Along the River RV Campsites

We stayed here after watching an episode of Grand Adventure on YouTube that highlighted the area of Dolores. The "campground" didn't disappoint, although you really can't call it a campground. You can fill up your water tank at the ranch owner across the street, and they provide you all the firewood you need for your stay. Other than that, there are no hookups, but some of the sites have 100% full sun for solar, so the lack of plug-in was absolutely no issue. Some may consider it a little steep at $30/night, but the couple that own the place are truly nice people, and we were fine with the charge as we felt it helped them supplement their income.

We used this as our base for excursions to Telluride, Cortez and Dolores. Another recommendation from Grand Adventure was EsoTerra Ciderworks which had some amazing locally sourced cider. Definite recommendation if you are in the area.

The road noise wasn't bad, and all put disappeared around 9 am, so nice and quiet with only the stream for noise while we slept. We will plan on staying here again when we have more time to explore the area.

I was shocked to be one of the reviews from someone back in 2021 when they spoke so negatively about the owners. This is a darling couple in their late 80s and 90s who are still operating a farm and have segmented off part of their property right next to the river for five campsites. Dry camping; no services whatsoever, no Wi-Fi, and the cell service is a bit spotty (we have a verizon), but I wouldn’t change a thing. Just need to change your expectations… This is not a “campground“; this is a very special spot on the earth that these people have generously allowed folks like us to stay for very little money. In nature! We reserved for three days and feel so rested and rejuvenated. It doesn’t get much more beautiful or cleaner than this. And the road noise is basically nonexistent; you can’t hear it because the river rushing downs it out. Mesmerizing! Thank you Gordon and Jeanna!!

Gordon and Jeanna have a wonderful place on earth that they are sharing with self contained RVs. Its right on the Delores river on part of their farm field. There are no amenities except free water and firewood from their farm across the hiway from the campsites. They're is a bit of traffic on highway 145 till around 6pm ish. #5 is a very big site that is very private compared with the other 4 sites. The one drawback was the fire pit which is looking like an old wash machine barrel. It isn't really accessible like the other sites. We didn't have a fire but did enjoy the site for it's privacy. TMobile is hit and miss for a signal. Best was one bar LTE.

A bit of patience is necessary to select this location to overnight. It is a RV Park in name only and the property owner has an informal system in reserving and assigning the five sites. And upon arrival the check in is not what one would describe as good business practices. Cash only. However, once she has positioned you at the assigned site, the camping experience on the banks of the Dolores River rivals any campground. Yes, it is dry camping. While there is no electric or dump, water is free from a well near the owner’s residence. A picnic table and fire pit (wood provided) are located at each site and two decks extend over the river. There is traffic noise from CO 145; however, it is tolerable. Site 3 was level. Plenty of shade. Able to stream Netflix, but the signal was weak and data transmission slow. Internet access was satisfactory.
Interesting that site 5 is considered “private” and she discourages interaction with those campers. The cost of privacy is $30 a night.

We’ve been camping for over 40 years and I’ve never had such a terrible experience.

The owner insisted that we check in with her first before pulling into our site we had reserved weeks earlier for four nights. She also demanded cash, and said she couldn’t send me a confirmation when I made my original reservation. It was a little unnerving when I called to update our plans that she mumbled incoherently about which site we would get. As we pulled off the highway upon arriving, we saw that all five sites were taken - not a good sign.

Immediately upon seeing us, she demanded a full cash payment for six nights. Full disclosure: the previous morning I had called and asked if we could come in a day early and make it a five-day stay. She agreed, but the mumbling about site numbers was suspicious. Unfortunately on that early arrival day, we had a serious flat tire in the middle of NE Arizona; I called her three times during the six hour delay and finally had to say that we wouldn’t make it in that evening because it wasn’t safe to drive our rig.

We tried calmly to explain that there were only the original four nights left, and we even offered to negotiate something for being unable to arrive on the early (5th) day. We showed her our written notes, and the cell phone records to prove that the six nights of charges were her error. Instead, she just got angrier, and started shouting that we should leave. She knew we had spent the last 24 hours dealing with a flat and repairs, and that we had gone out of our way to update her.

If you decide to try a stay here, just know that this woman’s temper, and her inability to manage reservations could ruin your plans. I suspect that even if she can keep track of her customers’ reservations (scribbled and erased on her old paper calendar), she may be looking for ways to rip off some more cash by faking confusion.

There are several other campgrounds, private and public, in the area. We drove on and found a much nicer place, with full hookups and lots of shade and privacy, for less than the first price (not the ripoff price) she quoted. But if you like being crammed against others on a piece of private property close to the road by a small river with a high likelihood of being ripped off, just be forewarned. Otherwise, stay away.

OK, calling this an RV Park would do it a big disservice. Rather, this is the land of an elderly ranching couple, Gordon and Jeanna, who have opened up to RV camping on 5 spots carved out of one of their fields along the bubbling Dolores River.

This is dry camping, no hookups are available. Self-contained RVs only, no tents. Sites include picnic tables and wood-fired stoves/firepits. It's $25/night and includes free firewood and trash pickup, and shared use of a large deck overhanging the river. Water is available at the couple's home across the road, and they welcome you to dump your grey water (not black, of course!) on their farm field.

There's no website, and the couple has no email address. You may call to reserve a spot. Sites 2 through 5 are right along the riverbank, whereas site 1 is just a few feet away. Rafters and kayakers paddle right past the campsites every hour or two. You may fish the river without a license as it's on private property, and we know of at least one brown trout coming out of that river this week.

Cell service varies. We have both Verizon and AT&T. Verizon has proven to be useful only for voice calls and texts, as their data has been erratic even with a booster. AT&T has been sufficient for working on VPN and streaming video, with our booster and a Yagi antenna pointing due west.

This is a small section of a farm right on Highway 145 that has been converted to 4 or 5 really cute campsites along Delores river. It's dry RV camping only and very rustic. No tents. No car camping. No hookups. No services. Peaceful deck overlooking Delores river with private fishing for guests. a couple picnic tables and wood burning stoves with free wood provided. Very peaceful and tranquil setting. $20 cash. You may need to walk or drive over to the house acroas the highway and pay if the owners aren't by the campsites working in the fields.