Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park
Tiffany J.
Reviewed Aug. 2, 2021

Undiscovered gem in New Mexico

There are a lot of spots to disperse in this campground but there are a few certain spots that blow the rest of them out of the water. We arrived on a Friday with only a few people there. Saturday/Sunday was maybe at half capacity. Pretty sure that were we the only ones there when we left on Monday.

We stayed on the edge of the cliff at the far back right side of the campsite and it was easily one of the top 5 locations that we have camped at. Even in July, it was a perfect 60-65 degrees at night and in the upper 70's low 80's during the day. We have T-mobile and there was relatively no reception here. We had just enough to send out and receive a text message every once in a while but not strong enough for a phone call. The reception comes and goes the more that you walk through the campsite. We stayed here for 3 nights and were never bothered by the cars driving on the road close by. The later it gets the fewer the cars. We locked our food and trash up every night and never ran into any problems with any other animals during the day or at night. We all slept well include our Dog who always shuffles around if she hears something scurrying around our site at night.

Directions to our cliff edge campsite:

*Note we took on this adventure in a long bed Chevy 2500.

  • As you enter go to the right.

  • The road will split but stay right and continue the slight uphill climb.

  • As the road starts to descend, you will see a small white sign nailed to a tree on the left with a sharp turn off the road. 

  • Take that trail to the left unless you have a high clearance vehicle. (We took the more adventurous route straight down and almost didn't make it)

  • At the bottom of that trail go right and start to weave your way through the trees all the way to the back right side of the campsite.

  • The trees will begin to open up and you'll get a very clear picture of the cliff and mountains.

In the 3 days that we were there, we didn't see anyone else try to take on the same route. Although, we saw plenty of other smaller SUVs and cars get down there via the turn-off.  

Still can't believe that this place was free with no reservations needed. It's a must stay if you are in the area.

Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
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  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021
  • Review photo of Dispersed on 4 - Fenton Lake State Park by Tiffany J., August 2, 2021