Cortez, Mesa Verde KOA, near Cortez, Colorado, is a fantastic spot for those looking to unwind in a serene setting while enjoying the great outdoors. With a variety of accommodations, including tent sites, RV spots, and cozy cabins, it caters to all types of campers.

This campground boasts clean facilities and friendly staff, which visitors consistently highlight in their reviews. The heated pool is a favorite for families, and the well-maintained bathrooms and showers make it easy to freshen up after a day of hiking at nearby Mesa Verde National Park. One camper noted, “The bathrooms are very clean and the showers are nice after a long day hiking.”

For those traveling with pets, the campground features a spacious dog park, allowing your furry friends to stretch their legs. The views of the surrounding mountains are stunning, especially during sunrise and sunset, making it a perfect backdrop for your camping experience. As one visitor put it, “The view of Mesa Verde was incredible.”

If you're looking to explore, you're just a short drive from the rich history and breathtaking landscapes of Mesa Verde National Park. Whether you're here for a weekend or a longer stay, Cortez, Mesa Verde KOA offers a welcoming atmosphere and plenty of opportunities for adventure.

**This KOA has been closed and is reopened as Rjourney, find them on the Dyrt**

Mesa Verde National Park is less than 15 minutes away from this KOA near the four corners where Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona and Utah meet. 

The campground has heated swimming pool, basketball, and horseshoes. Also has a 1-mile walking trail around Denny Lake, fishing, and an enclosed dog park.

The pool is open Memorial Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. 

Cortez, Mesa Verde KOA

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Cortez. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Cortez is surrounded by family-friendly activities. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Colorado camping adventure.

Cortez

The Best Camping in Cortez, CO | Colorado Campgrounds

Stayed at site 70.  Very nice, large campground.  Tent sites were very convenient to the camp store and nearby facilities.  Placement of campground very convenient to Cortez and Mesa Verde national park - only about 10 minutes away.

Great facilities & location

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.

This KOA is the Best in the West

Peaceful 

Nice staff, clean restrooms and laundry. Two teepees that you can stay in with cots and floor mat. Cabins galore with a/c and antenna. Will return

Clean, well maintained, dog area, next to an even bigger dog park.  Laundry

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.

Plenty of Amenities

Great location from Mesa Verde National Park. Cozy spots. Newer facilities. Fantastic views of the mesas and mountains! 

Stunning views

We had a cabin and RV site. After a long hot day at Mesa Verde we were pleasantly surprised to have AC and a TV in the cabin. Bathrooms were clean and campground was quiet.

Excellent 

This KOA is just east of Cortez with a view of the Mesa 9 miles east. Tent sites are pea gravel with a few with grass (lucky me). The on site caretaker is a bird lover so feeders are set up around the office &amp; his own site. I enjoyed watching the birds. 

Bathrooms &amp; showers are in the same building as the office, so it could be a walk. But thr whole KOA isn't so big that it's unreasonable.

I don't have a dog but I did notice a really nice dog area. 

A view of the Mesa 

Right at the foot of a mountain it has some beautiful views. The sites are pretty close together (stayed in site 13). Some road noise from nearby 160, but not much. Friendly and helpful staff and well kept grounds. Very good Verizon service at 37 download / 15 upload. AT&amp;T was a little weaker averaging around 8-10 download. Close by to Mesa Verde, Chimney Rock, and other attractions. Site had full hookups also well maintained. 

Good place for a couple of nights

Clean, but it's on the industrial edge of Cortez. Thankfully it had a nice view of the Mesa Verde mountain range from many sites. We happened to be in a site directly behind one of the cute cabins that have a premium view. Gravel drive and pads. Utilities back to back. Laundry and restroom were clean. 

Not bad if you're passing through

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.

Gorgeous Views!

This is a very nice KOA. Store was stocked. They have tee pees for rent. Bathrooms/showers were clean &amp; nice. They have a pool, which wasn't open for the season during our stay. I used the laundromat &amp; they have a lot of machines (which actually worked!). Staff was courteous&amp; 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 &amp; 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&amp; 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 &amp; 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

Watch out for buddy sites

We were so impressed with the 
staff of this KOA.  Very efficient, very clean, nice and quite.  Located about 45 minutes out of Durango it was a great stop for our travels.

One of the cleanest and well maintained KOAs

The campground was very nice. We use a tent, but the only real drawback is that the tent site was all gravel. The pool was very refreshing in the heat of the day, although we only got to use it once because it rained the rest of our stay. My daughter and I met a new lady friend and her two kids from Montana, and we all hit it off very well which made the stay that much more enjoyable! It's nice that places like this attract like minded people. So thank you KOA for having us! The trip was amazing. 

Love meeting new people.

One of our favorite KOA campgrounds! The staff were super friendly, they had a great camp store, clean bath houses, and beautiful views. Very dog friendly area! 

Super friendly staff, close to Mesa Verde

I guess I am 1 for 2 in KOA experiences. Very rude treatment. 

Customer Service Lacking 

Good little place, you can sleep in tipis, good camp store. 


Good for camper vans, RTT, and rvs

I stayed in a cabin here with a million dollar view. Friendly staff. Clean facilities. Zero complaints.

The view!

The view of Mesa Verde was incredible. Very friendly staff beautiful campground￼

Awesome campground

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.

Photos of Cortez, Mesa Verde KOA

Real photos from real campers