Mesa Verde/Durango Co-where to stay?

Was there late last Fall and stayed in the lodge, but drove thru several loops of Moorfield to check it out for future visit. Sites generally had decent space between, but many not level, very basic, quite a few would be hard to put anything larger than 25-30 feet into, given the roads. I expected to be impressed but came away quite disappointed. Haven't stayed at the commercial CGs, but have Mesa Verde RV Resort in Mancos on my list of likely places if I go there.
One benefit of Moorfield is that it is in the park and cuts down on what is otherwise a very long drive in and out from the highway entrance.

United campground Never stayed there but the train does run through the campground and is located on the city trolley stop.

Yes, we have stayed at United. It is probably the best RV park from which to view the passing train. There are sites right on the railway, which are at a slightly higher rate.

Not the best RV park we've ever stayed in, but it is surely convenient to the train tracks.

At Mesa Verde we stayed right across the highway from the park entrance at a very nice, clean park. Can't remember the name just now. It was a private park not inside the National Park.

We visited Mesa Verde National Park last September. The park has one very large campground with many sites. About 15 of those sites have full hookups and we had one of those. There was a good amount of space between all the sites and with all the trees and vegetation it was like dispersed camping. We really liked the campground and thoroughly enjoyed the park. Probably wouldn't need a reservation for the dry sites, but the few with hookups fill quickly.

padredw wrote:
Yes, we have stayed at United. It is probably the best RV park from which to view the passing train. There are sites right on the railway, which are at a slightly higher rate.

Not the best RV park we've ever stayed in, but it is surely convenient to the train tracks.

At Mesa Verde we stayed right across the highway from the park entrance at a very nice, clean park. Can't remember the name just now. It was a private park not inside the National Park.

The one across the highway is 'A&A Mesa Verde RV Park Resort'. There is also one a little to the east called 'Mesa Verde RV Resort'

Two Hands wrote:
The park has one very large campground with many sites. About 15 of those sites have full hookups and we had one of those. There was a good amount of space between all the sites and with all the trees and vegetation it was like dispersed camping. We really liked the campground and thoroughly enjoyed the park. Probably wouldn't need a reservation for the dry sites, but the few with hookups fill quickly.

This is true. If you are going to spend more than one day at Mesa Verde, it makes sense to stay in the park as it is a fair distance up from the highway.

Don't forget to make reservations for tours before you go, as the popular ones fill quickly.

We've stayed at a private CG only twice in our life when it was the only option, so I can't help you with those around Durango. I will note that Haviland NFS CG about 18 miles north of Durango sits right on the shore of the lake and has 17 sites with 50 amp service. It's at 8700' so quite a bit cooler than those down by Durango. The train doesn't go by there, but maybe the lake makes up for that. If you want a lakeside spot with electric, reserve NOW as they fill very quickly. But even if you can get right on the lake, the other electric sites are also quite nice. We last stayed there two years ago. Even if you take the train, you might consider driving to Silverton and taking a full day to explore the town and the area. Head up past Eureka to the ghost town of Animas Forks. Haviland CG is less than an hour from Silverton (assuming you don't pull over every mile to take pictures).

I notice you like to mountain bike. If you've got the lungs for it, the Colorado Trail from Little Molas Lake above Silverton is gorgeous with flowers in the summer. But, the trail starts at 10,900' and climbs to 11,600' in the first few miles. Not steep, but two + miles high in elevation. (Definitely fits the moniker "Mountain Biking"!)Another lower elevation option are the trails of Boggy Draw near Dolores. Single track trails built for mountain bikes. I have other ideas about where to ride in the area if you're interested. PM me if you're interested.

The distance between Mesa Verde and Durango is too great to have a base camp. Move from one place to another.

Moorefield in Mesa Verde does have sites with electric. Also, our 40' motorhome fit in the dry camping sites. However, you want a fishing stream and seclusion and Moorefield is not in a forest. It's in a high desert area. It's an ideal spot for touring Mesa Verde though.

Then move to Haviland Lake national forest campground just north of Durango. It's on a fine small fishing lake and the Animas River is easy to get to for stream fishing. Very nice biking area for easy or hard trails and kayaking in the river. It's in a gorgeous forest setting and again, some sites have electric. Reserve early. You won't be disappointed. We've stayed there often and did so again, last July.

Have a great trip! They are two of our favorite areas.

We stayed at A&A Mesa Verde RV Park Resort right across the highway from
the entrance to Mesa Verde. It was in the spring and Moorfield wasn't open till the following week. A&A was good, convenient and had newer & easy pull thru sites at the back. We only had planned for 2 days in the park so this worked well for us.

For Durango Junction Creek campground 5 miles from town plenty of trails and stream with 50amp electric in thick forested land.

Haven't read all replies to your post, but the D&SNGRR goes right through United CG, however it is not really that spacious or "woodsy." And we've not been there now for almost 11 years.