Mazatlan to Laredo - road condition & camping advice?

Lou Morris wrote:
We are now just south of Mazatlan on our way back to the US. In the past we have always crossed the border at Nogales. But we are nearly to Mazatlan now and are considering veering east through Durango and over to the Laredo crossing instead. We've never traveled that part of Mexico though and have no knowledge about it.

Google Maps estimates about 15 hours, so we figure 2-3 days to make it. But we need some tips on,

- road conditions
- where can we camp overnight along the way?
- where is the best crossing point? Laredo or...?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We use the libre from Mazatlan as it is in better condition and more scenic that the autopista.

There are two stops we like in the first 380kms. One is called La Ciudad, Durango. There is the Mexiquillo Natl Park nearby also. In La Cuidad, you can pretty much park anywhere. There is a school on the west side of the highway with lots of open road area.

Next stop is off of the autopista at the exit for Valentín Gómez Farías. You can exit the autopista and then get back on. There is an abandoned shopping mall with a Pemex and a restaurant. We have stayed there many many times. Convenient and safe. Some trucks may pull in at night. There is security there.

There is also a Durango State Park, El Tecuan, which is before Gomez Farias, about 60 kms and is 50 pesos per person per night, no services for rvers. We parked on the basketball court which was nice and level. They also rent cabins.

All this can be found on Google Maps.

After, it would be on to Torreon, Saltillo, and then Laredo. We boondock so we would park just about anywhere along the route using common sense.

I hope this helps.

I've done this route many times, last time being in March 2018. In Laredo Bridge # 2 is right at the terminus of I-35. Once over the bridge turn left and follow the Rio Grande to a sharp dog leg that will take you to a pretty fast and organized TIP & Tourist Card center. Others here will suggest Columbia but I prefer #2.
The roads are good, one can take the toll roads or free. There's a fast, new loop to avoid Torreon's traffic and an well established toll road to avoid getting too far into Monterrey.
West of Durango there's the fast and easy toll road to take you to the coast, and an amazingly well maintained free road that has hardly any traffic. Along the free road not too far from the Durango end there's a government campground - it's usually gated but when we rode past on Easter week it was open and busy with campers. Maybe someone else here knows more details about this campground.
It's about 700 miles, give or take. The free Mex 40 west of Durango passes through incredibly scenic mountain ranges, Keep your gas tank topped off on this stretch, services are limited on the free road.

Hey, thanks for all the tips. We had to make a quick decision and I couldn't convince the DW to take the Durango route (hard to break old habits) though I wish I had. But I think we'll take that path next year. I'd like to see something new.