Las Vegas to Monument Valley to Mesa Verde Dec-Jan

I went to Mesa Verde with a friend one year. We were not towing a travel trailer that time but driving a diesel pickup. It had started snowing and it was a white knuckle experience. It is a wonderful place to visit and I would love to go back there. But, like others have said, watch the weather.

You have gotten some very good info from reliable sources so no sense me adding by to emphasize what they said about the weather. Pretty much totally unpredictable and looking at past history won't help much. We lived in Estes for 8 years.

Aside from the normal you could get snow any day during that time frame. It usually isn't a problem but .... Temps can range from relatively mild to down right cold again just the vagaries of the weather that time of year. Someone previously mentioned elevation and that can make a big difference if snow does move in. We have some property right across the highway from Mesa Verde. I am down there frequently in the winter to deal with burning slash due to beetle kill. It can snow a foot on our place and just a light dusting in Cortez. Or a few inches at our place and nothing in Cortez. There is less than 1000 ft elevation difference.
There are two campgrounds right there as well Ancient Cedars and Mesa Verde RV Resort both of which are right outside the park. The ones mentioned previously in Cortez are good as well and may not be subject to the same snow if it does snow. Do be aware that Mesa Verde while fantastic in winter does have a lot of closures. Weatherill Mesa is closed, Balcony House is closed and am pretty sure Cliff Palace is closed for tours. You can still see Cliff Palace from above and across the canyon. Spruce Tree House while normally open during the winter has been closed due to rockfall and instability. I do not know the current status but it is probably closed as well though you can still see it from above.
As Busskipper mentioned Canyon De Chelly is awesome and another much less known one Navajo National Monument nice as well(it is about 20 miles west of Kayenta). Though the big ruins (Keet Seel and Betatakin) will be closed there are still a few rim trails that are a nice break from the drive and do give you views of some ruins. And don't forget about Hovenweep NM.

kpmoving wrote:
Busskipper,
This is the route I was checking out.

?

Look Pretty Clear:@

Busskipper,
This is the route I was checking out.

kpmoving wrote:
Never been to Colorado in the winter. In fact, never been through the desert is winter. I like the idea of boon-docking. I guess I better not let the wife watch "Hills have Eyes," before we go. I really want to be prepared for anything as this will be the first trip since the kids have left the nest.

Big state with a variety of Weather's.

CDOT

The Cdot will give you real time pictures as will Utah and Nevada.

Last Memorial Day we started in Boulder in Shorts and Hiked in a foot of snow only a hour later, and could not do Trail Ridge because it was closed with 10-15' of snow. (The kids swam in the Creek in Boulder at 3 that afternoon -

so............

If it is a heavy snow some roads will just close till it's cleared - so the weather in Key.

Last year the Snow came early/December and Late/March-May, leaving the middle of winter pretty mild, so just depends.

Watch the Weather - plan the trip - have alternate plans ready if needed.

JMHO,

Never been to Colorado in the winter. In fact, never been through the desert is winter. I like the idea of boon-docking. I guess I better not let the wife watch "Hills have Eyes," before we go. I really want to be prepared for anything as this will be the first trip since the kids have left the nest.

IF you are on the road on X-mas day most truck stops put out a great meal. Get chains for what ever it is you are driving and learn how to put them on before you need to. Chains on the trailer too or those trailer brakes will turn your tires into skis.

Captain_Happy wrote:
You ever been to Colorado in the winter?

Sure have, Hard to Beat.

Love those Mountains when they have a Beautiful White Coat on.

Come on out, Winter RV'ing is my favorite time in Colorado - but winter start Now and will last/lasted till Memorial Day + (Trail Ridge was still closed with 10-17' of snow last year).

Hard to beat Colorado any time,

Thom02099 wrote:

kpmoving wrote:
Any suggestions or recommendations from anyone that has driven this route in late December to early January? Typical road conditions, weather, places to stay with travel trailer. etc. Thanks

As for places to stay in the Mesa Verde area, Sunset RV Park and LaMesa RV park, both in Cortez, are open all year. H E R E - Cortez CO is the RVparksreview.com page for Cortez, these 2 are the first ones that come up. There is also one in Durango H E R E - Durango , but it's not as highly rated, and is further from Mesa Verde. North of Durango,
there's T H I S - Westerly RV Park which is higher rated, but also further from Mesa Verde.

For your timeframe, there's going to be limited choices in the Mesa Verde area.

As to weather, SW Colorado can get very heavy snow in December, one of our snowiest months. It can also be one of the coldest months, even for it's southerly location. That said, it can also be pleasant, if the timing is right. Will really depend on the immediate forecast for when you're going to be travelling, on specific dates.

Thom has given you a good summary.

We tend to travel in that area in that time frame - keep a close EYE on the WEATHER - Elevation is Critical - Great time IMHO as no crowds and easy to Hike (if no Snow) because it's cooler - Gear is critical - Layers - Gore Tex - Good Boots -....................

One year while spending the Winter in Golden Colorado the Temps got down in the -10 to -20 degree range for 10 plus days so we got out of Golden and headed to Vegas for Christmas, did a loop. Out and Back in December and January, Loved it!

First heading to Mesa Verde via 160 through the mountains - little snow but the roads were fine then into Durango and Cortez then Mesa Verde - Cold but Beautiful (I love the Mountains in the Winter) - Mesa Verde was very lightly populated - but Great from there we headed to Mexican Hat then on to Monument Valley - had our pick of sites but there were maybe 10 - 15 other campers there - Then on to Page/Lake Powell (Actually on this trip we slid down to Canyon de Chelly for a couple nights before going to Page) - from there we did a road trip to the North Rim - No Snow, so the road was still open - few campers there - then on to Zion - Were lucky as it snowed just as we arrived and was Beautiful (melted pretty quickly) no crowds drive in hike to where you want - again Beautiful - then I-15 to Vegas - Love the Virgin River as you cross through Arizona.

Map of Route to Mesa Verde - I'm really not one for CampGround recommendations, as I generally don't spend time there and will Boondock along the way if needed, so Thom has given you that info, Weather is Key to keep your Eye on - If a big storm is coming just get out of the way or Hunker Down.

Roads are generally good - Check the state DOT for info and Cameras - in the major locations there are usually CG's that are still open, so electric and a dump are available - Angels Landing in Zion is to Die For in December - see for Miles as the air is just so clean - Narrows might be a little chilly - North Rim - Page - Antelope Canyon - Goosenecks SP - Canyon de Chelly - are all great stops.

Hope this is of some help, think you will love it - keep the batteries charged and the Propane FULL, as you just might need it.

Best of luck,