Echo Basin Road and Ranch

A friend I met recently at Pleasant Harbor RV Resort in Arizona, when we found out we were leaving to go in the same general direction, told me about the Echo Basin Ranch. It's a horse ranch slash RV park. It not only houses horses, but also provides scenic grounds and catering for weddings. It has some 100 slots for full hookup RVs of all sizes as well as cabins. Ocassionally concerts are held at an amphitheater on the grounds.

Echo Basin Ranch is located just east of Mancos, three-and-a-half miles off highway 160 at the end of the less-traveled, secluded Echo Basin Road.

I was greatly impressed, not only with the heavily wooded state park feel of the ranch, but with Echo Basin Road itself. It's easily within travel distance to both Durango and Mesa Verde National Park, and the Mancos State Park and Transfer Recreation Area are practically in its backyard.

What a find! Thank you, my friend.

On one particular day, a group of horses, one of each color, was running back and forth across a small pasture. They were within viewing distance of the road, so I just stopped and watched the show, clicking away with my camera.

Sweet. That best describes the Big Al Trail. Just outside the town of Mancos on a dirt road leading to the Transfer Recreatioin Area is a wonderfully easy one mile RT hiking trail through a grove of aspens. The trail ends at a large deck that overlooks the West Mancos Canyon and the La Plata Mountains. Yellow and purple wildflowers were out while we there, adding to the beauty.

The Big Al Trail is named for Al Lorentzen, a local Forest Service worker. While fighting a forest fire in Yellowstone Natl Park in 1988 he was injured by a falling tree, disabling him. The trail is a tribute to all who are disabled.

To view more pictures of my Colorado summer, please return to the Colorado home page.

Or, you may want to view some locations below.

I have made full-circle aroond this gorgeous state of Colorado and am now ending up where I started out...Echo Basin Dude Ranch. Sadly, it's closing down for the winter in a few days, so I'm not able to stay as long as I'd like. But I did go back to a few of the places I visited before and enjoyed them with the fall colors. Hope you do, too.

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Echo Basin Road is approximately three miles of twists and curves lined with farms and ranches, old barns and loose animals. One particular farm catches my eye each time I pass it. On my last day in the area, the cows were out, silhouetted by the sun's position, and I couldn't resist stopping to snap a few pictures. I've included some of them here.