Q: Dolores River Canyon, CO

[Bosque Bill]

Anyone driven or camped in the Dolores River Canyon in SW Colorado? I ran across a photo of the canyon and it looked scenic. I'm talking about the canyon downstream from the reservoir in the village of Dolores. Looks like there are two ways to get in.

About 25 miles downstream from the reservoir seems you can follow county roads out of Dove Creek and get to the river. There's apparently a raft/fishing access there and I did find reference to a small BLM no-fee campground just down from there. Google Maps shows a dirt road following the river for quite a ways, but none of my printed maps show the road. Looks like it would be fun to explore and appears to have a few nice areas to disperse camp.

There also seems to be an access to the canyon closer to the reservoir, and a picnic area, at Bradfield Bridge. This area is in the National Forest and it looks like a road from there all the way to the reservoir. The satellite view shows a number of turn offs that might be suitable for dispersed camping, though I suspect they are mostly used as fishing access.

I'm thinking of trying it out later this spring or early summer. Thanks for any information you can offer.

 

[RicoV]

Crickets so far for ya BB, but I've also harbored an interest like you in knowing whether the Dolores was a worthy truck & camper venture. If you decide to go for it I'll be watching WTW for another of your great trip reports after the fact. Maybe someone else will weigh in too... in any event, good luck!
Rico

 

[Bosque Bill]

If you decide to go for it I'll be watching WTW for another of your great trip reports after the fact.

Rico, this area is on my agenda and when I go I will certainly include details relevant for campers in my trip report.

 

[Bosque Bill]

Hey, I went to Dolores Canyon on my May 2018 trip.

TL/DR: It was amazing! Fabulous scenery and plenty of privacy. The road is a bit rough, but I loved it and stayed two nights.

If you want to discover what I learned, read this blog post:
https://bosquebill.blogspot.com/2018/06/ruins-landscapes-ut-co-part-3-may-2018.html

 

[Vic Harder]

Hey Bill, this a great TR! I love your adventures down these little known roads/canyons. Just checking your TR agains Google maps, and it looks like you are on Hwy 10 aka Rd 9.7? And that Mountain Sheep Point is at 37.795276, -108.826246. How far north did you go on that road? Looks like one would have to eventually cross the river at 37.956141, -108.843000, and the road looks pretty sketchy long before that.

Vic

 

[Bosque Bill]

Vic, I think you're looking at the right road and right area.

I turned around at about Lat 37.872813 Lon -108.819966 which is about 6.5 miles from where the road first reaches the canyon bottom. Doesn't seem all that far, but I calculate my average speed was 2.5 MPH on that road. I could have gone farther, the road wasn't that severe, but I got very tired of the oaks scraping the sides of the truck. Probably even worse in your 2500.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Bill thanks for the ride along of your trip.
Great pictures especially liked the rock art of Newspaper Rock.
Also all the ruins the people who built those structures
were some very good stone masons.
Frank

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic, I think you're looking at the right road and right area.

I turned around at about Lat 37.872813 Lon -108.819966 which is about 6.5 miles from where the road first reaches the canyon bottom. Doesn't seem all that far, but I calculate my average speed was 2.5 MPH on that road. I could have gone farther, the road wasn't that severe, but I got very tired of the oaks scraping the sides of the truck. Probably even worse in your 2500.

good to know. The truck/camper don't have any "pinstripes" yet. Not keen on getting them either, unless the reward is high!