pricedgp

I'm traveling from the East Coast with my two teenage kids in the middle of August, and we'd all love to camp for at least a day or two somewhere. We're planning to fly in to Denver on 8/9 and head towards Durango, so we're looking for places in the San Juans, or near Telluride/Ouray, etc. However, I notice that many places do not accept reservations. There's that problem, plus, I don't really want to bring a ton of camping equipment with us on the plane, so I'm wondering if there are places where we might be able to rent most of it. Finally, there's the issue of the vehicle -- I doubt we'll go whole hog and rent a high-clearance vehicle, so it would need to be a place we can drive a standard passenger car.

Suggestions? How to deal with the "no reservations" issue? I don't want to just show up and find that all the sites are occupied.

Thanks!

DebitNM

Consider flying into ABQ - it is much closer to Durango than Denver is and flights on Southwest may be cheaper.

jamie99

REI rents gear
https://www.rei.com/stores/rentals.html

Virginia1990

I'd recommend South Mineral Campground just north of Silverton off 501. A friend and I camped there back in 2015 over July 4th weekend and we loved it. All the sites were taken when we got there, but people just drove further up the gravel road and would pull off and find a place to camp. You won't need high clearance to do this. The Ice Lakes trailhead is back here too, which is a tough but beautiful hike. And, you can get to Telluride by Ophir Pass if you rent a high clearance vehicle for the day from one of the companies there. We had a high clearance vehicle and did this, and we really enjoyed it. But there is a section that is a shelf basically with a steep drop off, and is only one way. So if that kind of driving isn't what you are comfortable with, don't do it.

DebitNM

"But there is a section that is a shelf basically with a steep drop off, and is only one way. So if that kind of driving isn't what you are comfortable with, don't do it."

That is an understatement. The drop off, regardless that it's one way is scary if you have never done it before and guessing you haven't.

bailey123

I suggest if you plan to rent camping gear, do it in Denver. I am not aware of any shops in this area that rent gear. While there are several backcountry shops in the area, there is nothing like an REI around here. If you want to check local shops in the Durango area, checkout Backcountry Experience, Pine Needle Mountaineering and Gardenschwartz

Haviland lake north of Durango and Vallecito creek campground about 45 minutes from Durango both take reservations as does Mcfee Reservoir between Durango and Telluride and Matterhorn just south of Telluride. Personally, I don't think much of Mcfee

Be aware that the San Juan mountains and surrounding area could be campfire restricted due to wildfire risk so dispersed camping may be impacted. You may want to check current conditions closer to your planned arrival

pricedgp

(Looks like my reply never made it, so typing it again...)

Thanks all for your responses and suggestions! Two of you are quite correct -- driving on the edge of a cliff isn't my idea of relaxing, so will probably pass that one up.

I'm now thinking that maybe we should look at renting an RV for part of the trip. Not something I've ever done before -- I'm really a tent camper at heart -- but at 60, I kind of see why people do it. On the other hand, I don't quite know how one manages to do local stuff once you get someplace -- drive your house around with you?

bailey123

You only want to camp for a night or two? And you're thinking of renting an RV? And the logistics of getting around in the the RV?

Keep in mind that SW CO has no metropolitan areas; trying to rent an RV around here may not be that easy. Also, if you have never driven the mountain passes around here, it is going to be more challenging in an RV. Parking in Durango, Telluride and Ouray is limited, so another issue to deal with in an RV.

Possibly, the best approach is keep it simple. Get a hotel everywhere and take some nice day long hikes in the mountains

janisj

If you are worried about driving a car in the mountains how do you figure you could handle an RV????

If you only want a couple of nights 'roughing it' why not look for parks w/ tent cabins and/or yurts . . .

fmpden

This is getting complicated. Depending on how high you go in the mountains, you could encounter very cool if not cold temperature or a touch of snow by late August so you need to be prepared for a wide range of temperatures. Finally RV parking can be very restrictive in the mountains. Google it. There are all kinds of guidebooks on camping sites in Colorado.

bailey123

In early August, you should have no problem with snow in the San Juans if you still choose to camp. You should however, be concerned with firming up reservations camping or otherwise since you are only a month away from your arrival and summer is very popular among tourists in SW Co.

pricedgp

Thanks, all, for the feedback. I decided in the end to bring some camping equipment and to camp a couple of nights. It means an extra bag to check, but I think it'll be worth it. (It also means squeezing in to the 4-person tent instead of the 8-person one we use locally, but that's ok. Also means giving up some of the usual amenities -- packing almost like it's a backpacking trip). Because we're doing a "sampler" adventure road trip, we're unfortunately only staying one night at each camp site, which is not my preference. We have one night reserved at South Rim at Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and one at Amphitheater in Ouray (site #9).

For those interested, here's the trip thus far:
1. Fly to Denver, drive to Glenwood Springs (probably take the long route over Independence Pass if the weather's good).
2. Stay 3 nights in GS. Do some biking, hot springs, maybe rafting (more like floating by mid-August), and getting used to the altitude.
3. To Black Canyon -- spend half a day checking out views, short hikes, then camp there that night.
4. To Ouray -- Amphitheater campground. Signed up for beginning canyoning trip. Then select from Box Canyon, jeep tour (might self-drive if my rental Jeep is actually 4WD, which I doubt), poking around. In the area for 2 nights (so only one reservation -- not sure what we're doing the next night).
5. To Mesa Verde via Durango. Rent bikes in Durango. Signed up for the Hike and Bike trip to Wetherill Mesa. Spend 2 nights at Far Lodge.
6. To Sand Dunes (probably) for an evening/morning. No reservations in the area yet -- looking for camping but haven't seen anything that sounds appealing, so might just opt for cheap motel.
7. Back to Denver for late-afternoon flight.

Michael

If traveling in that area for a couple of weeks, even buying cheap equipment (tent, sleeping bags, pads or air mattress, cooking equipment) at a Target or other similar store will be cheaper than staying at motels, as long as you are willing to cook breakfast and dinner for yourselves. Look here for NF campgrounds: https://www.forestcamping.com/dow/list/nflist.htm

Finding a camp site on a Friday evening or a Saturday may be problematic. Plan on stopping by noon on Friday and staying over until Sunday.