Madden Peak Road Dispersed Camping
San Juan National Forest
Write a Review FR-316 Hesperus, CO 81326 970-247-4874 Official WebsiteGPS: 37.3476, -108.2016
Overview of Madden Peak Road Dispersed Camping
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101.
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by camper-746202 on 11/13/2024
Longest RV Reported: 42 feet (Toy Hauler Fifth Wheel)
Reported by Blake & Chelsea on 9/26/2019
Pad Type dirt
Open Seasonally Late April - Dec.
Elevation 8,103 ft / 2,469 m
Max Stay 14
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Madden Peak Road Dispersed Camping
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 970-247-4874
LeahM asked on 1/11/2021
Hello! Based on reviews, it sounds like the road and conditions are suitable for a minivan pulling a small pop-up cam...
DirtTrailJunkies asked on 8/3/2021
We were at Madden Peak Road recently and had no internet. According to some of the reviews, people worked in this are...
Reviews of Madden Peak Road Dispersed Camping 94 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 60 Users
Last reported 7/3/2024
Confirmed by 31 Users
Last reported 5/4/2024
Confirmed by 16 Users
Last reported 11/13/2024
“Easy Access, Creepy Experience”
Reviewed 11/13/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Easy to find, easy to navigate with small caravan camper trailer. We pulled in very late and drove quite a ways back as campsites were taken, seeing lots of smaller campers and vehicles. We did notice a lot of trash. Unfortunate. We pulled in, set anchors and went to sleep. A little while before dawn, our dog woke us up with fierce... more
Easy to find, easy to navigate with small caravan camper trailer. We pulled in very late and drove quite a ways back as campsites were taken, seeing lots of smaller campers and vehicles. We did notice a lot of trash. Unfortunate. We pulled in, set anchors and went to sleep. A little while before dawn, our dog woke us up with fierce-some barking. My husband got up and looked outside. There was a woman walking around our campsite aimlessly. He also saw another person (woman?) walking around on the road. Then a car came driving slowly up the road, no headlights. About this time, the first woman came walking right up to the camper window. Husband yelled at her and she wandered off. Needless to say, we could not go back to sleep. It seemed like a great free pull off for a late night, but the people creeping around did not feel safe.
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T-Mobile 5G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Not Far Off The Road”
Reviewed 7/3/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Great location. Plenty of firewood for the collection. Woke up to cows in our site.
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Verizon 5G
camper-800233 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Quiet and Easy Access”
Reviewed 6/29/2024
Overall Rating
Gravel road was very smooth and no washboard. Stayed 2 nights. Lots of open space.
camper-800028 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice place but busy.”
Reviewed 5/19/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 10 |
| RV Length: | 25' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
We stay here frequently in the spring and fall. We're never had any problems. It does get full sometimes. It's quiet but there is some sort of machinery that runs on occasion for a day or two.
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Verizon 4G
Gina would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Peaceful with Rad Views”
Reviewed 5/4/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 8 |
| RV Length: | 22' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
It was easy to find a spot with many more further down the road. After I unhitched I traveled up the road further and the road narrows a bit. The road had quite a bit of activity daily but at night everyone was quiet and all the sites are clean. Posted for 14-day max. I will be returning here, I think. Great spot.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
HappyBellyTrekking would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great 1 Night Stay”
Reviewed 12/1/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Arrived late to this location but found it easy to get a spot and had no problem with our 2 dogs.
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AT&T 5G
camper-887018 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Love This Place”
Reviewed 10/5/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 7 |
| Site Number: | 0 |
Overall Rating
Stayed here 7 days. Close to Mesa Verde and many more.
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Verizon 4G
Don would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“09/25/23 - Be BEAR Aware! Friendly Warning!”
Reviewed 10/2/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 0 |
| Site Number: | 8 |
Overall Rating
We have NO complaints about this spot, ... until this. It's not really a complaint, just a friendly warning. Sept 25th, we had stayed here again for another one evening stay, and we parked between the 7th or 8th pull off at about 8:30pm after a day in Durango and we were heading up to Silverton the next day and just needed the night a... more
We have NO complaints about this spot, ... until this. It's not really a complaint, just a friendly warning.
Sept 25th, we had stayed here again for another one evening stay, and we parked between the 7th or 8th pull off at about 8:30pm after a day in Durango and we were heading up to Silverton the next day and just needed the night and had stayed there recently, (we wrote a review before this about our initial stay in early-mid Sept.) We really enjoyed this spot previously, it was quiet and perfectly breezy, very private even though there were spots about 15-20 away from ours.
This may be the reason or not, but we had not put our food bins, (they were sealed but moderately), outside in our storage tent like we usually do which ... could be a learning lesson for the rest. WE USUALLY are on it about that but on this evening, we were too comfortable and exhausted from our bike rides in Durango and did not prepare as we usually do. We have slept like this before MAYBE twice as we have felt safe in those areas to have done so, with our sealed food bin/ cooler inside our vehicle while we also slept there too. But ...
!! At about 11:45pm that night, we were quiet, just barely awake and had suddenly felt two heavy pushes, one about 7 seconds after the first, up against the Rango, so heavy it actually moved our large SUV as if getting hit by 20+ mph winds.
We got up quickly, remote started Rango, and heard heavy pounding away into the bushes. My boyfriend got out of the vehicle with his headlight and protection to make sure it wasn't a person trying to mess with us. He yelled into the bushes and after he walked around camp, we made a few slow circles in the Rango in the space we had in the spot. We eyeballed the surrounding area with the Rango's high beams. We could hear whatever it was in the bushes just yards away from us, snapping twigs and rustling leaves in the low branches of the trees.
We did not get to verify if it was a black bear, but it really spooked us. We are VERY on it with our food bins and trash but had arrived that night late and exhausted.
!! Please don't let exhaustion get the best of you and take precaution! We do not want you to endure a spooky encounter like we did! My boyfriend says that if it was a black bear and it was hungry or super curious, (or threatened by his yelling and curses), it will stay in the area and keep trying to get what it wants, which is what it sounded like. SO we dug out aS SOON AS we felt safe. We did see eyeshine about 10 yards away from us, standing at about 5 foot tall JUST as we pulled out to the road to leave, (we left about 12:30am as we tried to see what the HELL that was.) But no solid verification. (We settled on it just being a juvenile black bear standing up.)
It is still a lovely spot, but may be trekked by black bears every now and again.
AGAIN, just a friendly warning! Be better prepared than us!
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T-Mobile 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Perfect For Overnighting, But Can Get Cramped.”
Reviewed 9/24/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | N/A |
Overall Rating
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 b... more
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!
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T-Mobile 4G
sbrightrclay would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great Spot- Plenty of Space!!”
Reviewed 7/16/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 14 |
| RV Length: | 24' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
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 f... more
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.
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Verizon 4G
camper003719 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
Page 1 of 10
9 reviews
“Road Closed”
noted 4/1/2023
Road was closed, but was able to fit a couple of small rigs near the gate, in plowed section.
1 review
noted 4/7/2021
Road was closed as of April 6th 2021. There are a couple small parking spots before the gate.
14 reviews
67 reviews
14 reviews
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
- Dispersed Camping
Site Amenities
- fire ring
Pets
- pets
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