RV Park Review – Mesa Verde RV Resort, Mancos, CO

1. Site quality = 3.5/5
   This site quality is pretty decent here. All sites are dirt, decently flat (a few do have some lean) with picnic table and varying amounts of shade.  There is a selection of premium sites (100-foot long), regular full hook-up, partial hook-up (electric/water) and tenting sites. Overall the campground has nice amounts of trees and landscaping. Only ding is that in some sites your neighbours hookups do encroach on your “sitting area” and there is no fire-pit.
2. Facilities = 5/5
   Excellent facilities here. The toilets/showers are all brand new and kept beautifully clean. Large walk-in showers with plenty of space and good water pressure, hooks for your clothes and movable seats. Everything is modern and extremely nice. One of the best facilities we’ve seen on our travels so far.
3. Amenities = 5/5
   Excellent amenities. The main office is a very new with loads of information about the area plus excellent (perfectly new) laundry room with books and magazines.  Outside there is a pool area and hot-tub, plus quite a large green walking and dog area behind the sites. Free on site WiFi which works great except under very high load (i.e. park is full). On-site propane and dump station.
4. Location = 5/5
   You come here to visit Mesa Verde and for that the park couldn’t be in a better location. You are only 1/2 mile from the entrance to the National Park and have a pretty view of Mesa Verde from the campground. You are also only ~7 miles from Mancos which has both shopping and plenty of hiking trails in the forest.
5. Pet friendliness = 4/5
   Great doggie spot. There is a nicely sized on-site green walking area and the park provides a doggie biscuit and bag on arrival (very cute!). The only slight ding is they do have breed restrictions (particularly pit bulls).

 Overall rating = 4.5
BONUS ALERT = Camp within view of Mesa Verde National Park!

Summary: We wanted a quiet, pet-friendly (and fireworks-free) spot to spend July 4th week-end, So we decided to splurge and do something different by staying for a few days in a private park. Mesa Verde RV Resort worked out perfectly. As far as private parks go, this was very nice. The amenities and facilities are new, spotlessly clean and absolutely top-notch with almost everything you could want including pool, hot-tub, WiFi, laundry room, propane and even a lovely green walking area for you and doggie. The sites are very decent with a full selection from full-hookup huge 100-foot sites to tenting. Only slight ding is that sites are dirt and some of the hookups do encroach from neighbour to neighbour. There are nice areas of trees and shade and you have a lovely view of Mesa Verde right from your site. Also location is excellent being only 1/2 mile from the entrance to the National Park. This is the top-rated RV park in the area and we can understand why. It met our requirements for the week-end, and for those looking for a very nice private park I would definitely recommend it. As for us, if we come back we’ll probably chose something cheaper and more natural (see below).

Extra Info: Verizon aircard and smartphone had full signal. Free WiFi on-site. Sites $ 38.95/night (regular full-hookup). They do offer a Good Sam’s and AAA discount. 

Extra, Extra Info – Cheaper? For those looking for a cheaper and more natural environment there are a few close-by choices.
-> Mesa Verde National Park has an on-site campground and thanks to Down The Road and Around The Bend we know they can take 40-footers. Mesa Verde allow dogs in the campground but *not* on any of the trails.
-> Mancos State Park is only ~10 miles from Mesa Verde and offers primitive (non hookup) forest sites and access to lots of pooch-friendly hiking.

Extra, Extra Info – Boondocking:  On driving around we discovered some sweeeeet bondocking spots in the San Juan Forest only ~15 miles from Mesa Verde NP. Take CR 42 from Mancos towards Mancos State Park. Continue ~3.5 miles past the last turn-off to Mancos along Forest Road 561. There are plenty of boondocking spots in large grassy areas along the FS road between Mancos State Park and Transfer Campground. It’s a dusty dirt road to get there, but road is wide/firm and access is very good, even for big-rigs. Also, tons of paw-friendly hiking in the surrounding forest.