June trip to explore Colorado

[luv2gowalkabout]

Some help please. We are planning a trip from Virginia to Colorado in June. Towing a 36ft fiver. Plan thus far is to travel the middle of the country as we have not done this camping so far. Heading through Tennessee on I40 to Arkansas to visit relatives then to Santa Fe. Return trip by way of I70 to Kentucky (Mammoth Cave stop) then home. We have Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison on our list. We have already been to RMNP. We have 2 weeks to spend in Colorado and prefer more out of the way stops and small towns but still have that NP bucket list(26 so far) I am thinking of a more circular route - Santa Fe - the Dunes- Durango- Gunnison- then out via Pueblo. How much time to spend where is the question? Or should I re think this. Would love to spend more time but we can only be gone for a month until we fully retire. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Info on Fifth wheel towing on these roads would also be appreciated.

[RAS43]

You will now need reservations to see Hanging Lake as it became so popular and crowded that there was a lot of damage. I believe that they are also considering buses to limit traffic.

[vermilye]

An interesting hike near Glenwood Springs is to Hanging Lake. You will have to camp nearby - the parking is limited, and fills by late morning, even on weekdays. More photos during a 2011 trip.

[docsouce]

I don't know if this would interest you, but Route 550 north out of Durango to Route 50 east out Montrose to as far east as you choose. You can swtop for a night at Dodge City and visit Matt Dillon and Kitty too!

Sorry I Didn't see your update post. You will enjoy Rt 50.

[LowRyter]

Mesa Verde, Ouray (Silverton, Durango, Telluride, Ridgway), Black Canyon, Arches (UT), Crested Butte.....Southwestern slope.

[luv2gowalkabout]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. Right now I think we still will do an overnight in Great dunes, 3 days in mesa Verde then head north. We have 6 days so deciding how to spend them. I am thinking of stopping around Ooray and then around Montrose for the BCOTG then out 50 to Pueblo and through Kansas on our way home.

[Busskipper]

luv2gowalkabout wrote:
Some help please. We are planning a trip from Virginia to Colorado in June. Towing a 36ft fiver. Plan thus far is to travel the middle of the country as we have not done this camping so far. Heading through Tennessee on I40 to Arkansas to visit relatives then to Santa Fe. Return trip by way of I70 to Kentucky (Mammoth Cave stop) then home. We have Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison on our list. We have already been to RMNP. We have 2 weeks to spend in Colorado and prefer more out of the way stops and small towns but still have that NP bucket list(26 so far) I am thinking of a more circular route - Santa Fe - the Dunes- Durango- Gunnison- then out via Pueblo. How much time to spend where is the question? Or should I re think this. Would love to spend more time but we can only be gone for a month until we fully retire. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Info on Fifth wheel towing on these roads would also be appreciated.

Old post similar trip - Old Post - Colorado -

Just look over the pictures from Stan's Album, might help with some of the decisions- For me the San Juan's and The Collegiates/Buena Vista are just GREAT. - Stan's Album

Hope this is of some help,

[Thom02099]

luv2gowalkabout wrote:
Thanks everyone for the advice. I am trying to narrow everything down in the next couple of days. We always prefer off season but are unable to do that this year. so I know I will probably have some trouble. There is a New moon scheduled in June and it would time for The Great Sand dunes. Supposedly they are a dark sky site. We are thinking of braving mosquitos to go anyway. If we plan 3 days at Mesa we can use this for home base to go back to Durango?

The Great Sand Dunes would indeed be a wonderful place for astronomical observations. Not much around for competing light sources. There's a CG inside the park, there's a commerical place just outside the entrance, and there's San Luis State Park to the west of GSDNP. San Luis could be the best place for dark skies as well as less problems with critters. And it's not just skeeters at GSD...the black flies are ferocious there, some the size of small aircraft :E

3 days at Mesa Verde would be a good visit there. Was down there in October and only had a full day, so had to cut out a lot of things to see. There's 2 different mesas there. Chapin Mesa has the more popular cliff dwellings. But there's also Wetherill Mesa, which is at a higher elevation, and has some distinct sites to visit.

As to using it as a base for Durango, that's doable. If you stay inside the park, be aware that the CG is 4 miles in from the entrance and a somewhat significant climb from the entrance, and that most of the sites are another 11 or so miles from Morefield to the visitor's center and lodge.

Going back to Durango, it's about 45-60 minutes depending on traffic. If the train is on your agenda, it's not difficult to get to the train station in Durango; signage is everywhere and there's a goodly amount of parking there.

[rexlion]

Do you plan to visit the Silverton/Ouray/Telluride area? Very scenic. Also, Colorado National Monument is worth a drive through.

[luv2gowalkabout]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am trying to narrow everything down in the next couple of days. We always prefer off season but are unable to do that this year. so I know I will probably have some trouble. There is a New moon scheduled in June and it would time for The Great Sand dunes. Supposedly they are a dark sky site. We are thinking of braving mosquitos to go anyway. If we plan 3 days at Mesa we can use this for home base to go back to Durango?

[theoldwizard1]

There can still be snow at high altitudes.

[Thom02099]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Narrow it down pretty fast. We are planning a trip to Denver the last 2 weeks in July, be there a total of 9 days. We wanted one location for a base camp so we could explore and branch out from there. We scoured the internet high and low to find a campsite. They were all booked in the area, even splitting the time up, it was almost impossible to get in anywhere for the one week-end coverage. We finally found a spot and took it immediately!

You're going in June. Book those campground reservations now! They are going fast, if not gone already!

This^^^^^

The 180 day window for most non-commercial places opened some time ago for bookings in June. For weekends, you'll be hard pressed to find anything in National Parks or USFS CGs. This past weekend (Feb 3) was the opening of the 180 booking window for August 3, and they book fast. If week days you may have a bit more success. Or consider commercial. Even those are booking fast.

[DutchmenSport]

Narrow it down pretty fast. We are planning a trip to Denver the last 2 weeks in July, be there a total of 9 days. We wanted one location for a base camp so we could explore and branch out from there. We scoured the internet high and low to find a campsite. They were all booked in the area, even splitting the time up, it was almost impossible to get in anywhere for the one week-end coverage. We finally found a spot and took it immediately!

You're going in June. Book those campground reservations now! They are going fast, if not gone already!

[BB_TX]

The Dunes are neat in early to mid June when Medano Creek is still flowing across the lower part. Starts drying up toward late June, but depends on the winter snow pack.

Cumbres & Toltec Steam Railroad is also a great train ride.

[agesilaus]

I would not skip the dunes, especially if you have kids. But it is a one day stop at the most and a half day would probably do.