Mesa Verde National Park

We really enjoyed Mesa Verde. About 45 minutes from there is the Tole Totic & Cubres steam locomotive, what a ride. It goes up into the high mountains and has beautiful views. We caught the train at Antinito, CO. The million dollar highway between Durango and Silverton, CO. is a beautiful drive.

pawatt wrote:
There is a very nice private campground right across from the entrance to the park. Mesa Verde RV Resort.

x2

We stayed at Mesa Verde RV Park. While clean and nice it's hookups are really screwy for most of the sites.. sewer is WAY as the back and the others toward the front. Most could not make both reach so we did without sewer and used their showers, etc.

And they go around each day with a drag behind a tractor to smooth all the gravel - do I have to mention dust?

And they have an attitude. I was greeted with, "Welcome to the only Good Sam 10-10-10 rated park in Colorado!"

2gypsies wrote:
In addition to dry camping, the Morefield campground in Mesa Verde has 15 full hookup sites with reservations. Either area is open so you'd get t.v. service...don't know about cell. You might have to drive to the Visitor Center.

We always try to stay in the national parks. It saves on driving and most of the time costs and you just feel a good experience for staying right there.

https://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/camping2.htm

We stayed in one of those electric sites a few years ago. Glad we did - full moon, ranger program at night, tour van picked up at the campground office (which also had a store and pancake breakfast IIRC).

I had already booked a site online, saw one come open with electric, and gave a call. The reservations guy was great about switching us, no penalty. So I'd keep an eye on the res site for openings.

That said, the CGs down below the Mesa have much better facilities overall for RVing. We stayed in Cortez once, also at McPhee Reservoir Forest Service/BLM? CG near Delores once. All worked out fine. It's a fascinating area to explore. See the BLM's excellent Anasazi Heritage Center while you're there. Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins and especially Hovenweep are great, too.

In addition to dry camping, the Morefield campground in Mesa Verde has 15 full hookup sites with reservations. Either area is open so you'd get t.v. service...don't know about cell. You might have to drive to the Visitor Center.

We always try to stay in the national parks. It saves on driving and most of the time costs and you just feel a good experience for staying right there.

https://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/camping2.htm

Cortez Mesa Verde KOA

About a month ago, we stayed at Ancient Cedars, just across from the park entrance. It was satisfactory. I don't recall about cell service and Wi-Fi. And we don't do TV. The female half of the park ownership is a fountain of knowledge about the area. You might call and ask your questions. Some of the other contributors to this thread have a link to Ancient Cedars with a phone number.

There is camping in the park but only 15 sites with full hookups that are reserved months in advance. Another place to see nearby is the town of Aztec, which is similar to Mesa Verde but on a much smaller scale. However, you can walk through all the structures, a big plus. We thought it worth the visit. It's maybe an hour from Mesa Verde

There is also BLM free camping on hwy 34 not too far from the park entrance.

clicky

We've also stayed in Cortez, as there are other places to visit in that area.

We did have a toad, though, sometimes that makes a difference.