Durango is a little town in Southwest Colorado at the foot of the San Juan Mountains that has something for everyone, including camping in Durango Colorado, which is an amazing experience.
The Music in the Mountains Festival and the Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival are two of the city’s music festivals.
There are numerous fantastic ski slopes nearby and a historic center with galleries, restaurants, pubs, and shops.
Summary
| Guide | Camping In Durango |
|---|---|
| Things to bring | Tent, Torch, etc. |
| Campgrounds | Junction Creek Campground, and more |
| Best places near | Mesa Verde National Park, and more |
| Situated in | Colorado |
Camping In Durango, Colorado
1. Junction Creek Campground
The Junction Creek Campground is about 6 miles (9.6 km) from Durango, near the Colorado/Junction Creek Trail in the San Juan Forest.
Fly-fishing, mountain biking on the Colorado Trail, white-water rafting, and other activities are available at the campground.
The campground has single/double-family campsites, a 50-person group campsite, and a 65-person day-use picnic shelter with electricity.
Address: 1499 FDR 171, Durango, CO 81301
2. Westerly RV Park
The Westerly RV Park, 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) north of Durango, is a terrific spot to stay if you’re visiting the city.
It’s near to everything you need, including stores and restaurants, and it’s directly across the street from a hot springs area.
There is a small dog area, wide gravel sites, tiny wash facilities, and the Animas River runs straight through the RV park.
Address: 6440 Co Rd 203, Durango, CO 81301
3. United Campgrounds of Durango
The United Campground of Durango, just 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) north of town, is the closest you can go to Durango.
The nicest and most unusual aspect of the United Campground is that it is on the region’s city trolley station, with an ancient steam train transporting passengers between Durango and Silverton on an all-day tour through the gorgeous San Juan Forest valley.
Address: 1322 Animas View Dr, Durango, CO 81301
4. Lightner Creek Campground
The gorgeous RV park of Lightner Creek Campground is 5.7 miles (9 kilometers) west of Durango, directly alongside the Lightner Creek, giving it a genuine, joyful summer-camp atmosphere.
Lightner Creek Campground is a family-friendly campground with amenities including big, roomy campsites, a heated pool, Wi-Fi, showers and bathrooms, an upgraded playground, a camp store, a pet park, and even a basketball court.
Address: 1567 Co Rd 207, Durango, CO 81301
5. Alpen Rose RV Park
The Alpen Rose RV Park, 5.9 miles (9.5 kilometers) north of Durango, is an excellent stop for travelers traveling north and attracts a more mature clientele.
The lush, green Alpen Rose RV Park has big, long sites with no trees in the way of satellites, toilets, and even a laundry with plenty of dryers and washers.
The peaceful, beautiful location is dog-friendly, with a spacious enclosed dog park.
Address: 27847 US-550, Durango, CO 81301
6. Durango KOA Holiday
The outstanding Durango KOA Holiday campground received a TripAdvisor “Certificate of Excellence” for 2018, making it one of the top campgrounds in and near Durango.
The pinon-shaped Durango KOA is 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) southeast of Durango.
It offers a classic Kampground of America experience, complete with terrific, reliable telephone service, cool evenings in the summer, big campsites, and other amenities.
Address: 30090 US-160, Durango, CO 8130
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7. Durango North/Riverside KOA
The Durango North/Riverside KOA is 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) north of Durango, directly across the Animas River’s gorgeous, flowing waters and the region’s towering ponderosa pines.
Apart from normal RV sites, the beautifully manicured, freshly paved campground offers new supersites and riverfront camping choices, all with amazing views of the San Juan National Forest’s mountains.
Address: 13391 Co Rd 250, Durango, CO 81301
8. South Mineral Campground
The modest, lovely South Mineral Campground campground, got its name after South Mineral Creek.
It is 54 miles (87 kilometers) north of Durango and 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of Silverton.
The popular campground has 26 level, well-spaced, sunny and shaded sites.
It also has the San Juan National Forest’s spectacular waterfalls, rivers, and mountains around it. Some sites are even accessible to physically disabled people.
Address: Durango, CO 81301
9. Haviland Lake Campground
The immensely popular Haviland Lake Campground is 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Durango, on ponderosa-pine banks of Haviland Lake.
It has single/double family campsites, 17 of which have electrical hookups.
Several of them have views of the lake and the Hermosa Cliffs, as well as convenient access to the beach.
Address: Haviland Lake Rd, Durango, CO 81301
Best Places To Visit Near Durango Colorado
Silverton & Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad
This train experience will almost certainly surpass your expectations. This excursion has all the makings of a romance tale.
With vintage restored carriages being hauled along by a real coal-fired steam engine through a magnificent small mountain gorge.
The train travels along the Animas River for much of the journey, with the mountains rising above you from Durango to Silverton, a historic mining town.
The train operates all year. However, it does not go all the way to Silverton in the winter.
Instead, travelers can exit Cascade Canyon, 26 miles from Durango, where the railway stops before the dangerous avalanche regions.
This tour takes around five hours round trip, including 45 minutes at the canyon to enjoy.
Mesa Verde National Park
This National Park, near Durango, is home to one of the magnificent Native American ruins in the Southwest.
The mesa’s native habitation saw its high point between 800 and 1,000 years ago.
These multi-story cliff homes, beneath massive overhanging boulders, contain staircases linking various floors and chambers.
Visitors will find them to be surprisingly accessible. You may walk right up to and into some of these homes on a guided tour.
If you don’t want a tour, you may see them from neighboring lookouts, which provide stunning views of the ruins.
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Checklist Before Camping In Durango, Colorado
Packing for your next major vacation is a fun and vital aspect of planning.
It assists you in setting objectives, familiarizing yourself with your equipment, and occasionally indulging in some new purchases.
- Map
- Compass
- Snacks,
- Flashlight
- Headlamp
- Knife
- Bear spray
- First aid kit
- Tent
- Sleeping pad
- Sleeping bag
- Jacket
FAQ
Do you have to pay for camping in Durango, Colorado?
If you are staying at a campground, generally, you have to, but you might be able to find a campground that does not require you to pay, but they are very rare.
How many people can you be all together for camping in Durango, Colorado?
It depends on the campground you go to.
Can you bring pets for camping in Durango, Colorado?
Normally yes, but some campgrounds might ban pets, so be sure to check it out.
Shefali Jain is a Content Writer & Editor at USWorkforce.org
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes. In her time at the organization, she has written and edited content on a range of topics, including employment law, human resources, and business management.
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