Vallecito Campground

The W loop is walk up only no reservations. We had 15/30/50 amp service. Two freshwater locations in the loop. No showers. Our spot was level and most appeared to be the same. We had a 25 ft C class which easily fit. There was a table and fire ring on site. A creek runs close by and that’s about the only sound you hear. Very quiet location. A hiking trail is located right behind the W loop and is an intermediate ability hike through the San Juan Forest. We went to the first bridge which took about 2 hours to get to. We got low on water and returned.

Lucky for us the camp hosts were gracious, nice, and thoughtful. Our original reserved site #029, Loop B, was not so hot (there are only four reservable electric sites) so our hosts informed us that there were several walk-up electric sites in the W loop. Plus they said it is much quieter over there. Loop B is the main loop, and busier, so we wanted to opt out of that previous reservation, if possible. We scooted over to Loop W lickity split and found site W-16 to our liking. We paid in advance to camp here four days at $22 per night so location and scenery was important, if there any available. This campground is comparable in beauty and comfort to East Fork outside of Pagosa Springs except this one offers a few electric sites whereas East Fork does not. But the river running through Vallecito is gorgeous, swift, and rocky, similar again to East Fork. Tall cliffs border our site, and the camp roads are dirt and gravel. Just how we like it. Not many monster rigs could get into this campground easily. It is not as hilly as expected here so bike riding is an added amenity. But the mountains certainly rank higher than where we come from.

The vault toilets were immaculate as can be. Water spigots are spotted along the campground loops. AT&T cell service is an acceptable two bars. Durango is only a thirty minute drive from here.

The trailhead that begins in the day use area is a stupendous, spectacular, and rugged climb with mountains on both sides, rock cliffs, craggy trails, and just beautiful. We hiked as far as we could for two days. We were later informed the length of the trail is just over ten miles and ends at a waterfall. We cannot confirm this because we never made it that far. But we did hike forty-five minutes one-way up the mountain twice and it is very satisfactory. (Coming down is harder than going up.) There is reported to be a bridge worth seeing about three miles up. On Sunday morning many hikers with kayaks on their backs passed us going up as we were coming down. The river is swift and rocky. We decided to leave a day early as our next jaunt is bit further and we wanted to go out of our way and loop down into New Mexico again instead of returning back on Hwy 160 east, up and through Wolf Pass.