. Beyond that I think the $ 16 price tag for a site like that it’s way too much! Next time we’ll just go back to the Monument. Prettier views, $ 11 for a camp site and you get to park your car 10 feet from where you’re camping. Not as convenient though which is why I gave this state park a 3 star vs a 2 star.

Two years ago, we encouraged our grandparents visiting from out of town to stay here while visiting us in Fruita. When my grandparents arrived, I met them at the entrance but the ranger at the gate insisted that I pay the daily fee, even though I only wanted to help my 80 year old grandfather set up his RV.
The next day, we went early to visit my grandparents. We had to take two cars. When my wife explained that we were only visiting for an hour, the first Ranger waived her on through. when I arrived 5 minutes later, a second ranger (the same one from the day before) insisted that I pay the daily park fee again. When I questioned why my wife didn’t have to pay earlier, the ranger became visibly upset, she was very rude, and couldn’t give me an explanation as to why only I had to pay.
I began to research this park on other websites, and found that I’m not the only one to have issues with this particular woman ranger.
The park itself is not an eye-​sore. It is beautiful. But I would call it a social-​sore to our local community. If they want to have park policies, they need to be consistent about upholding them. And if they want to be a friendly neighbor to their community, they might need to rethink their policies. And hire friendlier Rangers.
We no longer recommend this park to our family or friends. In fact lately, we’ve been sending them to the KOA in Grand Junction, even though it’s 30 min farther away.

This is a beautiful park. The bike and walking paths are extensive and well maintained. You can walk between many lakes and see all sorts of birds. This has been an enjoyable resource for us — and our dogs. State parks allow animals, as opposed to national park rules.
I think the $ 7 per visit is high — but it is state mandated for all state parks. We bought an Aspen Leaf pass to allow us a year’s access to all parks. I think it is well worth it!

Quiet? No. Scenic? In one direction, anyway. Convenient? Hell yes!
We stayed here for one night a few weeks ago, and picked it mainly so we could plug our camper in and have a little extra warmth. It provided that and a little more — super friendly staff, close proximity to downtown Fruita and the Kokopelli trailhead, and a playground for a certain child to burn off some energy after having sat in a car for 8 hours. So, while not my ideal campground because of its location to near the highway, it did the trick!

I recently spent two days in Grand Junction on a trip from Denver through Colorado into Utah, ending in Moab, UT. My first evening in Grand Junction I decided to go down to the Corn Lake State Park just south and east of town to visit the Colorado River at sunset. My enthusiasm turned to shock when I realized that I was expected to pay $ 7.00 to visit the park for just an hour or so. I understand the need to charge admission to state parks, but $ 7.00 for just an hour. I later only paid $ 10.00 each for 7 days admission to two National Parks in Utah, and the Colorado National Monument near here was free. The fee basis doesn’t make sense.
I later found a nice riverside park in Palisades, about a 15 minute ride, that was free called Riverbend Park that was just as nice.