The views and hikes are incredible, but the camping is basically a place to sleep. No privacy and pretty busy. We ended up driving a bit further and sleeping in the parking lot at Panther Meadows (no amenities at all).
The first spot you come across is super cute with little stone sculptures in the creek and a little shelter with carpet…and then you realize it's most likely a locals party zone and homeless camp. There was a trash pile, bags of potato chips…and potatoes.
The next spot was cleaner and near the water, but the circular "driveway" was tight and had very little space. This is where we stayed.
The rest of the spots weren't near water and were just open fields directly in the sun.
The road getting up to it wasn't too bad. Some bigger potholes that we're easy enough to avoid. The pond at the top was beautiful with tons of bats flying around at night. Super cool!
Nice little place to pull off for the night. It's just a gravel parking lot right next to an RV park. Beautiful view of the snake river and rolling hills. The bathroom was clean. The amount of bugs at sunset was BIBLICAL!
I was lucky enough to get a spot with its own private beach. Other than a few cars coming down looking for a spot (and a family of 8 on two Razr's stopping and walking through my camp, waking me up from my post-hike nap in my van with the back does partially open, urinating IN my campsite, walking down to the private beach and hanging out for about 15 minutes) it was very quiet and had an incredible sunset.
A friendly fox came poking down to the river while I was sitting there.
As someone who primarily camps at dispersed spots, this felt like a parking lot with a view. Few trees for shade, but it depends on your site. Friendly staff and friendly folks at the campground though. I had ok service with T-Mobile.
It's an absolutely stunning location, but there are very few spots with any shade at all and it gets HOT out there. Depending on how rugged your vehicle is, spots are limited. No T-Mobile service. Oh, and the bugs are insane.
Friendly staff, clean bathrooms and free showers, outdoor cook kitchen near the tent sites and cabins.
We come to fortuna every year for a Martial arts tournament. This will be our regular place from now on.
For being about an hour outside of Portland, this place is magical. If you're into disbursed camping, you have to give this place a visit
Not much in the way of shade, bathrooms are a little few and far between (but they're clean), no power hookups, no cell service, WiFi is essentially useless.
But my goodness, Mesa Verde is one of the most beautiful and unique places in the US. WELL worth the lack of amenities at the camp sites. There are plenty of visitor centers with cafes and shops, so at least you can get the basics.
Camp spots are choose your own.
Close enough to town and far enough out to avoid the crowds. Clean indoor showers, awesome outdoor showers/toilets, friendly owners. Also, if there are enough people there, they have a little food cart/coffee stand with good prices and food.
Can be a little crowded/cramped, but nothing terrible.
The drive in is gorgeous and the spots are nice with plenty of distance between. There are only 5 or 6 spots off the main road, but you can drive a bit further and camp on the dried up lake bed (depending on water height).
There is also a mountain bike trail at the end of the road with varying degrees of difficulty.