Madden Peak Road Dispersed Camping

We had gotten to this camp spot on a Tuesday, later in the afternoon and we had driven in a ways before we really got to a nice secluded spot. It must have been the fifth or sixth turn right when driving in, we can't really remember. There was already a LOT of spots taken by large rigs and vans, as well as other tent campers. We were both lucky and glad to have found a spot. For the first hour or two, we had our area to ourselves, about two hours later, there was a vehicle that pulled in about 10 yards a ways, behind some trees and bushes and made us feel a little cramped, as right across the road there was van campers as well. We could see campers in both left and right directions near the road. Other than that, we really enjoyed the space. It was open in the back of us and it was in the 60s and 70s (Fahrenheit), perfect temperatures for us. The road had very little washboard, nothing super strenuous. There was a lot of vehicle traffic, which was the only thing which was bothersome, if anything. Otherwise, this is a perfect overnighter!

The road is in excellent condition- fresh gravel and graded! Made for a smooth drive in. Noticed several large spots with lots of space between. Many of them are either pull-throughs or large enough to turn around in. I managed to get my 26' TT in and turned around, no sweat! Very Level too!
The road gets noticeably worse the further you go. Also, there are fewer sites, and several are closed for "regrowth". If you are towing anything or in a larger rig, I don't recommend going past the second power line crossing, the road is rutted and rocky, and there is no where to turn around.
About a mile in is a 4-way intersection with an unmarked road- the road to the west dead-ends at a pipeline site. The east takes you out to more sites and eventually to Cherry Creek Rd. There are some very nice campsites down this road, with amazing views of the valley. Also, the trees are larger, making for more shade. I only went about a half mile in, there are quite a few sites, most of them are more suitable for tents, vans, or smaller rigs. But again, with the road- it gets rough and narrow!
****OVERALL: Decent Vrz Cell Service, 2-4 bars. Limited shade. Good road. Minimal dust & traffic. Large spots and lots to choose from.
*****Dump and Water: (1) About 30 minutes from Durango: at the Speedway (west side of town), busy, can get a little tight with all the traffic, only one in town. (2) About 30 minutes from Cortez: at Maverick (east side of town): Very nice! All the space you could ever need, lots of grass for the pups, no crowd, no wait, no city traffic.

We love Madden Peak. Plenty of room for rigs of any size. The road going in we would rate about an 8/10 for forest service roads. There are several large spots for groups if needed. If you are hauling anything (travel trailer, 5th wheel etc.) be very careful how far you go in. If you have gone under the second high voltage wires you may have a real difficult time turning around. We highlight these spots in the video we uploaded to the videos tab.

We love this spot and is great location for Durango, Cortez and Mesa Verde.

More info provided in the video

The road getting here was full of potholes, but just navigate it carefully and you're good. There were lots of spots off of the road with about half being full on a Sunday afternoon.
The spot we got was surrounded by trees, and very secluded. Just a little bit of noise from vehicles on the road at night. I imagine it’s much noisy on the weekends with the off-road vehicles though.

The road in is a little rocky but not bad, just go slow. I followed the guidance of the other reviewers and didn't go past the electrical tower (don't worry you won't miss it). There are some really nice sites, we found one hidden back a bit from the access road. It was huge and had a nice fire pit. It felt very secluded and peaceful. There's no toilet. It is close to Mancos though for your basic needs. It was also not far from Mesa Verde!

Dirt road was in great shape, took our 30 foot class a down it with no issues. We took the right down another road & found a great private spot with views of the valley! During the day we did see some people riding horses, families hiking & people biking, very popular spot with lots of trails. Even with that we found it to be peaceful & quite. Very clean, no trash! Would stay here again if the opportunity arises!