RV Rentals Near Aurora, CO

Aurora spreads across the east side of the Denver metro, and for an RV trip its biggest asset is a full state park campground inside city limits. Cherry Creek State Park sits on Parker Road just south of I-225, so you can sleep beside a reservoir and still be about 25 to 30 minutes from downtown Denver in normal traffic. East of the park, the city gives way to open prairie, two large reservoirs and a preserve where pronghorn and prairie dogs are more common than traffic lights.

That mix makes Aurora a good fit for a first RV trip. You get flat roads, big grocery and fuel stops, short drives to camp, and enough lake and trail time to fill several days without ever climbing a mountain pass.

Camping at Cherry Creek State Park

Cherry Creek State Park is run by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and covers about 4,200 acres around an 880-acre reservoir. The address is 4201 South Parker Road, and CPW describes the entrance as one mile south of I-225 on Parker Road at Lehigh.

The campground has 135 campsites according to CPW's camping page, with a mix of full hookup sites, tent sites, group sites and accessible sites. Showers, laundry and a dump station are available in season. A few rules shape how you plan:

• A reservation is required to camp. CPW takes bookings online at cpwshop.com or by phone, and the park itself does not take reservations.
• The campground is open year-round, but from November 1 to March 31 winter camping is limited to the Abilene Loop.
• The dump station closes for winter and reopens April 1, so plan your tank dumps if you camp in the cold months.
• Every vehicle needs a CPW park pass plus a separate Cherry Creek Water Basin fee, which applies to all vehicles entering the park.

Inside the park you will find two boat ramps, a swim beach, about 35 miles of multiuse trails (15 of them paved), horseback riding, a model airplane field and an off-leash dog area that needs its own daily pass. CPW lists more than 170 bird species for the park, and the cottonwood and wetland areas along the creek are the best places to look.

Day trips on Aurora's prairie side

Aurora Reservoir

The Aurora Reservoir, run by the City of Aurora, is a day-use lake on the far southeast side. An 8-mile concrete trail loops the whole shoreline and stays open year-round for walking and biking. The city lists fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding and boating, with a swim beach in summer. Gas motors are prohibited on the water, so only electric trolling motors are allowed. Hours change month by month and the city posts updates on water levels, the boat dock and boat rentals on the reservoir page, so check it the morning you go.

Plains Conservation Center

The Plains Conservation Center at 21901 East Hampden Avenue protects about 1,100 acres of shortgrass prairie. Entry, the trails, the visitor center and the replica homestead village and tipi camp are free, while guided programs carry a fee. The city lists pronghorn, prairie dogs, coyotes, red-tailed hawks and bald eagles among the wildlife you may see. Dogs, bikes and horses are not permitted, so leave pets at camp for this one.

Driving an RV around Aurora

The elevation posted at Aurora's city limits is 5,471 feet, and the terrain is mostly flat to rolling, which makes it one of the easier parts of the metro for a new RV driver. The main routes you will use are I-225 and Parker Road for Cherry Creek State Park, and E-470 for the reservoir and the east side.

E-470 is a cashless toll road. Vehicles without a toll account are photographed and a bill goes to the registered owner, so ask your RV owner how tolls are handled before you use it. If you would rather avoid tolls, surface streets reach every place on this page, they just take longer.

Parker Road is a busy multilane arterial, so give yourself room to change lanes well before the Lehigh turn into the park. For road conditions and closures anywhere in the state, use COtrip.org.

Worth knowing: CPW closes Cherry Creek Reservoir to all boating in the fall, paddleboards and kayaks included (in 2026 the cutoff was the end of the day on November 1). If water time is the point of your trip, aim for late spring through September and check CPW's alerts page before you pack the inflatables.

Choosing where to spend your Aurora days

If, then

• If you have young kids, camp at Cherry Creek in summer and split days between the swim beach and the paved trails.
• If you travel with a dog, use the off-leash area at Cherry Creek and skip the Plains Conservation Center, where dogs are not allowed.
• If you are coming in winter, book a site in the Abilene Loop and dump tanks before you arrive.
• If you want quiet water, go to Aurora Reservoir, where gas motors are not allowed.

Seasons and weather on the east side

Summer brings warm days and the full menu of water activities, along with afternoon thunderstorms that can build quickly over the plains. Lightning is a real concern on open water and exposed trails, so plan paddling and long rides for the morning. Spring and fall are milder and the campground is less crowded, though boating windows narrow as fall goes on. Winter camping is possible at Cherry Creek with fewer services, and nights can drop well below freezing, so a rig with a working furnace and protected water lines matters.

How RVRents fits an Aurora trip

There are two ways to rent an RV for this trip, and they work differently. RVs from owners on Outdoorsy are booked and paid for on Outdoorsy and picked up from the owner. They do not include RVRents delivery, setup or other services. RVs booked directly with RVRents can add services à la carte through vetted local providers: groceries, cleaning or activities, plus delivery and setup at your campsite near Aurora on RVs marked Delivery available. Some RVs require delivery and setup, and the listing says so.

To book direct, send a trip request. Each service is a request until a provider confirms and you approve the price, and we check the campground's rules before any delivery is scheduled.