Searching for a dispersed camping spot near Mesa Verde National Park? Dispersed camping is the perfect way to get off the grid. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the trees or wide open spaces, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect dispersed campsite.
Dispersed camping along Forest Service Road 316
San Juan National Forest encompasses about 1.8 million acres in the southwestern corner of Colorado. From high-desert mesas to alpine peaks, these federal lands are managed for multiple uses and visitors are asked to respect each other and the natural resources. The San Juan National Forest Headquarters is located in Durango, Colorado, with district offices in Bayfield, Dolores and Pagosa Springs.
The Durango Special Recreation Management Area is comprised of isolated parcels of Public Lands surrounding Durango Colorado. Durango SRMA includes five discontinuous units that encompass 6,300 acres of land adjoining the town of Durango offering a wide range of recreational activities with plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails. Mountain bikes can be rented at shops in town.
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads.
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.
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.
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.
Guide
We arrived at a Saturday around 3 pm and still had many opportunities to find a place. Lovley place to stay. As a toilet. I can recomment to stay there in fall.
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.
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
Traveler
Got here on a Sunday night at 9pm and site 7 was open. Perfect spot if you're visiting Mesa Verde.
ScoutWas great
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.
ScoutThis is a great spot, but there are only 15 sites, then it turns in to gated off private property. Get there early to help make sure you can find a spot.
GuideAwesome spot, TONS of places to pitch a tent or park a camper.
That being said - lots of generators, moderate views, cars driving by often.
Traveler
Beautiful views, good cell reception. Could hear neighbors but people were quiet and respectful. Also lots of bats flying around!!
Traveler
There’s a turn around about 1/4 mile up the trail.
ScoutCamped here a few weeks ago on our cross-country trek from Utah back to the east coast. Easy to find but as others noted use the coordinates. There is signage for BLM land right as you pull up.
We got to our spot a little before sunset but noticed that most spots were filled (late july, midweek) so keep that in mind.
Overall a nice spot, bug free for the most part and accessible with a stock truck.
Guide
We stayed at a site a couple down from this one but it wasn’t on the map so I thought I’d add it. This one has space for 2 vehicles. Road in is decent, fine for bigger rigs. From the trailhead at the point to Quinn creek there are 4 spots. None were occupied when we went, probably more the further down you go
TravelerIt was very easy to find, with good signs. We got here at 1030pm, and got one of the first campsites. Unsure of how many free there were. It was quite a bumpy road, but no problems for our RV. We did however get screamed at my a man in a tent on the campsite on the side of us, but ended up staying in place and had no problems.
TravelerTuta was not the place for the campsites, but rather the start of the road where you can find X amount of campsites.
Scout
If Google maps has you routed you to take rd 58 just north of Rico, don't do it. The real entrance is through Purgatory Resort. I somehow made it over the mountain in my 98 Econoline w/ RWD. I wouldn't recommend it. The spots were nice, the creek was nice and cool.
ScoutWe stayed at campsite 4 and it was pretty nice spot. All the sites were pretty spread out and the road was good. It ended up raining overnight. We're from Minnesota so I had no idea the mud was going to be so horrible. My shoes were caked. The tent ended up super muddy. We were slipping and sliding on the road.
Scout
Very remote area. Beautiful night sky. and peace. The entrance is a gate in a private land, drive about 1 mile to BLM land, mostly dirt roads.
RangerThis was such a nice spot super close to Mesa Verde national park. It was about a 5 minute drive from the park entrance. The road was a little bumpy at places and some of the spots were rutted up but any vehicle could navigate it if they are careful.
ScoutGreat place, but the coordinates are wrong . Using Google maps and it took us to town. Had to look at the map to get there.
TravelerGoogle maps was spot on. Road in was a little rutted, but the e350 made it no problem. Great nite sleep, we are self co tained.
Traveler
one of the best spots for me dispersed camping. lots of room, and many secluded spots, only a 4-minute hike to the Delores River for fishing.
GuideThe views are amazing here. Not all the sites are level, and this place can get a bit muddy if it rains, which it did for us. Established stone fireplace rings on all sites. Traffic noise from the main road carries, but dies off at night. Sites on right side of road are lower and can get muddier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Mesa Verde National Park?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Mesa Verde National Park is Mesa Verde National Park Boundary (BLM Land) with a 4.6-star rating from 25 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Mesa Verde National Park?
TheDyrt.com has all 51 dispersed camping locations near Mesa Verde National Park, with real photos and reviews from campers.
