Monday evening, third week of September site 25. Quiet. Well spaced sites. Sloped towards lake. At least this site and 26 would be difficult to find level spot for tent and requires lots of rocks or blocks to level rv. Note west side of lake campsites are 6 miles from US160. Deer came out around 6 pm. Bear area, none seen. Nice stopping place.
Simple and clean facilities; hammock stand on my site was bonus, wish I’d known to pack hammock! Quiet on a weeknight, I can see how it might have a much busier energy on summer weekends.
We were the only campers on the west side campground. There were several campers on the east side. No water and just pit toilets on west side. Don’t know about east side. Large spots. Most have a fairly noticeable slope. Many deer and chipmunks. Nice view of lake. Nicely secluded. 5G good cell on T-Mobile. Long gravel road to west side campground.
Futons and mattresses rock hard, but everything else was great! Electricity and a fridge, clean when we arrived, code worked, great stars and quiet campground. Fairly clean bathrooms. Slept on our own cots. Fire rings above ground.
We stayed here for four nights in July. It was not as busy as we thought it would be. Definitely stay on the west side of the lake of these sites are available. The sites are far more spread out and quieter than on the other side of the lake.
Wildfire season and poor communication about fire regs. State website is not updated. Reservation page was only only place where stage 2 restrictions were noted. Who's gonna look there after they have made reservation already? Otherwise, nice campground. Sites are spread out so you can have some privacy.
Very nice campground close to Mesa Verde National Park.
There's plenty of shade and much cooler than the NP campground.
Sites are gravel and don't restrict where in the site you can park your camper.
Beautiful, spacious sites with well maintained facilities, picnic tables and fire rings. Depending on the site, you have nice views through the trees to the surrounding mountains. Pick the western side for views. The reservoir is a nice size & peaceful. So many hiking trails in the area & Mesa Verde national park is 20 minutes away.
Mancos State Park is very clean and well taken care of. There is a water fill and dump station onsite. No hookups at all and the sites are semi wooded so if you rely on solar make sure to check Google Earth to pick a site that sees the sky well. We were on the east side and were able to recharge our batteries just fine each day, even with clouds. Lake was great but low while we were there. They allow paddle boards and such but no swimming which we thought was odd. Mancos Brewing company in town had good beers, great wood fired pizza and live music on the weekends. Overall it was a great 8 day stay and we would go back again if in the area.
Water is very low, there was a fire ban, no swimming in the reservoir. Water was extremely low, and bathrooms smelt terrible.
However, we had a huge site that could our pop up and two other tents. Recommend staying in the loop not right by the office. Very quiet, and there’s a horse trail right behind the campsites. Stayed on a Sunday and was not even close to being full. Rangers drive by every 30 minutes, it seems. No hammocks on the sites.
Got a reservation for 3 weeknights just a day in advance. It’s only 12 miles from Mesa Verde and it’s cool and shady. Spacious, level ish sites with gravel parking/picnic areas, big common areas and horseshoe pits, games to borrow at the gatehouse. Vault toilets are clean. If you go down to the reservoir there’s tons of sticker burrs so be careful if you have pets.
Mancos State Park is a convenient stop in SW Colorado just outside Mesa Verde NP. Dry campsites, some only small trailer or truck camper size. Plenty of room for tents in each site. Lake was very low for this time of year but scenic. Easy access from the LITTLE town of Mancos.
Mancos State Park has no-wake boating and is well-known for fishing, especially rainbow trout, a few brownies and yellow perch. There are 33 campsites on two sides of the lake, plus two all-season yurts. During the winter, it is a great place to use as a base for cross country skiing.
It is near the La Plata range to the east, and Mesa Verde National Park to the southwest. Durango is about 45 minutes to the east, and the City of Cortez about 25 minutes to the west. Telluride ski resort is about a two-hour drive. Both Cortez and Durango are full-service cities, with multiple supermarkets, other chains, etc. The town of Mancos, about a 12-minute drive from the park, has a full-service sit-down restaurant/bakery, a natural foods store, other restaurants, a community grocery store, shops, modern library and other amenities.
The park adjoins the San Juan National Forest, including multiple hiking trails, the Chicken Creek cross country ski area, the Sawtooth and Millwood trails, and other trails. The nearby forest (about a mile up the road) has dispersed camping as well as organized campgrounds accessible by a paved road.
There also is a dude ranch next to the park, and the approximate 1-mile trail around the park takes hikers over some beautiful scenery. There are no corrals, but horses are allowed on specific trails.
None of the campsites currently have water or electric hookups, but potable water is available at several connections on the east (main) side of the park. While there is no public WiFi, cell signals are strong.
We spent a few nights here while exploring Mesa Verde National Park. Our site was spacious with plenty of privacy. They just updated the dump station with a new potable water spigot, so we’re were able to top off our tank coming and going. We took advantage of the Bear Hiking trail and Verizon coverage was okay.
No power, but who cares. We were only driving through, but what a beautiful location. We stayed at after 25 and no one stayed camped next to us. Pure heaven: trees, water, mountains, and silence.
We spent several days at Mancos State Park and loved every minute there. The campsites are spread out and the campground itself was uncrowded even on a weekend in the summer. The fishing in the lake was good, and my kids enjoyed splashing around in the water. The real gem of the trip, however, was the town of Mancos itself. The local bakery and coffee roaster were top-notch. The cider garden made for a great evening. We will make our way back just for more time in this beautiful small town.
Nothing like a beautiful view, crisp clean air and low population.
Nice shade provided by trees; it's adjacent to a resevoir, so just a short walk to the road crossing over the resevoir provides a great view of the sunset. Never used the facilities so unsure of how clean they are. Campsite provided picnic table.
One of the prettiest state park campgrounds. The lake is great for canoeing and fishing and the campground is small enough that older kids can be turned loose to enjoy themselves.
