Junction Creek Campground

Fantastic campground right by the Colorado trail and only 6 miles from town. Some sites have electric. None have water. There is drinking water in the campground but you can't use it to fill your tanks (signs up stating this and they aren't threaded) so if you are in a rig fill up before you come. Campground does have dumpsters for trash. Campground hosts were very friendly.

There are 5 loops in the campground and site quality varies based on the loop.

Loops E (most have electric - 30/50amp) and D have large and fairly level sites. Big rigs (we have a 40' motorhome) can fit in almost all sites in either of these loops. We did have to level the front of our coach in our site (3 high lynx block.) In Loop E, Sites E5 and E6 are the only 2 FCFS electric sites. While recreation.gov shows E6 as having a 20' vehicle length limit a big rig can fit in this site. We saw a 34' rig & toad in there and I think our rig could just fit with our toad as well. This site isn't the best as it is just a pull-off the side of the road so it lacks a lot of privacy.

Loops A, B and C are older and most sites are smaller, narrower and not level at all. Big rigs beware. Additionally most sites in these loops have a high "curb" at the back of the sites so you can't overhang. Of note, most of the time we were there access to Loop A was closed.

If you are looking to use solar this isn't the campground for you. The only site that gets full sun all the time is C5 (reservable). A 40' rig can get in this site but that's it because there is a large high "curb" at the end of the site so you can't overhang. You'd have to park your toad in the grass next to it or elsewhere.

There are some sites where you can hear Junction Creek (for example C8 & 9)

Verizon cell coverage varies. The campground hosts who are near the entrance of the campground come up to the top of E loop to make phone calls as the signal is much better up there.

For those working, if you have a booster, etc on Verizon we were able to get 4G and good speeds (10 down and 3 up) but ONLY if you are in E Loop and at the top of the loop starting at about our site E5. At the entrance to the campground we got 4G but the speeds were bad (.16 down and .29 up)

Access to the campground: the last 2 miles or so reaching the campground are on a gravel road. It wasn't washboarded at all when we drove it but it does get narrow (1 lane) in some spots.

This was the closest campground I found to Durango that was not an RV park. It takes about 10 mins to get into town. The entire campground is in a beautiful mature pine forest. The camp hosts were helpful and friendly. The sites were well separated and offered a good amount of privacy.

There is only one loop with electricity and it was full for the majority of my stay other than spots that opened up for just a night or two. I stayed in the D loop (no electricity) and it worked just fine but if you are looking to plug-in and stay for more than 1 night make sure to get a reservation.

I could send and receive texts very slowly on Verizon, voice and data nonexistent.

Do you like it when the loudest sound comes from the wind in the pine trees?

Do you like to be 15 minutes from a cute little historic town that has everything you need?

Then this is your place!

In nearly 24 months of active RV'ing, this little Forest Service campground has become one of true favorites despite some of the limitations (i.e., virtually no internet, shade makes solar charging a challenge, no on-site dump station, no showers.) BUT, the sites are spacious and private, the campground is dead quiet, yet very close to town.

There is a loop with electric sites (Loop E) but most of the sites are non-electric and in shade so solar charging is limited. There is potable water available at several spigots around the CG. There is no on-site dump station but one is available in town. Arrive with empty black and grey tanks and you'll be fine.

Access to the campground is via a steep two mile long dirt road with some potholes and wash-boarding, but do not be deterred! Even a big Class A can make it in here, and it is so worth it!

Reservations are usually needed for weekends in the electric loop (Loop E) but there seem to always be some non-electric site availability for walk ups, especially during the week.

Agreed that if you're looking to be near Durango and not in an RV park, this is the spot. Free camping is all 30 minutes out. Other nearby NF spots and even the RV parks don't have any or decent cell service.

Not much to offer if you pray to the solar gods, but there are some electric sites. It closed the day or two after we stayed though, mid-September. Cell service worked even back in E loop...with a booster. (UPDATE: We were here again recently and even boosting couldn’t get a usable data signal.)

Fahr pits, picnic tables and clean vault toilets. You aren't allowed to gather wood in the campground but there's ample (even end of summer) to collect on the way in should you so choose.

Watch for hooded Stellars jays. Tricky little fellers.

The quiet forest setting of this campground is a wonderland of birds, deer, and squirrels, but our favorite thing about it was the enormous sites. Other than the site directly across from us on the other side of the campground loop, the nearest neighbors must have been at least 50 feet away. Our site itself was huge (long and wide), surprisingly level, and easy to access. We had an electric site, and the electric service was flawless. The vault toilets were clean and well-stocked, and the camp hosts were friendly and visible around the campground.

The campground is just a few minutes drive outside of Durango, so it was extremely easy to stock up on groceries and other supplies and even hit several of the craft breweries in town. Closer to camp, the road up to the campground passes through two trailheads for the Colorado Trail. We enjoyed multiple out-and-back hikes on the Colorado Trail and also highly recommend the Animas Mountain Trail on the north side of town.

The last mile of the access road to the campground is unpaved. We found it to be in great condition during our visit in early summer 2019; the worst section was right at the beginning. Large rigs should have no trouble navigating up the road, or within the campground, so long as they take it slow. Most of the sites in the electric loop would be large enough for big rigs. Outside the electric loop, Loop C is probably the most open and suitable for solar power generation, although the entire campground is pretty heavily treed.

We had one bar LTE service on AT&T on our MyFi device, and for the most part it worked fine though it seemed clogged a few times. I wouldn't think it would support video conference, for example, but it was fine for blogging and email.

Great campground close to town. Sites are large providing lots of privacy. Some electric sites. Very quiet and peaceful in the pines.

Beautiful pine forest. Pretty close to town down a gravel road. Cleanest pit toilet I have ever seen. Sites are well spaced, most driveways are short and sloped. Some sites can be reserved (if you are willing to pay the ridiculous extra fees at Rec.gov). Picnic tables are not always close to vehicle. Overall a nice place.

We got a a larger 'double fee' site with no utilities for 3 nights right have the 4th of July weekend. The sites are very clean and very spread out, which makes for a very pleasant stay. I think the other non utilities sites are $22, but this one is wide enough for 2 campers or several extra vehicles if needed.

We were able to run our inverter generator without worrying about bothering others, but we only did so for a few hours a day to run the A/C. The sites are very shady.

Access to downtown Durango is an easy 15-20 minutes drive. The only bad part were the sections of washboard gravel on the last mile up to the site. It was pretty rough for a tow rig running 80 PSI in the tires.

Easy navigation even with our 38' 5th.

Zero cell service via ATT

We will stay here again. It is a popular spot, so book early.

This is a great camp ground, only 15min from down town but feels like your deep in the forest. Sites are large and well spread out. Lots of hiking and MTN biking right out of camp. Our specific site was a little too close to the bathroom and you could smell it, and was all off camber so I wouldn’t suggest my specific site but the grounds themself were great

The Campground is one of the cleanest I've ever been to. I would regularly see the campground staff cleaning the sites, raking the driveway and cleaning bathrooms. Decent space between campsites. The only complaint is the last mile and a half of the dirt road leading to the campground. I am not kidding. It was the dustiest, washboard road I've ever traveled on. Your vehicle will be covered in dust. In addition, you'll probably need a new air filter in your tow vehicle. This is no joke. Other than the road, it's an awesome campground!