Free RV Camping - I-25/US 160 (Pueblo to Pagosa Springs)

This post includes Free or low-cost RV campsites from Pueblo along I-25, then west along US 160 through the San Luis Valley and over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs.  US 160 from Pagosa to Cortez is in a separate post.

                       

If you are headed south on I-25 to US 160 between late April and mid-October and have a Federal Senior pass, you can stay at the only campground in San Isabel National Forest with electrical hookups for only $31night ($17.50/night with a Senior Pass).  La Vista is one of our favorite Forest Service campgrounds in southeastern Colorado, as it is on little Lake Isabel, built by the CCC in the 1930s.  There are 8 water taps for 19 ponderosa pine-shaded RV sites that range from 25’ to 45’ long, but electricity is only 15A (summer nights are cool in the Wet Mtns.) and there is no dump.  Several adjacent campgrounds have non-electric RV sites.  From I-25 Exit 74 at Colorado City (between Pueblo and Walsenburg), take CO 165 12 miles west to CR 371, turn left, then follow the signs a mile to the San Isabel Recreation Area campgrounds.  There is a very nice CDOT rest area at Exit 74 where we frequently stop, but it unfortunately has no RV dump.

After leaving Lake Isabel, retrace your route to I-25 and stop for lunch in the little town of La Veta.  La Veta is located just south of US 160 on the Highway of Legends Scenic Byway (CO 12).  The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is now in bankruptcy, but its eastern terminal was on the north side of town.  A few years ago, if you were lucky, a passenger train pulled by a 2-6-2 Prairie steam engine may have pulled in while you were there.  Hopefully, someone will buy the railroad and RVers can again have that experience.  There are also two CPW SWA reservoirs just east of town with great trout fishing, but no camping.  Two private RV parks are located in town. but pull-outs that RVers use for Free camping are located along “it-used-to-be-paved” Old La Veta Pass Road.  Turn south off US 160 on CR 443 two miles before the top of pass. There is a Free dump at the Cliff Brice food store on CO 12 at the south end of La Veta.

A steam freight train on the Rio Grande Scenic Railway, a standard-gauge line across La Veta Pass between Alamosa in the San Luis Valley and the tiny town of La Veta near Walsenburg

However, if you are like me and love back roads (even when they are gravel instead of paved), I highly recommend an alternative to US 160 over La Veta Pass.  I would not take a Class A or our Class C Mercedes Sprinter motorhome over the Pass Creek Pass road (use your toad to explore it), but the route follows the historic 1840’s Huerfano River trail between Bent’s Fort on the Arkansas River and Taos, NM.  Incidentally, "huerfano" is Spanish for "orphan" and you will see the "orphan"--the lava neck of an ancient cinder cone and a landmark visible for miles along the river--just east of I-25.  To access Pass Creek, leave I-25 at Exit 52 and take the first right onto CO 69.  At Gardner, turn left (west) onto CR 550 and then another left at Malachite to CR 570/572.  

An alternative route from Lake Isabel takes you through the scenic Wet Mountains and Wet Mountain Valley and passes one of Colorado's most unusual tourist sites--Bishop's Castle.  Go north from Lake Isabel on CO 165 and west on CO 96 to the twin towns of Westcliffe-Silver Cliff.  These two old mining/railroad towns have some great eateries and an annual music festival.  You can camp just outside town at the DeWeese Reservoir SWA for Free if you have a valid CPW SWA Pass or fishing or hunting license (see the "Introduction" section above).  After lunch or overnight camping, go south on CO 69, then turn west at Gardner and follow the previous directions.  If you have an RV that you don’t want to take over the gravel pass road, but would like to camp Free (with the appropriate SWA Pass or license) and take only your toad or tow vehicle over the pass, stay on CR 550/580 for 13 miles to the Huerfano SWA.  It has campsites with picnic tables, restrooms, cold-water fishing (no boating), and trails leading into the scenic Sangre de Cristo ("Blood of Christ") Mountains.

                       

After crossing La Veta Pass or Pass Creek Pass, you are in the high, dry, flat San Luis Valley.  See "US 285" above for information on camping around Great Sand Dunes National Park and Alamosa.   If the San Luis Lakes SWA is full, there is an alternative SWA nearer US 160.  The Mountain Home Reservoir SWA is southeast of the town of Ft. Garland (once commanded by Kit Carson, so stop and take a tour of the fort!).  Although this SWA has no hookups, it has a Free (with valid CPW SWA Pass or hunting or fishing license) campground with restrooms, water, a boat ramp, and a lake stocked annually with trout.  Access to the SWA is located 2.5 miles east of Ft. Garland, where you will turn south off US 160 onto Trinchera Ranch Road.  After 2 miles, turn west on Icehouse Road and go 1 mile to the north entrance to the SWA.

In late winter (mid-March) and late fall (late October or early November), you may want to camp near Monte Vista to visit the Monte Vista National Wildliife Refuge while the sandhill cranes are migrating.  The 2026 Monte Vista Crane Fest will be March 6-8, so around that weekend each year would be a good time to see "big bird."  

If you don't mind a gravel parking lot with a restroom for a Free overnight stay (with valid CPW SWA Pass or license), the Rio Grande SWA allows camping in one parking lot between July 15 and February 15 (it is closed to the public the rest of the year).  If you are traveling east, turn off US 160 at the eastern edge of Monte Vista on Sherman Avenue and go 3 miles east to the Home Lake SWA. Turn left on Soldiers Home Road, cross the irrigation canal, turn right immediately after crossing the canal onto the gravel road into the Rio Grande SWA, and go east for another 0.4 mile to the parking lot.  If you are traveling west on US 160, you can turn right on CR 3E and go one mile north to Home Lake, then follow the previous directions.  When you leave, you can stop at Monte Vista Co-op, two miles east of Monte Vista on US 160, to use their big-rig friendly RV dump ($8.00 without Co-op membership).  The Co-op also has good prices for gas, diesel, propane, and a car/truck service department for those who might have those needs.  

The city park in Del Norte no longer has designated campsites.  However, Free overnight RV parking is allowed at any city park, with water and an RV dump just north of the old train depot.  It is located on the northwest side of town just off CO 112, the short cut between US 285 and US 160. Incidentally, you will cross railroad tracks next to the depot, but there are no more trains. The tracks west of town all the way to South Fork are just used for railroad car storage, so there will be no noisy trains during the night!

There is a Free big-rig friendly RV dump behind the Rainbow Grocery in South Fork.  We saw it being used last fall during a lunch stop, but did not not need it ourselves.  The USFS campgrounds near South Fork and on Wolf Creek Pass are very popular during the summer.  If you just need a place for a single Free (with valid CPW SWA Pass or license) boondocking night, you might want to drive through the parking lot of the Wolf Creek Ski Area to the Alberta Park Reservoir SWA.  It is 1.7 miles past the ski area on FR 391.  Non-motorized boating and catch-and-release trout fishing are allowed on the lake and camping is not prohibited, although no designated campsites exist.  Keep in mind that Wolf Creek consistently has the greatest snowfall of all Colorado ski areas, so at 10,200 ft., this SWA opens late and closes early. 

Treasure Falls at the US 160 rest area
 on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass

If the SWA is unavailable, try the USFS West Fork Campground at the west end of Wolf Creek Pass.  First, however, stop at the Treasure Falls parking area and take the short hike to the falls to relieve the stress of having just driven over the pass.  Then drive another mile down the highway and turn north on FR 648.  After two miles of gravel-dirt road, you will reach 27 well-spaced, gravel-apron sites including 9 pull-thrus, grills and tables at each site, two hand pumps for drinking water, and pit toilets.  The price is $18 ($9 for those with the Senior pass). 

There are no SWAs allowing camping in Archuleta County.  In addition to West Fork, the 8 other USFS campgrounds (totaling over 200 campsites) within 25 miles of Pagosa Springs cost at least $18-$29/night.  Of course, 3 of those campgrounds--Bridge, Teal, and Cimaronna--are among the “100 Best Campgrounds in Colorado.”  

The only Free campsites we have found around Pagosa Springs are dispersed ones off Fourmile Road (N. 5th  St. to CR 400) after it crosses into San Juan National Forest about 5 miles north of town.  Eight miles south of town and east of US 84, we have also seen campers along the Forest Roads branching off Blanco Basin Road (CR 326).  And there is a Free RV dump (with fuel fill up) at the Speedway gas station just west of downtown at 2537 West US 160.

There is great fishing near Pagosa, hot springs for those who don’t mind the smell, and beautiful aspen in the fall.  But the not-to-be-missed attraction is located 16 miles west of town on US 160. Turn south off US 160 at CO 151 and go 3 miles to the new Chimney Rock National Monument.  We attended an equinox sunrise tour at Chimney Rock several years ago and highly recommend the new monument to anyone interested in an Anasazi lunar observatory.  Very different than Mesa Verde, but only open from May 15 to September 30!

A great place to camp near the new monument is Capote Lake Recreation Area on the Southern Ute Reservation at the intersection of US 160 and CO 151.  The price is $25/night for one of the ten 30A electric/water RV sites, with a shower house and a dump at the office/store.  That price is the same as the nearby USFS Ute campground (1 mile west on US 160) that has no electricity, one (summer-only) water spigot, no dump, and a pit toilet.

Chimney Rock National Monument just after dawn on a September equinox.  More than 1000 years ago, the Anasazi watched the moon rise in the exact center of the two sandstone monoliths once every 18 years and, at the instant it occurred, lit signal fires on peaks along a 90-mile line to Chaco Canyon.

There are some wide spots and pull-outs on very slow CR 166/FR 622 north of the USFS Lower Piedra campground that are used for dispersed camping, but much of that road is on a steep cliff above the river.  In the fall, outfitters set up hunting camps at the northern end of the road east of the old bridge across the river.  These camps come with horses and OHV's that create very muddy river water and very unattractive campsites.  I personally wouldn't waste my time and fuel driving our motorhome those extra 20 round-trip miles.  Now it's on to Durango!

Free RV Camping – US 160 (west of Pagosa Springs)

The post above included a few campsites along I-25/US 160 from Pueblo to Pagosa Springs, while this one will include the stretch of US 160 from Chimney Rock to the Four Corners.  This region includes the Durango & Silverton narrow-gauge railroad and Mesa Verde National Park/World Heritage Site.  It also includes some lesser-known attractions like the wonderful Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center-Museum near Dolores, Canyons of the Ancients and Hovenweep National Monument.

West of Pagosa Springs-Chimney Rock, there is a Free USFS dispersed camping area located just east of Bayfield.  Turn south off US 160 onto CR 526 and then immediately turn east on CR 527.  As a general rule, the land north of CR 527 and Sauls Creek is private and the land south of the road is National Forest.  The best bet is to turn south onto CR 528, then find a side road in the trees going to one of the many natural gas wells in the area.  These wells are the reason for the substantial number and generally good condition of these roads.  This is also free range, so watch for cattle on the road.  Camp at an existing campsite/fire ring and within 300 feet of the county road if boondocking.  And be extremely careful with any campfires as there is a wildfire nearly every year in the Durango area.  Since the county often has a fire ban in effect, "Know Before You Go." 

Durango gets hundreds of thousand of tourists each year, so it has an abundance of private campgrounds.  Due to this lobby, overnight camping at the Durango Walmart is forbidden by city ordnance.  Some people still do it, but I prefer to get a good night’s sleep without worrying about the cops rousting me out at 2:00 AM.   So we have never stayed at Durango’s prominently posted "No Camping" Walmart or Home Depot parking lots. 

           

Although the city doesn't want campers using their parking lots, the county likes tourist money.  And the constant stream of Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad patrons provides them with just what their doctor (county treasurer?) ordered.  So, the La Plata County Fairgrounds, east of US 550 in north Durango, has 6 electric-water only campsites for $28.00/night (2025 price), but no dump.  However, there is a Free dump (with fill up), potable water, propane refills, and truck lanes at the Speedway gas station at 20453 US 160 (1.5 miles west of the D&S Railroad yard). You may want to check that it is still available at 970-259-2440.  There is also a Free dump and drinking water behind Tarpley RV at 25817 US 160.

Early morning D&S freight train in front of the Durango depot.  The special Grande Gold paint scheme applied to 1925-vintage K-28 #473 is the same one it wore for the 1949 Chicago Rail Fair

Even the Forest Service has gotten in on the tourist-money act with electricity at their two campgrounds nearest town.  So, if you need to recharge the RV’s batteries by this time or maybe run the AC, only 5 miles northwest of Durango is the Junction Creek Campground, a USFS facility with 50A electricity.  Not free or even cheap at $45/night ($24.50 for pass holders) plus reservation fee.  The 14 electric sites are as long as 65’ with conveniently placed water hydrants and pit toilets, but no dump.  One of my friends with a 32’ 5^th wheel and a Ram diesel pickup considers it the best campground along US 160 for his RV.  Take 25^th St. west from US 550 for 3 miles to the “Y,” then left 2 miles to the campground. 

Haviland Lake, 18 miles north of Durango and just east of US 550, is the other nearby USFS campground with 50A electrical hookups.  Maps show that the lake is part of Haviland Lake SWA, which it is.  Unfortunately, the campground is in the National Forest, so the camping fee is $45-65/night plus reservation fee, which is required if you want a site any time the D&S trains are operating.  Gorgeous scenery, but not inexpensive. 

Give the Forest Service credit for knowing a good thing when they see it—modern RVers want to use their AC, residential fridges, microwaves, and satellite TVs and have campsites long enough for a 40' coach and toad or fifth wheel and truck.  As long as their prices are slightly less than nearby full-hookup private campgrounds ($65-95/night), the USFS can charge a high nightly rate compared to their "primitive" campgrounds and still keep their campgrounds full all summer.  I'm sure that's why three of their former hand pump-pit toilet campgrounds along CO 145 north of Dolores now have electricity and flush toilets.

A  number of great boondocking sites can be found along Madden Peak Road (FR 316) between Hesperus and Mancos.  Twenty years ago, I tent camped on FR 568 east of its intersection with the Madden Peak Road.  The roadbed of FR 568 was originally built as part of the Rio Grande Southern narrow-gauge railroad line between Durango and Dolores.  Along FR 568, there were several areas where a travel trailer, pickup camper, or small Class C RV could disperse camp.  However, before camping there with a Class A, long fifth wheel, or toy hauler, you should explore it with a toad or tow vehicle.  The road ended for my 4WD truck at a washed-out culvert about 6.5 miles east of FR 316 where I would have high-centered on the embankment if I had tried to cross the creek.  Once you find a campsite, if you unhook your trailer or your toad, you can take a shortcut down the hill from your campsite that comes out on US 160 about 4 miles east of the USFS Target Tree campground.  Just above the highway on this unnumbered road is a relatively flat gravel/dirt clearing that might be used for a quick overnight stop if you aren’t bothered by significant road noise.  That clearing would be about 5.5 miles west of the intersection of US 160 and CO 140 at Hesperus.  When you leave, there is a pay dump at the gas station in Mancos or you can wait until you get to Cortez and dump for free.

The east end of FR 568 near Hesperus was blocked by large boulders placed in a narrow railroad cut.  But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the old railroad grade has a ¼-mile long section missing in that area due to a landslide.  On the ground, you can actually see an intact portion of the railroad bed down the hill, unconnected to its original grade.

Others have mentioned RV camping along the Madden Peak Road.  When I was there, the west side of FR 316 had been fenced and gated by a natural gas pipeline company, even though maps showed it as National Forest land.  I didn’t travel north of FR 568 on that road, but many RVers have reported good campsites farther uphill along FR 316.

In the triangle made by Mancos, Cortez, and Dolores, there are 4 SWAs—Totten, Joe Moore, Summit, and Pruett Reservoirs—and a fifth—Narraguinnep Reservoir—northwest of Dolores.  They are old irrigation reservoirs and all allow boating and fishing.  Maybe it is due to their proximity to Mancos State Park and McPhee Reservoir, but NONE of the five allow camping.  Mancos State Park has some nice, aspen-shaded campsites near the lake, but, unlike most Colorado State Parks, it has vault toilets, very few RV sites longer than 25 feet, and NO electrical hookups.  So, for $30/night, including the daily pass, you are getting a USFS campground with an RV dump! 

Most RV visitors to the Cortez area are headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  The park has a campround called Morefield, but it is operated by Aramark, not NPS.  So, you will pay $51/ night for a very limited number of electric sites or $38/night for a dry site.  And you will need to take your RV up a very long, 6% climb and through a tunnel to get there.

For my money, I would go to the McPhee (Reservoir) Recreation Complex near Dolores and pay $37/night ($24/night with Senior Pass) + reservation fee and tax for one of the nicely-spaced, asphalt-paved spaces with 30A electricity and some juniper shade  Then, if I needed to run my AC in July to keep my wife happy, I could do it without a problem.  There are only 13 electric sites, water, and flush toilets, but no showers.  Since most RVs have showers, that should be no problem.  In addition, there are 27 non-electric sites for those with solar and 12v AC or generators.  Some of the sites are pull-thrus and some have picnic shelters, but not all have either.  So, careful site selection is needed on Recreation.gov.

Note for 2025: Due to too many non-paying RVers, the dump at McPhee is now closed! This means RVers camped there will have to use the Free dumps at the Giant station or Tarpley RV in Durango mentioned above or the Free dump with fill and RV lanes at the Maverick gas station at 455 State St. in Cortez, depending on the direction you are headed.  And, according to one of the commenters, the Speedway station at US 160 and CO 145 now has a Free dump and RV fuel pumps. 

The campground at McPhee has another attraction for me because it is next door to one of my favorite museums in Colorado, the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum (you pass it driving to the campground).  The museum began when the Bureau of Reclamation needed a place to store and study all the artifacts they were excavating during the construction of McPhee Dam and Reservoir.  Now it has a much better collection than you can see at Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Aztec, or Hovenweep.  Many of its exhibits are interactive--not the video-game kind of interactive, but the hands-on-the-artifact, microscope-viewing kind of interactive.  For elementary-age children or 80-year old grandparents, spending a few hours at the museum will greatly enhance any later visit to Mesa Verde or Canyons of the Ancients.  

                    Weatherill Mesa at Mesa Verde NP, a special reservation-only tour by the NP Service

You don’t even have to leave the grounds of the Visitors Center to visit two small, excavated Anasazi pueblos.  But, if you want to see more, take a trip to Lowry Pueblo in nearby Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (where Free dispersed camping is not only allowed, but encouraged!) and on to Hovenweep National Monument.  Hovenweep has a no-reservation, “first to arrive gets the best spot” campground for $20/night ($10 with a Senior pass) + tax and next to its Visitor’s Center.  There are 31 no-hookup, gravel campsites up to 36' long with covered picnic tables, water in season, and flush toilets all year at the Visitor's Center.  It’s a long way out there, but worth it to see a completely different kind of Anasazi community than that represented by Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde.  And, if you are headed for southern Utah anyway, it is on a great alternative route to driving past the Four Corners Monument . . . again!  After all, if you’ve experienced that tourist trap once, do you really need to see it a second time?

Well, that's it for US 160.  And notice I didn't once mention overnighting at Walmart in Cortez or at the FHU RV parks at the Sky Ute and Ute Mountain Casinos, each of which accepts Passport America.  Oops, I guess I just did!