Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Mesa Verde National Park

Located less than 1 mile from Mesa Verde National Park entrance, this campground has wonderful owners who understand the meaning of hospitality! The sites are maintained daily and there are nice little touches throughout the campground, like potted plants at the pedestal of each site and site lights that can be turned off if one wishes (protect the dark sky). 

There's a playground, pool and adults only spa, the office store has the little things one might have forgotten, there's a separate tent area, a well outfitted laundry room and clean showers. They also conveniently offer propane for sale. 

The gravel site I was in was fairly level and had full hook ups. Free wi fi available. Not much privacy between spaces, but not sandwiched in like some "resorts". A little road noise and if the wind blew from a certain direction the leach field/pond scent would waft by, but overall a nice place to stay.

Great campground!  One interesting thing, the entire campground is gravel.  The road, the sites, everything, there is no grass which was a little weird at first.  However, this campground is really well maintained and a great place to stop if visiting Mesa Verde National Park.  The KOA has a short trail that connects to the county dog park which was a HUGE bonus for us as we were traveling with an energetic puppy.  The KOA overlooks mountains on all sides and the sunrises and sunsets were gorgeous.  I was TERRIFIED of seeing snakes while there, and happy to report we saw none.

This campground is a peaceful place. The staff is pleasant to talk with, and all sites are very clean. The pool is heated to a warm 83 degrees. There is a children's playground and a three acre dog park. The bathrooms are very clean and the showers are nice after a long day hiking at Mesa Verde National Park which is located a few miles east of the campground. It should be noted the campground is a RJourney Campground now and not a KOA anymore. We enjoyed our three days RTT camping here. We recommend this campground., and will be happy to stay here again.

The Cortex/Mesa Verde KOA in Cortez, Colorado, was the best campground we stayed at (out of 10) on our #9parks12days road trip in June 2016. Not only was the site itself updated, it was the FIRST KOA we stayed at that had usable Wi-Fi - as in video streaming capabilities! When traveling with kids, this is such a HUGE amenity.

This campground has an updated playground, heated (seasonal) swimming pool, a 1-mile walking trail, dog park, and even tepees in addition to cabins for overnight camping. Not to mention, the campground is located a mere 15 minutes from the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. Other highlights: newer laundry facilities, of which we made use, and awesome mountain and mesa views right from your site.

Don't expect a ton of privacy - sites are very close together. The family next to ours had an outdoor living room set up that pretty much took the entire space between our RVs. However, the grounds were well-kept, and there was plenty of space to remove yourself from other people throughout the facility.