#Motorhome vs. rv boondocking in colorado download#
Make sure to download both the app and the individual audio files before you get deep into the park, where there’s little cell service.
If you download the park’s app, you can listen to an audio narration. This drive will take you to several pit houses, cliff dwelling overlooks, and gorgeous views, all accessible from short paved paths. The first thing you’ll want to consider at Mesa Verde National Park is the Mesa Top Loop Road Auto Tour on Chapin Mesa. What to Do at Mesa Verde National Park Loop Tour You could easily spend several days boondocking in the National Forest and a night or two at Echo Basin Resort to dump, fill, laundry, and shower. Many of which are cleared with fire rings. Bigger rigs will be able to navigate the lower elevations, and smaller rigs can nestle back into the mountains or perch onto some cliff-top camp spaces. The National Forest has excellent boondocking options off Echo Basin Road (and is a great visit all on its own). It has a great rustic, ponderosa pine feel and friendly staff, along with easy access to the mountains of the San Juan National Forest right behind it. It’s a full-hookup campground with lots of shady sites, a restaurant, bar, playground, and a small pool. We stayed at the Echo Basin Resort on Echo Basin Road in Mancos, which is about 25 minutes from Mesa Verde. It’s also run by a concessionaire, so your Senior Pass or Access Pass will not give you a discount.Īnother option is Mancos State Park, which is about a 15-minute drive into Mesa Verde. But it isn’t very big-rig friendly (probably 35′ max), and has virtually no cell service.
#Motorhome vs. rv boondocking in colorado full#
The parks Morefield Campground offers full hookups at an affordable price and has a laundromat and fuel station. We witnessed 4 vehicles pulled over within just one hour. Law enforcement rangers are very aggressive about ticketing speeders in Mesa Verde.
Pay very close attention to the speed limit wherever you are in the park. It is a decent drive (20 min+) into the park before you’ll see any cliff dwellings. You should not leave your trailer or motorhome behind at the visitor center.Ī large motorhome may have difficulty parking on the loop road tour, but medium to small rigs should be fine. This parking lot is NOT the main visitor center parking, which is located outside the main entrance gate. You must unhitch and leave your trailer behind unless you are driving into the campground. Trailers are not allowed past that same parking lot. There is ample motorhome parking at most (but not all) of the overlooks and points of interest throughout the park. But if you tow a car with you, there’s a parking lot just past the main entrance gate where you can unhook and leave your rig behind. There are tons of motorhomes that navigate the park every day, as well as plenty of tour buses. There are many hairpin turns and hills, but nothing really dangerous. Motorhomes are allowed on the main park road and should have no issues navigating it. Mancos is much smaller, without a full grocery store. The town of Cortez has a Walmart, restaurants, a hospital, and other basic provisions. But if your truck is undersized or your rig struggles with grades, you’re probably better off crossing further south on I-25 or I-40 and heading back north on US 491. If you are coming from Eastern Colorado, you’ll need to go over the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass, which isn’t too difficult in good weather. Mesa Verde has its own exit right off of US 160 between Mancos and Cortez, Colorado, in the “four corners” region (where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet).ġ60 is big-rig friendly. Mesa Verde is a bit of a hidden gem, meaning you often don’t have to deal with the oppressive crowds some parks suffer from. There is so much to offer, including many incredible hikes and a self-guided loop-drive tour. But do not skip this park just because you don’t want to a tour. The tours often require scaling steep wooden ladders and aren’t for everyone. You can view most of them from the park road’s paved overlooks, or get up close and personal with a ranger-led tour. The cliff dwellings are more than 700 years old and are in excellent condition. Flat-topped green mesas offer stunning vistas in every direction. As the landscape transitions from Colorado’s rocky mountains to the red rock of Utah and Arizona, Mesa Verde offers something totally different. It’s a stunning park that hosts dozens of ancient cliff dwellings as the main attraction but offers so much more to see and do. Southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park is an excellent park for an RV vacation due to its ease of access and on-site campground. Quick Overview of Mesa Verde National Park Don’t pass on this amazing National Park in the western section of Colorado.
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