Echo Basin Road Dispersed Camping

There are a couple of creekside campsites in the lower section and if you continue up the road a few miles the views are spectacular. In July there was a beautiful field of sunflowers at the top of the mesa.

The road is pretty good all the way up for small rigs but probably not for a large Class A.

On the way out of Durango take a right into a neighborhood, and then on to County Road 44.

The forest road is dirt but well maintained with some washboard the higher up you go.

Didn’t notice until after we had set up camp, but people before us had left some trash.

The area is pretty, and less crowded than others in the area.

During the night there were plenty of critters out and about. Heard a lynx, coyotes, and some cows but didn’t actually see any.

We got here on 08/11/23 . The road is well maintained and the ride to our site is filled with great views. We have seen deer , and surprisingly few campers. We are spending the full 14 days

Don't get discouraged - the first 3/4 to 1 mile looks a bit dubious but the views from the top are worth the trip. Since we camped the first 3 weeks of May, the foliage had not yet presented itself. We camped in the second spot on the right heading up the mountain road. The views are spectacular. Road is a bit wash-board and a little on the narrow side - kind of leaves you hoping no one is coming the other way. There are multiple gorgeous sites. I believe a previous review mentioned that it does get a bit busier on weekends and that is indeed true; that being said it was still fairly quiet. It does get windy in the afternoons so would not recommend leaving your site with your awning deployed. Honestly this is one of those places that I wish I could give a bad review to keep others away! We are already planning a return visit in the fall. If you are a hiker, there are plenty of places to wander all of which offer beautiful views. We were fortunate to encounter elk, deer, marmot, and eagles on our hikes. We also came across a set of bear tracks (less than 12 hours old based on the timing of our hikes across that trail). On a less than happy note, we did clean the burn pits at our site when we arrived and noted that several other sites had also been left with trash lying about - please if you visit this beautiful area, respect it enough to pack out your trash.
Mancos is about 8 miles away. There is a health food store (a bit spendy) and a grocery store. The grocery store is on 160, on the right just before the light for Main St. They offer water 0.49/gallon - reverse osmosis if you need to fill some jugs.