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Established Camping

El Morro National Monument

El Morro National Monument, near Ramah, New Mexico, is a unique campground that offers a quiet escape surrounded by stunning landscapes and rich history. With just nine first-come, first-served sites, it’s a cozy spot where you can enjoy the beauty of the desert and the fascinating inscriptions left by travelers over the centuries.

The campground features basic amenities like vault toilets and water sources, making it a comfortable place to set up camp. Visitors have noted the peaceful atmosphere, with one camper mentioning, “We didn’t hear a sound all night,” which is perfect for stargazing in the area’s low light pollution. The trails nearby provide excellent hiking opportunities, including a climb that rewards you with breathtaking views.

For those who love exploring, the monument itself is a must-see, with trails leading to ancient ruins and petroglyphs. Reviewers have praised the ranger programs available on weekends, adding an educational touch to your stay. Whether you're hiking during the day or enjoying the tranquility of the night, El Morro National Monument offers a memorable camping experience.

Description

National Park Service

El Morro National Monument

El Morro National Monument operates a nine-site campground year-round. First come-first served. Each site has a graveled tent pad, picnic table and ground grill for fires. During the warmer months, water is available at spigots that are centrally located along the campground loop road. Once the overnight low's begin to reach freezing temperatures, water is turned off for the season. There are no hookups for RVs. The length limit on all motor homes is 27 feet overall. One site, #5, is handicapped accessible.

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Location

El Morro National Monument is located in New Mexico

Detail location of campground

Directions

From Albuquerque, NM, or from the east: take Interstate 40 west to Grants. At exit 81, go south on Highway 53 for 42 miles to El Morro National Monument. From Flagstaff, AZ, or from the west: take Interstate 40 east to Gallup. At exit 20, go south on Highway 602 for about 31 miles. Turn east (left) onto Highway 53. El Morro is 25 more miles. When you turn onto the El Morro park road, take a left at the sign towards the campground. The campground is 300 yards ahead.

Coordinates

35.03680486 N
108.33782575 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Fair
  • Verizon
    Good
  • AT&T
    Unknown
  • T-Mobile
    Unknown

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Dispersed
  • Group
  • Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Phone Service
  • WiFi
  • Drinking Water
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Pull-Through Sites

Reviews

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69%
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4.5

out of 5

22 Reviews

Reviewed Dec. 30, 2023

Quiet, Lean, and Free

Clean and free campground. We were there in the off-season, and I can imagine it getting busy in the summer.

Month of VisitDecember
Reviewed Nov. 14, 2023

What should you do

What should you do if an outbreak occurs? I discovered a fantastic game called pico park to keep you engaged throughout the cold winter. Right now, come with me. Thank you for giving such useful information.

Month of VisitMarch
Reviewed Jan. 1, 2023

Quiet and free

Small campground. Maybe 9 or 10 sites. 2 vault toilets. No pull-throughs. Free for both campground and the rest of Nat. Mon. Dog friendly trails. Interesting place to visit.

Month of VisitDecember
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Bill , January 1, 2023
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Bill , January 1, 2023
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Bill , January 1, 2023
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2022

Beautiful location

I am camping here in late February. It's 50° today with Lows down in the '20s tonight. Completely nice enough to hike in a jacket during the day.

Site8
Month of VisitFebruary
Reviewed Oct. 29, 2021

Stunning setting and fun hiking and it's dog friendly!

This campground is a must stay. Between the separated free sites, small number of spots, and ranger programming on-site at the campground every weekend, it was a top 5 favorite spot for us. Especially since it is our nation's 2nd national monument created! It is also one of the only trail dog-friendly monuments we have seen. 

We arrived on a busy holiday weekend and easily managed to find a spot. There are 9 fully equipped spots total with one being fully wheelchair accessible. Fire ring, picnic table, 360 views, and nice rangers. There is a well-maintained pit toilet and water sources. 

The campground is quiet since it is out of the way of the main highways. You really have to want to be here in particular to find it. In early September the weather was perfect. Not too hot, a bit rainy, and covered in wildflowers. This isn't a National Monument with a lot of attention paid to it. The rangers do a great job maintaining it but since it is out of the way and not highly Instagrammed, it is beautifully quiet. 

We got up early to hike El Morro since the trails are only open from 9-5 (be back at the ranger station by 4:45). We were the first ones on the trail and stairs. 1000% recommend doing the stairs route if your body can take it. The 200 ft stair climb wasn't bad at all and the views and trail up top were incredible. I would recommend going up this way and down the switchbacks instead of the reverse.

Site8
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Hayley K., October 29, 2021
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Hayley K., October 29, 2021
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Hayley K., October 29, 2021
  • (16) View All
Reviewed Aug. 9, 2021

Southwest

Nice quiet park with great view. Great for birding.

Site1
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Sharron D., August 9, 2021
Reviewed Jul. 2, 2021

Quiet and beautiful sacred place

We rolled in just before dusk and luckily got the last of nine sites. Toilet and water provided, picnic tables and grill pit at each site. Aside from a couple of friendly greetings we didn’t hear a sound all night. Slept wonderfully in the fresh night air. The monument is a must see.

Site6
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed May. 11, 2021

Great location for the Monument.

Traveling in. Mercedes Sprinter camper. An extremely well maintained campsite situated on a bluff with distant views over the desert and only a short hike to the visitor center. The Monument is well worth a visit, a short two miles hike to the pueblo and the inscription wall which is fascinating. Very quiet and not full in early May.

Month of VisitMay
Reviewed Jan. 15, 2021

Beautiful beyond compaee

El Morro the second oldest national monument (Devil’s Tower being the oldest) nestled between the Zuni Pueblo and El Malpais National monument outside of Grants NM. The view includes pictographs, inscriptions of travelers as far back as the 11th century. Open Wednesday through Sunday a wonderful place to visit. On-site primitive campground with onsite water and dump station also has vault toilets. The campground sits in a natural zero light pollution with amazing stargazing opportunities

Reviewed Sep. 28, 2020

Nice spot

Stayed here after visiting bandera volcano and ice caves... about an hour away. The campground was very clean and well maintained. Fire ring, pad for a tent and a picnic bench were at each site. Bathroom was very clean. Water was also available. Awesome night sky and very quiet. Small campground with 9 sites. I didn’t visit the monument but loved the area and campsite. I would definitely stay here again.

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Monte W., September 28, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Monte W., September 28, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Monte W., September 28, 2020
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2020

Took the short hike

As we where driving to our next destination I stopped to check out this National Monument. Plenty of parking and even easy access with my 34ft 5th wheel. There are two trails to hike, I was a little short on time and just did the shorter one in about 30 minutes. This hike takes you along the base of the cliffs and to a natural pool of water. Trails are well maintained. I also saw they had an RV park there at the Monument but was limited to trailer under 27ft. Worth the stop and was dog friendly as I took my dog on the hike.

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Joseph W., September 7, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Joseph W., September 7, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Joseph W., September 7, 2020
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2020

Beautiful remote location that is FREE!

Stayed in site #1 and really enjoyed the view and the weather. Despite it being mid-July, overnight low’s were quite cool and comfortable. Restroom is minimal but enclosed. No cell service available.

Site1
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Heather W., August 20, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Heather W., August 20, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Heather W., August 20, 2020
  • (13) View All
Reviewed Mar. 1, 2020

Beautiful location

El Morro National Monument features some amazing petroglyphs and the remains of a pueblo, offering fun hikes. Nearby is a free campground, first-come, first-served. There's water available except in winter (and then you can fill containers at the visitor's center) and vault toilets.

Sites offer picnic tables, fire rings, and tent pads. Some, because of their set-up, are better suited to tents than RVs, but because you can't reserve in advance, you'll get to choose what works best for you...assuming there's vacancy. In December it was cold and largely unoccupied, but in warmer months I'm guessing it fills quickly. Sit 5 is handicap accessible and located across from the bathroom.

Month of VisitDecember
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Jean C., March 1, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Jean C., March 1, 2020
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Jean C., March 1, 2020
  • (33) View All
Reviewed Sep. 21, 2019

Free and comfortable!

Free campsite with first comes first policy and it fills up! The sites are pretty close to each other and there only 1 bathroom that gets very used. It’s kept clean but smells awful. Drinking water is available as well as grills and fire rings at every site. Bonus for amazing sunset views of the monument!

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Shavit L., September 21, 2019
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Shavit L., September 21, 2019
Reviewed Apr. 30, 2019

Really nice free camping!

We've stayed here a couple times as a stopping over point on the way to things in AZ but we always talk about how we would like to spend more time. The monument is really cool and the campground is very nice. Clean, quiet, beautiful, everything you would want in a campsite!

Reviewed Sep. 2, 2018

Summer Camp

Spent two nights here in June, very nice campground each site has a picnic table, fire ring and trash can nearby. Lots of trees for shade. Water is available at the visitor center a short drive away. El Morro is a great place to explore. Highly recommend this place to stay

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Robert A., September 2, 2018
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Robert A., September 2, 2018
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Robert A., September 2, 2018
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2018

Free Camping!

El Morro National Monument is located on an ancient east-west trail in western New Mexico. The main feature of this National Monument is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base.

We only hiked the Inscription Rock Loop but were impressed with the way the park integrated features like water channels into the land using natural elements. Everything was organized and impressive.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by GoWhereYouAreDraw N., August 3, 2018
Reviewed May. 28, 2018

Gorgeous Views and bright stars.

Campground is conveniently located 2 minute drive from the El Morro Visitor Center. Easily accessible sites with parking on each site, fire pit, picnic table. The views and stars are breathtaking. Pit toilets well kept, but didn't find any water spigot anywhere. Trash receptacles on site and no fee to camp. Can't beat free camping. Careful of the grass if you have small children. When the prickly pear cactus die and rot away their little hairy spines remain. My toddler fell in a patch of invisible spines and it was a challenge to remove them by lantern light with crummy first aid kit tweezers.

Site13
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Court M., May 28, 2018
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Court M., May 28, 2018
Reviewed May. 12, 2018

Great Camping!

We stayed here in February on our drive from St. Louis to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful and FREE! It was also extremely cold in February, like my water bottle froze overnight. The campsites are nice and spacious and pretty flat. They each have a tent pad and picnic table. It was quiet at night and you could see a lot of stars. The vault toilets were clean and had TP. The next morning we did the hike around the monument and it was well worth it! There is a staffed visitor center/gift shop with good info.

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Mara F., May 12, 2018
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Mara F., May 12, 2018
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Mara F., May 12, 2018
  • (11) View All
Reviewed May. 8, 2017

The Majesty of El Morro

I drove here from Oklahoma to visit a ranger who used to work with me at Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Beautiful monument and trails, and the camping was superb. El Morro has nine campsites, all of which are free and first come first serve. Restrooms (vault toilets) and a water fountain are available as well. I stayed overnight on May 7 and there were 3 other campers, all quiet and friendly. The temperature got down to the mid-40s at night, which was perfect for sleeping. I loved it here!

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Ashe L., May 8, 2017
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Ashe L., May 8, 2017
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Ashe L., May 8, 2017
  • (11) View All
Reviewed Oct. 1, 2016

FREE!

Camping here was free when we went, you just had to reserve a site using a little tag. We stayed for 2 nights. There were toilets and running water, so we filled up our 5 gallon jug. It was great to stay for free in the NP so we could spend the whole day at the park. There were picnic tables and tons of trees for shade and hammocks. There were also tent pads. When we were there (May) there were tons of open sites, I think we were 1 of 4 people staying there. Nice and quiet!

  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Leah W., October 1, 2016
  • Review photo of El Morro National Monument by Leah W., October 1, 2016

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Are fires allowed at El Morro National Monument?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at El Morro National Monument, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Does El Morro National Monument have wifi?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, El Morro National Monument does have wifi.

  • Is there cell phone reception at El Morro National Monument?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is good, AT&T is unknown, and T-Mobile is unknown.