Cliff Camp

The other reviews describe this site perfectly, especially Rambleon’s. If the site near the cattle guard is taken, the one we were in, then I would continue on the road and park on one of the well sites until a Ranger asks you to move. The well sites are not marked no trespassing or no parking and they are very level and huge.
If you are like us, this is the place you dream of finding for mountain experiences.

We intended to link up with friends who were camping at 37.3971, -108.8215 (The the first site on Road 4725). No problem with space for our rig, however we found travel down Road 4725 to be a bit sketchy for our 30’ TT. Initially entering 4725 at the sharp right turn of CR N, the clay road is fine. After about a ¼ mile the road becomes heavily rutted, deep ruts going uphill due to erosion and OHVs using when muddy. Traversing this is doable for small high clearance rigs, but we chose not to risk bottoming out and getting stuck. This section of 4725 would be nearly impassable if the road were wet. Instead of attempting further travel down 4725, we chose to turn around at the sharp right turn of CR N head about 100 yards back, across the cattle guard and use a nice pull-through located at 37°24'04.0"N 108°49'01.5"W (37.401108, -108.817070). This site is on the south side of CR N along the edge of the canyon cliffs. Clay and sand stone surface very level, with awning south facing and about 30 feet from canyon cliff. Fire pit is located here to mark the spot (Fire ban in effect). We arrived Friday afternoon to stay the weekend and expected there to be other recreational vehicles, but were surprised to find very little traffic during the day and none at night. Only a handful of cars came by during the weekend. Tip: strongly recommend reconnoiter of BLM Road 4725 before attempting. This road does not appear very well maintained and its condition likely subject to seasonal weather and usage.

All of the sites mentioned under, "Cliff Camp" are found along BLM Road 4725. That road branches off of County Road N, and is a red dirt road, well packed, but lightly rutted and a little bit rocky.

We camped in the first spot (as denoted by the GPS coordinates on this listing). This site can only accommodate small to medium sized RVs. We had a 28 foot trailer with pick up truck, and I could barely back the trailer in. I actually ran over some bushes with my truck and scratched the trailer on some junipers, trying to get it in. Anything larger than a 28 foot trailer, just no way.

However, down the road there are other sites. The next site can only handle small RVs, but the site after that could handle a 40+ foot trailer with pickup truck. Best to unhitch your trailer or toad right where BLM Road 4725 branches off of County Road N, and then explore the road first. Eventually, the road gets more rocky and rutted, and there's no turnaround for larger RVs.

But if you managed to get settled in, prepare yourself for some awesome camping. Barely anyone else around. Great views of the canyon. Gorgeous night skies. You're also not that far from the most popular hike in Canyons of the Ancients, "Sand Canyon Pueblo", which runs along Sand Canyon and has all the great ruins.

Verizon 4G comes in surprisingly well here.

We stayed for one night in April because of the close-ish proximity to Mesa Verde. The campground is a bit of a drive, a lot of it on dirt roads, some more maintained than others. The entrance is a tad confusing as we came across a sign for Canyon of the Ancients at a fork, where the left road appears like it may lead to a campground..? There is a post marker stating “Camping 14 day limit”, but we didn’t go down that road, we continued straight as our gps instructed. A short ways beyond that point the road curves right, but there is an intersecting bumpy dirt road extending straight ahead which leads to the campsites. We did ok in our rwd van, there were some deep ruts, but if you drive slowly and manuever a little then it doesn’t feel as bad as it looks. The first spot we noticed was occupied. The second was open so we jumped on it. It’s not too hard for us to get level as a van but larger rigs would probably have some trouble. Granted, we only saw two campsites since we didnt drive further, but both were pretty small and very rocky. Considering the rough road in and the site quality, I’d say this probably isn’t a good spot for large RVs or trailers. However, all of that aside, our view was incredible! Maybe the best I’ve seen so far. It was super quiet and our site had a lot of privacy. My only complaint is no cell service.

I have camped here a couple of times since it is an easy get-a-way from my home in Durango, Colorado. My 18 foot camper and pickup truck negotiated the dirt road just fine, and fortunately have never met anyone coming the other way. The views are great, Sleeping Ute Mountain directly across from the campsites, and below the cliffs are the biking/hiking trails of Sand Canyon. It can get windy and some mud if it rains alot. The area has trees around the campsites and if you want to watch TV you will pull in channels off-air from Colorado and Utah! Good cell coverage as well. In the winter when I can't camp in the mountains I can go here if there is no snow at these lower elevations.