Cortez, Mesa Verde KOA

This is a very nice KOA. Store was stocked. They have tee pees for rent. Bathrooms/showers were clean & nice. They have a pool, which wasn't open for the season during our stay. I used the laundromat & they have a lot of machines (which actually worked!). Staff was courteous& helpful. This KOA was just far enough away from the road that traffic noise was minimal. Low lights in the campground, which I appreciate. I hate those mercury vapors shining in my camper all night. Lots of stars at night. Great view of the mountains & I believe Mesa Verde. There's a city park next to the KOA with a lake. There's a trail that goes around it. We heard ducks& geese every evening. I was told a really nice dog park, also city owned.

 Here's the thing. When I reserved the campsite I picked the 30 amp full hookup. They said these were the most popular sites. These sites, except on the end, are buddy sites. That means for 2 nights we shared the site with another couple. Which was very awkward. We tried to stay on our side & they on theirs, but every time you had to go into the camper, they were RIGHT THERE. This could be a disaster if the other people are jerks.

 The hooks ups were placed pretty far too. We had just enough cord for the electricity. If you can, go for the water/electric sites. They have a better view of the mountains. We camped at Cortez/ Mesa Verde KOA Journey in a Travel Trailer

I'm going to start off with this isn't our kind of camping but if you love amenities when you camp, this is the place to be. We arrived early in the morning (wasn't even sure we would be able to check in) but they they said we could get checked in and told us where the other members of our party were at in the park. The office staff was extremely friendly and eager to tell us all about the park. They even had Easter candy and eggs in the office and outside the door for the kiddos. They directed us to our site which was located just behind the teepees. The site was small but it had electricity and a water spicket right behind it. The site was all gravel, even the tent pad but there was a lovely patch of grass behind us that we were directed to put nothing on.

Some of the amenities: There were heated bathrooms with flush toilets, running water sinks and showers. Music played in the bathroom 24/7. There were laundry facilities as well and on the side of the building a dish washing station. You could wash your dishes in a sink with hot water! There's a pool (it wasn't open yet) and for a short little walk, a 3 acre dog park. It was so nice for our dogs to get out and run. Beyond that was a trail that went around a lake and on the other side was a playground, much nicer then the campgrounds which seems a bit outdated. The park wasn't very clean though. There were also several geocaches with in walking distance of the campground.

Shortly after we arrived and checked out the dog park, we began prepping and smoking our spiral ham. It was Easter weekend after all, what better then Easter dinner. Shortly after we put some beans in a dutch oven and smoked those as well. Everyone sat and ate a nice Easter dinner (we all came together from three sites). Shortly after we had our first of three egg hunts in the overflow area of the campground. There weren't any campers down there so the kids had plenty of space to hunt and run. The campground in general wasn't very full, it is still early. We followed up our first egg hunt with birthday celebrations for our youngest who turned 5! Cake and gifts and family. We waited for dark and then had our second Easter egg hunt with glow stick eggs! Shortly after everyone retired and it got cold at night. It had to have been in the 30's. There was a lot of light in the campground. Everytime I peered out of my sleeping bag it felt like morning even though it was the middle of the night. That was not all that appealing to me. You could also hear the highway. The campground itself was quiet but the highway could be heard.

The next morning the kids woke up to their third egg hunt and their baskets from the Easter bunny and then another trip to the dog park. We opted to not eat breakfast here and hit up starbucks on the way home.

Overall, it's a nice park with plenty of amenities. If you don't want to be quite so rugged, this might be a great option.

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.