Remember that when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, only what you have given, a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage. -St. Francis of Assisi

Monday, June 11, 2012

Mancos State Park

Friday June 8, 2012

Friday morning I drove to the town of Mancos, CO - about 9 miles away.  I stopped at Zuma's Natural Foods and picked up some items for a picnic lunch. I walked around town stopping at the Visitors Center, Absolute Bakery (for some gluten free hiker/biker bars-very good) and then to the Library.  I was able to use the libraries internet for free.


The Visitors Center has maps of the Historic Downtown Walking Trail which takes you past 20 buildings built between 1890 and 1913.


The town of Mancos was incorporated in 1894. In 1904, a water system and electric lights were installed and telephone service had begun. In 1905 a new bridge was built across the river.

I was parked at the city park, with no shade, and it was starting to get warmer.  Time to head for the hills and some shade trees.


I drove up to Mancos State Park almost 5 miles North of town. You drive about 1 1/4 miles uphill on a paved road and then the road levels off and becomes a dirt/gravel road for about 3 miles. All of the roads in the park are gravel. I purchased an annual Colorado State Parks Pass. The day use rate is $7 per day, and an annual pass is $70.  I do not need to camp overnight here because it is so close to where I am living.  The camp sites are $16 and have no-hookups. When you pay for a campsite, you also have to pay the day-use fee - so each night of camping is $23.00.


The camp host, manning the pay station, is a full-timer from Delaware. He and his wife have been on the road about 3 years. They do not get full hook-ups at this park.


Day-use area




Jackson Gulch Reservoir is the centerpiece of the park.


I parked the RV alongside the road at a high point (7837') in the park. Although the temps were in the 80's there was a nice constant breeze that kept the RV cool enough for my cat.  I did not have to worry about running the generator or turning on the A/C. 

There were a few walk-in tent sites behind the RV
I did not see anyone camped there today.


LaPlata Mountains in the background


I sat at the day-use area in the West Campground area to read and have my picnic lunch. I did not walk any of the hiking trails shown on the park map but I did walk along the shore of the lake before and after lunch.


This would be a good place to ride my mountain bike when I get it.


I'll have to decide if I want to get a CO fishing license, most of the people in the park were fishing. I know fishing is supposed to be a relaxing sport, but I may be too lazy to set up the pole and stuff and then what do I do with the fish if I catch it. 


I left the park shortly after 4pm, figuring that all of the weekend campers would soon be arriving.


I plan on making some more day trips to this park and to some other Colorado State Parks - the other parks are further away.  I may decide to camp overnight at some of the other parks.



8 comments:

  1. Just a minute after I posted this, I received a nasty anonymous comment - which I promptly deleted, I may have to change my comments settings.

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  2. I got one of those comments and deleted it and it hasn't been back since. Not sure what the normal weather is at this time of year for Craters of the Moon. Weather is so crazy, who knows. Today we're in Dillon, MT and it is perfect weather.

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  3. I love being around the lakes it is so much cooler and just seems to calm your nerves,
    I don't want to clean fish so I bought a wire cutter to cut the barb off the hook. It wasn't easy. The you can just take it out and release the fish. Of course I haven't tried it yet maybe the fish will just get off before I get it in. I'll let you know

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  4. Camping at $23.00 per night with no hook ups seems pretty steep. I've noticed a lot of states have gone sky high on their fees. I don't think it will attract more customers.

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  5. Beautiful spot but would want to pay that much to dry camp. I do understand the state parks are hurting budgetwise.
    Have you been to Summit Lake between Dolores and Mancos?

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  6. Where are you going, Teri? I'm confused, really? yes... I try to read blogs on my iPhone but the little screen gets tiresome late at night ... did I miss something?

    You're in Colorado? and rats.... they're about to close here and thus ends my lovely time with wifi.... I had a bunch of stuff to do... one of these days, I'm just going to read blogs and catch up...

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  7. It looks beautiful there. Being a die hard desert rat it is nice to see the water and trees.

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  8. Wow $23 to basically boondock. Even $16 is heavy for no hookups. I think I won't be seeing Colorado state parks. Looks pretty but I'll have to figure out some other strategy. Thanks for the information.

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Hi, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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It is the sandstorm that shape the stone statues of the Desert. It is the struggles of Life that form a person's character ~ Native American Proverb