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Established Camping

Brown Springs Campground

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Brown Springs Campground, near Farmington, New Mexico, is a fantastic spot for those looking to enjoy the great outdoors without breaking the bank. This free campground offers spacious sites with picnic tables and fire rings, perfect for cozy evenings under the stars.

The campground is well-kept and features clean pit toilets, making it a comfortable choice for campers. Visitors have noted the peaceful atmosphere, especially after the last off-highway vehicle (OHV) leaves for the night. One camper described it as “complete silence” after dark, which is a rare find in many camping spots.

For adventure seekers, the area is surrounded by rolling hills and offers numerous OHV trails right from your campsite. The dirt road leading to the campground is manageable for most vehicles, but keep in mind that it can get muddy if it rains. As one reviewer put it, “Most of the drive to the site is a dirt road a bit bumpy but so worth the amazing peaceful camp area.”

With no reservations required and a laid-back vibe, Brown Springs Campground is a great choice for anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle. Whether you're in a tent or an RV, this spot has everything you need for a memorable camping experience.

Description

Bureau of Land Management

This is a newly developed campground and OHV park within the popular Glade Run Recreation Area. Opened in May of 2019, this recreation park features a small riding track for young people, a skills training track, ten developed campsites, toilets, and a pavilion. A ten (10) site dry developed campground with a vault toilet at the Brown Springs OHV Area. An OHV training area with parking, tot-lot, training pan, skills trail, group shelter, and vault toilet at the Brown Springs OHV Area.

Fee Info

Fill out the following permit: https://farmingtonnm.org/uploads/documents/Brown_Springs_BLM_Camping_Permit.pdf Email a copy to: dmckim@blm.gov Print a copy and place it on your dashboard

Reservation Info

There is no overnight fee for camping, however, a camping permit from BLM is needed. Contact the Farmington BLM Field Office, 505-564-7600, for permit information. https://farmingtonnm.org/uploads/documents/Brown_Springs_BLM_Camping_Permit.pdf

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Location

Brown Springs Campground is located in New Mexico

Detail location of campground

Directions

The recreation area lies between NM State Highways 170, 574, and 516 with multiple entry points on dirt roads. From Farmington, take Piñon Hills Blvd. and turn north onto the main Glade Road, County Road 1980. Travel north 2 miles to the Glade entrance and the open OHV area. To access the trail system from Piñon Hills, turn north onto College Blvd., travel approximately 1.2 miles just beyond Piedra Vista High School and Lions Wilderness Park. From Flora Vista, turn west onto County Road 3535 from highway 516. Follow the road until the pavement ends, take a left onto non-county maintained road 3536 and travel about 1.5 miles. Access to the Glade is also available from the north. Take NM 574 approximately 6.5 miles from La Plata Highway and turn south onto the main Glade road. Open year-round. The road may become impassible in bad weather. Portions of the Glade Run Recreation Area may be closed to the public for short periods during authorized competitions or events.

Coordinates

36.80688614 N
108.18124597 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Available
  • Verizon
    Good
  • AT&T
    Good
  • T-Mobile
    Good

Site Types

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

Features

For Campers

  • ADA Access
  • Picnic Table
  • Phone Service
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Big Rig Friendly

FREE established camping

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.


PERMIT might be REQUIRED

We curate permit requirements across the US for our PRO members. Try PRO to see if Brown Springs Campground needs a permit.


Reviews

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5.0

out of 5

11 Reviews

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2024

Simple, comfortable spot

Free BLM campground. Modern and well kept. Only a few others there the night we stayed so it was quiet and peaceful

Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Jun. 14, 2024

Very Nice Campground & Free

Brown Springs OHV Campground : (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2024: $ Free Security: No, though patrolled Usage during visit: 3/4s Site Privacy: Dispersed junipers Site Spacing: Good Pad surface: Gravel Reservations: No Campground Noise: No Outside Road Noise: If there are OHVs then there will be a lot. Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: No Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Pit toilets , moderately clean Showers: No Cell Service (AT&T): 4 bars Setting: amongst rolling hills, juniper and sagebrush Recent Weather: 70s Solar: Great Insects: None during our stay Host: No Rig Size: Large Sites: All 9 or so sites are nice w covered picnic tables.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Roger W., June 14, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Roger W., June 14, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Roger W., June 14, 2024
  • (13) View All
Reviewed Jun. 3, 2024

What a gem in the high desert

This place is such a gem. We arrived late at night with a 39 foot toy hauler. No problem backing up in spot #1. Beautiful stars, complete silence after the last OHV left around 10 pm. All we had to do was filling a permit online and email it to BLM. We woke up to the magnificent high desert. The spots are spacious and clean with a fire pit and a table on a concrete slab. You are not right on your neighbor. The bathrooms are clean and accessible. Spot #10 is ADA compliant and very spacious. It is probably a 3 miles drive on a dirt road. 4 wheel drive not required. Only 3 spot were occupied when we pulled up. There is a trail right out of the campground. Best of all - absolutely FREE.

Sitesite #1
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by marine J., June 3, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by marine J., June 3, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by marine J., June 3, 2024
  • (7) View All
Reviewed Mar. 20, 2024

Easiest Free Site we’ve been to

We drove up Hwy 491 from I40 and were surprised there were no sites all the way up to Farmington or Shiprock. We chose this site but got there when it was already dark. Apple Maps to ok us directly to the site. It’s about 3 miles on a long dirt road. The road was dry when we visited so we had no problems. We drove into the tents sites on a Tuesday night and found several vacant.

The site itself was layered with gravel. There’s a covered picnic table and large fire ring in each site. We are tent campers and appreciated not setting the tent in the mid or dirt. The other sites are close but not so close you are forced to make conversation. That’s a choice here!

We didn’t hike while here but you could easily have some fun out there!

Site2
Month of VisitMarch
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Amber W., March 20, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Amber W., March 20, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Amber W., March 20, 2024
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2024

Dirt road paradise

Warning if it is raining or has been raining it WILL be muddy and quickly becomes impassable.

Now that we got that out of the way this site is absolutely gorgeous! Most of the drive to the site is a dirt road a bit bumpy but so worth the amazing peaceful camp area. The grounds are very well-kept

Site9
Month of VisitFebruary
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Heidi S., February 5, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Heidi S., February 5, 2024
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Heidi S., February 5, 2024
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2023

Great Free Spot

This was our first boondocking experience and we were very pleased. The area was beautiful with lots of OHV trails. We had a few spots to choose from and all were spaced out nicely. There was a clean vault toilet. We camped in our bronco but there was plenty of room for trailers. All sites had a covered picnic table and fire ring.

Siteclose to beginning of loop
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Sandra W., October 16, 2023
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Sandra W., October 16, 2023
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Sandra W., October 16, 2023
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2023

Clean new BLM campground

We got our permit at the nearby BLM office. The sand/gravel road to the Campground is decent, but almost got stuck in soft spots in our 21' motor home. Campsites are nice, with mostly level parking spots, and picnic site under hard roof shade--a good thing, as the New Mexico August sun was hot, and the Campground pretty much treeless.

Sitesites not numbered
Month of VisitAugust
Reviewed May. 24, 2022

SXS MECA

Very nice, clean and quiet. Some sxs noise. That's what we do and why we were here.

SiteBrown springs campground
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by Ron S., May 24, 2022
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2021

GPS glitch…but we found it!

This is a beautiful BLM campground. cement covered dining area, nice fenced in and brick campsite boundary. For reasons we don’t understand we were taken down a nice dirt road that after 2 miles turned into a 4x4 road. Had I not gotten out and scouted- we would have had real problems. Turned around and after a few more wrong tunes headed down W. Piñon Hills Blvd to N. Glade road. Also Sinclare gas station has it all- propane, dump, fresh water. Dump and water was free.

Yes this in an OHV area. Not too noisy but they are here!

Feels like glamping on BLM!

Site5
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by David N., October 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by David N., October 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by David N., October 23, 2021
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Oct. 17, 2021

Super Well Made Free Campground In Beautiful Rec Area

There are 10 back-in campsites, 1 is handicap accessible, and all of them are large enough for most sizes of RVs. 

The 2.5 mile dirt road to the campground is a little wild since there are a lot of washes that have gone across the road but it was doable for our 2 wheel drive class c RV. 

Each campsite has a shade structure, fire pit, picnic table, and a grill. 

There are no trash services and the vault toilet didn't have any toilet paper but it's there to use for tent and van campers. 

There's a lot of OHV trails in the area and even some pretty sweet mountain bike trails.

Site4
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by TheCampingNerd .., October 17, 2021
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by TheCampingNerd .., October 17, 2021
  • Review photo of Brown Springs Campground by TheCampingNerd .., October 17, 2021
  • (5) View All

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the elevation of Brown Springs Campground?

    Brown Springs Campground is located at 5736 feet.

  • Are fires allowed at Brown Springs Campground?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Brown Springs Campground, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Brown Springs Campground?

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