Basecamp Pack Trips

Packstring on the Trail just above the Lower Park Camp.

Our basecamp pack trips are simply the finest horseback adventures anywhere. We travel into one of the most spectacular areas of the Western United States, deep in the Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains. This area was heavily glaciated and the valleys are textbook geologic featuring meandering streams through enormous valleys with hanging waterfalls on the valley walls, great expanses of exposed granite and huge moraines.

Over the Hill Outfitters Camp at Lower Park

Lower Park camp sits at 10,500’ in a beautiful meadow in the glaciated canyon of the Florida River. Our full service camps are equipped with wall tents, cots and pads. Our cook tent has a woodstove with an oven where we bake biscuits and even pies! We believe that food is as important as the wilderness experience and we know you’ll enjoy our delicious meals. Fifteen minutes upstream from camp is City Reservoir, built in the late 1800’s by the city of Durango to store water. Today, it no longer is used by Durango, but instead provides some of the best lake fishing in the San Juans. The fish are not always big, but they are lively! Less than a mile downstream, the canyon boxes off and is unpassable. You can feel the presence of bear and elk in the air as you wander through this true wilderness.

View into Vallecito Basin from Trimble Pass

The list of activities to do is endless. Among our favorites is a ride to one of many high mountain ridges, enjoying incredible views, wildflowers, and of course, elk. Chicago Basin is one of the most sought out destinations in the San Juans but one of the most crowded. We ride horses to the rim where we have the most spectacular view of the Basin and the Fourteen thousand foot mountains surrounding it— and you won’t see another person! Trimble Pass is another spot that you will never forget. And if you’re up for it, we can climb to the top of Mount Sheridan for a view that is unmatched.

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What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits, Book a Trip with OTHO!