I second this. I actually used a letter of recommendation from a teacher at my old CC (she remembered me because it was a small, extremely difficult course where 65% of the students dropped out before taking the final exam and I still got an A+ because I worked my ass off). Because of how small the class was, she remembered me two years later and was happy to write my LoR for grad school. It was honestly the most challenging course I had ever taken... then again this particular CC didn't grant any degrees and its sole purpose was to prepare students to transfer to a 4-yr, so maybe other CC's are different.

At my 4-year university, I enjoyed the access to research labs and resources, but the teacher quality was about the same as at the CC... sometimes worse because the teachers there were juggling research and grant proposals and there were often 50-100 students in a class.

OP mentioned that CC's have a reputation of being easy, and overall I think that's a little misleading. The courses can still be extremely challenging but they tend to be a little more gentle on your GPA. For example, a certain amount of serious studying and homework at a 4-yr might land you a solid B, but that exact same amount of studying and homework (or more) could earn you an A+ at a CC. Good CC teachers know how to make the class challenging while still giving you enough bonus questions, extra credit, and grade curves to preserve or boost your GPA. One or two semesters at a CC will not hurt "the college experience" unless OP was wanting to live on campus... however a CC might help their GPA enough to make them more competitive when they apply to 4-yr colleges.