BCRETIRED
Caldwell, Idaho
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We are currently camped along the Colorado River at BLM Goose Island Park outside of Moab, Ut. Will be heading towards Mesa Verde Nat'l Park and would like to make some day trips around the Cortez to Durango Colorado area. (may even ride the narrow gauge steam engine.) Are there any BLM or Boondocking sites in that area?
Thanks..........
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arctodus
Kansas
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Not sure about BLM land in that area. If your pulling a big rig you will be going over Wolf Creek pass which will be a good pull for your rig and they have a tunnel on the east side. Not sure about the height of the tunnel. You might try calling about the tunnel height before you start. This is a good road and fairly steep.
Me & wife road the narrow gauge railroad back a few years ago and I was impressed with the scenery but the ride on the train was just terrible. The tracks were uneven and side to side motion all the way up. The price we paid back then was about $70.00 each and not worth the expense. You could ride a bus back from Silverton if you want to. I don't recommend the trip at all for what you have to pay for it and the rough ride is included.
* This post was
edited 10/20/09 09:35am by arctodus *
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DesertHawk
Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Perhaps you can find some disperse camping site in the San Juan Nat'l Forest in the area.
The train ride over by Chama, NM and Antonito, CO, I believe is a neater trip. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande's San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains in southwestern Colorado. Like all of the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails, instead of the more common 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches that became standard in the United States. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890. Railroad
We have spent more time at Heron Lake State Park near Chama, NM going back several years in the summers. We did have a canoe and enjoyed canoeing on it. Chama is a neat place with a very nice steam train ride up into Colorado. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Chama would be about 95 miles from Taos. It is a very neat drive between Taos & Chama. State Park also Heron
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Take SR 17 out of Chama towards Antonito, CO at about 4.6 miles from the state line take a forest road on the left. There should be a forest service campground and perhaps disperse camping as well if my memory is correct. There is a small lake in there as well. Very pretty country, much higher area than Heron Lake. This would be about 12 or 13 miles from the Depot in Chama. This will be in the Cumbres Pass area 10,022'. It will be cooler at night as well as in the day. But by now it may have some snow there?
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cm
Dillon, CO USA
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"Not sure about BLM land in that area. If your pulling a big rig you will be going over Wolf Creek pass which will be a good pull for your rig and they have a tunnel on the east side. Not sure about the height of the tunnel. You might try calling about the tunnel height before you start. This is a good road and fairly steep."
They are in Moab, Utah and they want to go to Mesa Verde. If they go over Wolf Creek Pass they are going to be very lost since Wolf Creek Pass is a long ways east of Mesa Verde.
And as far as the train ride being rough that is because it is a train and track that was used over 100 years ago. Things were a lot of rougher back then. That is the charm of riding an old train. If you wanted to ride a newer train then go take a ride on a Amtrak train.
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arctodus
Kansas
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cm wrote:"Not sure about BLM land in that area. If your pulling a big rig you will be going over Wolf Creek pass which will be a good pull for your rig and they have a tunnel on the east side. Not sure about the height of the tunnel. You might try calling about the tunnel height before you start. This is a good road and fairly steep."
They are in Moab, Utah and they want to go to Mesa Verde. If they go over Wolf Creek Pass they are going to be very lost since Wolf Creek Pass is a long ways east of Mesa Verde.
And as far as the train ride being rough that is because it is a train and track that was used over 100 years ago. Things were a lot of rougher back then. That is the charm of riding an old train. If you wanted to ride a newer train then go take a ride on a Amtrak train.
As per their comment:
Will be heading towards Mesa Verde Nat'l Park and would like to make some day trips around the Cortez to Durango Colorado area. (may even ride the narrow gauge steam engine.)
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T_Bone
Arizona
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Hi Bill,
Depends on what type of camping area your wanting. Cortez is high plains sage brush country, however 40 miles North will get you into some trees. There is a casino on the east edge of town.
I'd stop in a Wally World and pick up a Co Delorane map and that will tell you where BLM/NF is and the access roads to get too them. Alot of private land around there but easy too boondock camp if you know where your going.
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Off Pavement
Rapid City, SD (Well....sorta)
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Here is a link to official information about USFS campgrounds in the area... http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/recreation/camping/campgroundlist/index.shtml#sanjuan Click on the campground name for map and more information. You might also be interested in Hovenweep National Monument with $10 per night campground with some sites suitable for rigs up to 36'... http://www.nps.gov/hove/planyourvisit/things2do.htm
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BCRETIRED
Caldwell, Idaho
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Thanks ALL for your help...we stopped at the Cortez Co. visitors center and they were helpful with info on NFS camping at TARGET TREE campground near the entrance to Mesa Verde NP. We went on to Durango, made a stop at the BLM/USFS office and found out that Junction Creek NFS park 5 miles from Durango was open and available for large RV's. No hook ups, which is ok with us...$4 a night for this off season. Only two other campers in this park as of now. We rode the Narrow Gauge steam train today...Amazing ride, incredible scenery, and WELL WORTH the price and time to do. Yep it is rocking and rolling, but that is part of the experience. Took over 400 pix's and had a great time. True railroading experience and not just a tourist thing. On to Monument Valley tomorrow...thanks
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ramblemutt
Mountains of Utah-7000'
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arctodus wrote:cm wrote:"Not sure about BLM land in that area. If your pulling a big rig you will be going over Wolf Creek pass which will be a good pull for your rig and they have a tunnel on the east side. Not sure about the height of the tunnel. You might try calling about the tunnel height before you start. This is a good road and fairly steep."
They are in Moab, Utah and they want to go to Mesa Verde. If they go over Wolf Creek Pass they are going to be very lost since Wolf Creek Pass is a long ways east of Mesa Verde.
And as far as the train ride being rough that is because it is a train and track that was used over 100 years ago. Things were a lot of rougher back then. That is the charm of riding an old train. If you wanted to ride a newer train then go take a ride on a Amtrak train.
As per their comment:
Will be heading towards Mesa Verde Nat'l Park and would like to make some day trips around the Cortez to Durango Colorado area. (may even ride the narrow gauge steam engine.)
Gotta go with cm on this one: Wolf Creek will not factor in their trip.
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SLOW-1
Central NC
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Whoops, day late, dollar short, but I'll leave for others.
We were through there in July, along the road (160) between MV and Durango there are several Forest Service roads that lead into the NF, I bet there are some dispersed sites around there. We were due for laundry when we were there so we stayed at the KOA Cortez therefore I didn't explore the NF camping.
MV is awsome, enjoy!
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