Are you planning a tent camping trip to Cortez? We've got you covered. Finding a place to camp in Colorado with your tent has never been easier. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
The Jersey Jim Lookout Tower [PDF, 6 pages, 830 KB] can be rented for one- or two-night stays from late May to mid October, weather permitting. The current rental rate is $40 per night. Rental fees are used to maintain the facility. Additional contributions are welcomed. Reservations can be made by calling (970) 533-7060 between 1 – 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, starting the first business day of each March (callers are advised to be aggressive in their dialing - the entire season is often booked in a couple of days that week).
**It must be noted that the Ute Mountain reservation is sovereign nation and we respectfully ask that you to please respect our ways of life and culture beliefs.
Please be aware that this campground is located on tribal lands of a sovereign nation and subject to tribal laws and regulations. Please familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations of this campground violations may be considered trespassing on Federal Indian Reservation. You may also come across tribal members who live in the area who are going about their business, please be respectful of them and their privacy. And to end on a good note, thank you for your interest in staying in a campground on a tribal nation – your patronage and respect for these tribes and their unique cultures and histories can ensure that the relationship outdoor community continues to be positive. If you are looking for more information, please feel free to connect with @NativesOutdoors and len@natives-outdoors.org
Ranger
Morefield Campground, located just inside Mesa Verde National Park, offers a convenient and scenic basecamp for exploring the park’s incredible ancient cliff dwellings and stunning landscapes. The campground is spacious and well-organized, with over 250 sites that accommodate tents, RVs, and trailers. The setting is peaceful, with sweeping views of mesas and easy access to trails like the Point Lookout Trail.
Amenities are a highlight here, including flush toilets, showers, a well-stocked camp store, and even a fuel station. It’s an excellent choice for families or those who appreciate a few comforts while camping.
However, campers should be prepared for sudden and severe weather. The high desert location can bring intense storms with strong winds. During our stay, our tent nearly flew away despite being staked down securely, so it’s worth bringing extra gear like sandbags or heavy-duty stakes to keep your setup anchored.
Overall, Morefield Campground is an excellent choice for exploring Mesa Verde, combining convenient amenities with a beautiful natural setting. Just keep an eye on the weather and pack accordingly to ensure a comfortable stay.
Ranger
Madden Peak dispersed camping is a fantastic option for those seeking a peaceful and scenic camping experience near Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, and Durango. This area is big rig accessible, with relatively flat camping spots, though the access roads can be bumpy at times . Campfires are allowed, making it a cozy spot for evenings under the stars.
The location offers stunning views of the La Plata Mountains and the surrounding wilderness, providing a serene backdrop for your stay. For outdoor enthusiasts, nearby hiking options include the Madden Peak Trail, which spans 4.5 miles and can be extended to summit Parrot Peak and Gibbs Peak. It's an ideal choice for campers who enjoy combining relaxation with outdoor adventure.
Scout
We stayed for 3 nights due to the convenience of Mesa Verde NP. The GPS coordinate on Google were spot on. The driveway was a little rough and can get very pitted with wet weather. We have a 38 foot 5th wheel that had plenty of clearance. We stayed in site 9. They do recommend 30ft and under but we got lucky there was an available site.
TravelerWhile kind of on the pricier side for campgrounds I really enjoyed my 2 nights there in early Oct 24. Easy access to get on the road to the cliff dwellings early in the day, flush bathrooms, tons of sites, trails nearby, a little center with a store, cafe, gas, and most importantly showers.
They let you pick your site which is nice so I got a site with a flat spot for my rooftop tent, but some sites are definately more geared to tent camping, but there are tons of site options.
Would stay again.
ScoutTwo nights here. Boondocks go, no water needed, but great location, restrooms nearby. Very peaceful.
Scout
Camped at site #11. Beautiful sunset view. We drove a 4WD truck with truck bed camper with no problem. Never took it out of 2WD.
Traveler
Reasonable prices & open during the winter.
The lake is beautiful and a great trail network around the camp, good for trail running.
Traveler
Clean, hot showers and large laundry room.
One of the more beautiful RV sites, sitting along the silverton & Durango tourist train.
However given we don’t even plug in, $78 including tax is too expensive for us.
Traveler17 spots all pretty spaced out, filled up around 5pm on Sunday October 12 (but this could be due to the Indigenous Peoples day being tomorrow).
The surrounding landscape is beautiful.
We didn’t find the road too bad in our Ram Promaster, but we have a pretty high clearance.
Scout
Beautiful place! It's pretty easy to get into, there are more secluded places up the hill a ways but it gets kinda rough. You can hear the highway, but it's not much. Just ambient background noise. I got a spot with shade all day, so that was awesome. There was one night an inconsiderate person parked his company truck and camper as close to me as was possible with wide open space all over and ran his generator. Luckily he was gone the next day.
Scout
We thought it would be great to check out Tico Time last weekend, but our experience was disappointing. We had reservations for Friday and Saturday night, but when we arrived, there was no one to help us find our campsite. After driving around aimlessly, we finally found our spot.
However, the place gave off a rundown, homeless camp vibe with old camp trailers, a hippie bus, and even a car on blocks, and another trailer had two motorcycles in various stages of being dismantled.
The zip line was a letdown, and there wasn't much shade due to the lack of trees. We wished we could have gone to the river to cool off. After just one night, we decided to move on and found a better spot further up the road in the mountains north of Durango.
Traveler
Very well maintained campground. Stayed in tent. Bathroom and shower new and very clean. Excellent views.
Legend
The site is literally right off of hwy 160. If your gps tries to send you through residential areas or on county roads don’t listen to it.
There are quite a few available spots and most are pretty big. Roads can be a bit rough the farther back you go but it’s got large easy to access spots close to the front. It’s pretty busy but still plenty of room for everyone to have their own space.
Phone and internet connection is excellent!
GuideThe only reason I give this place a 3 is because of the close proximity to Mesa Verde NP. This stay is only for high clearance vehicles and small RV's. Deep drain ditches between service road and sites. All sites are extremely uneven. Also the road and sites have sharp crushed shale stone. I have a 35 foot 5th RV and was way too big for this place. But by the grace of God I managed to back into site 12. How the use planks to shore up the ditches so I could get in without bottoming out. I will not return.
Guide
Hovenweep is a national monument with small but modern quiet campgrounds. The dark skies for amazing stars are spectacular. While they do not have showers, their bathrooms were clean and convenient to the loop of campsites. It was quiet and the rangers were friendly and warm. The Hovenweep monument archeological treasures are well worth scheduling a few hours to hike and visit. There are several ancient structures on the site (a small canyon) and the hikes are short and sooooo worth doing.
Scout
Junction Creek campground is a lovely place to stay. The price is good, the hosts are just soo friendly and helpful. The site was even swept clean of pine needles as the toilets are very fresh.
The whole experience was very good with well spaced sites and flat ground all between the trees.
There is great walking and mountain biking right from camp too! Enjoy!
ScoutGoing east from Durango, you make a right turn on silver hills road. You will see the blm sign. Gravel road, fire pits. We stayed in a camper van at one of the first spots and had 5g internet with AT&T. Can hear highway noise
Ranger
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.
Scout
From the time we pulled into the campground, full of grass with huge trees, we felt at home. We had a warm greeting and received a welcome gift with yummy treats and fresh eggs. We were led to our spot that backed up to a creek. There was a fire pit, fire wood, bbq, table and chair swing at the camp spot. Also included are free laundry facilities, movies on a big screen (popcorn included) and we were lucky enough to have a band play one day and a solo guitarist another. Scott goes out of his way to make you comfortable. It was raining when we were watching the band play, he brought us an umbrella to use, very thoughtful. We would recommend this place to everyone, dog friendly, kid friendly, with a play area for both. There are nice tent camping spots as well.
Traveler
Got here on a Sunday night at 9pm and site 7 was open. Perfect spot if you're visiting Mesa Verde.
ScoutThis is a National Forests campground, and many of the sites have electricity, but nothing else. The sites are reasonably graded gravel sites. Some are pull-thru while others are back-in.
Traveler
Made a Rez 5 months ago and didn’t see the fine print cancellation policy stating 14 days out no refund. I had to make new plans due to unforeseen circumstances and called to find out that 13 days out is too bad for me. Not any concessions or credits for future stays, nada zilch. So for a slow time of year they just print money hoping no sees their fine print. I’m a business man and I’ve always seen rules as an opportunity to make someone’s day not motivation to make negative reviews. Maybe I’m old school but there was zero expense on their part and 5 months of cash holding for them. I guess their business is doing so well that they send people the other direction when looking for a place to stay
ScoutThis rv is a lovely oasis for humans and dogs. Scott the host’s mission is to make sure everyone has a great stay.
ScoutWas great
GuideDon’t let the dilapidated mobile home near the entrance scare you away. This place is super well maintained. Every site is well thought out and has great hookups. I thought a plug water and sewer was pretty uniform. Our site had a pedestal with 20/30/50 amp and then another with 30 20 feet further into the site. Lots of shade. The sites along the south edge of the property have amazing views of the Cortez valley and Sleeping Ute Mountain. Really nice communal fire pit, dog park and some trails too. Some sites have a beautiful brick fire ring too.
GuideFine for a night. Didn’t think it was anything special but there are showers. Good price
Scout
We got to town late and our preferred spots were all taken, so we came here as a backup. The spots are all right off of the road and easy to get to. The views aren’t much, but they’re good spots. There’s a bit of traffic on the road but nothing out of the ordinary.
Cortez, Colorado, offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and tranquility in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Cortez, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Cortez, CO is Canyons of the Ancients, Sand Canyon (Road 4725) with a 3.8-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Cortez, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 14 tent camping locations near Cortez, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
