Ancient Cedars RV Park, Mancos, CO

Ancient Cedars RV Park is a few miles from the entrance station and approximately a mile from the first visitor center of Mesa Verde National Park.  In terms of location it is absolutely an ideal place to stay in order to explore not only Mesa Verde, but also number of other parks within an hour radius (Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument).

On the downside, the sites are rather tight and we didn't have any shade.  There were shaded sites and I think they were slightly more expensive.  A strange thing about the layout of the park was that the sewer connections are uphill of the trailers in the row we were parked.  Since the dumping system works on gravity - that was a bit of an issue and Husband had to build up a ramp.  We did stay for a week and this was the one place where the WeBoost was absolutely  necessary.  We would not have had data if not for the WeBoost.  There is very spotty Verizon connectivity at the grounds of the park.  They did have WiFi as well and between the two Husband was able to work from home.

They boast a number of amenities and, for the most part, they are good.  There is a recreation cabin with a pool table and a foosball game.  We had some quarters eaten by the retro video game.  The cabin does not have air conditioning, but with the doors open there was a breeze.  It was a nice space to explore.  They also have a number of movies that can be checked out.

They have a putt-putt golf area.  We didn't use it, but it looked nice.  Also you get to a beautiful view of Mesa Verde while playing!

If you have a dog, you will not be disappointed by the dog park - It is huge!  They could have put less land into the dog area and more into making the RV sites bigger.  They also have a very nice playground (unfortunately I don't have a good picture).  The kids enjoyed it and it is right next to the laundry, so they could play while I took care of that.  On the issue of the laundry, it is a very small room with four washers and four dryers.  I used it twice and I was the only person using it both times, so it must be adequate for the park.  Their public showers and bathrooms were very clean.

One disappointing amenity was the pool.  I am not going to swim in a cloudy pool because, as a public health professional, I know that there are all kinds of nasty bugs one can get when pools are not properly maintained.  Regardless of my reservation, I saw other people swimming - but my kids were disappointed that I didn't find the pool clean enough.  I did complain to the office and was told that their maintenance person was delayed by a couple of days - well, depending on the use of the pool that could be a problem and I was glad that we didn't take a dip.

We stayed at Ancient Cedars RV park for 8 nights (we left Estes Park a day early and added a day to Ancient Cedars).  We paid a weekly rate plus per day fees for one kid for a grand total of $295/ week or approx $37/night.  They did give us the weekly rate for our extra night.

Lastly, the city of Cortez, CO is the place for grocery shopping and eating out.  It is 15 minutes away from the Ancient Cedars RV park.  There are also some RV parks in Cortez that one could consider, though I didn't check prices.  Surely Verizon would have been much better if we would have stayed in Cortez.

Pros:

• Proximity to Mesa Verde National Park and other sights within an hour radius.
• Nice amenities (putt putt, cabin, dog park, playground)
• Clean common areas (laundry, bathrooms/showers)
• Decent WiFi
• Dark park - no lights after 10 p.m. for night sky viewing

Cons:

• Small, narrow, sites with uphill sewer
• Pool was cloudy
• A bit pricey with the per day per kid extra fees.  I think it should have averaged closer to $30/night.