I would recommend staying at this site, I would just bring your own water to drink. watch out for tarantulas also!
We stayed here while visiting Carlsbad Caverns and GIadalupe MoIuntains. Overall this is a nice place. Everything was very clean and the staff were kind and helpful. Be careful if you drink their water, I think it made us sick.
Very open campground (not a lot of privacy) with easy access to showers. They have a great little convenience store on site and a little cafe/burger style eatery. Make sure you bring the majority of your supply needs in as the nearest store is about 18 miles into Carlsbad.
Great Campsite! Great amenities: Spotless restrooms and showers, well stocked store with friendly staff, clean pool, fish pond with seating area, big sites with picnic table and fire ring, on-site restaurant with delicious bbq, wildish rabbits roaming freely. The area is very quiet. My favorite part was the visibility of the stars at night.
Nice campground in the desert, pool, hour or so to Carlsbad caverns, full hook ups, shade shelters
Carlsbad Caverns is amazing! Going during bat season is even more incredible, unbelievable almost. Make no mistake about the location, however. As so many KOAs are not in the town that bears their name, this KOA is no exception. It is not in the Carlsbad limits, it is 30 minutes north of Carlsbad and 1+ hour north of Carlsbad Caverns. ( not sure why another reviewer stated it was only 30 minutes away—maybe they were mistaking it for Carlsbad RV Park, which was formerly a KOA(?) no disrespect meant—people should know before they go, google maps will confirm).
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of cram them in RV parks, but there are few options for camping around Carlsbad and they are all RV parks except for the first come first serve campground at Guadalupe National Park which stands a really good chance of being full before I could ever roll in. This KOA has all the amenities including a pool, clean showers, store, laundry, and hot meals—if you can order hours in advance. The RV sites are spacious for being an RV Park, but by no means “spacious”. They had excellent and easy pull through options and many cabins. The cabins were pricey, but cross between the camping/hotel ease of lodging; of course, visitors bring their own sleeping bags and linens.
We found the staff was neither overly friendly nor rude. It did seem to take a very long time to process anything, however, because anytime we went into the store/check-in, we had to wait, awhile (20+ minutes). While this held true for the weekend we were there, maybe it isn’t typical? Overall, it’s a place to hang one’s hat and enjoy a campfire under the night sky. It’s also a good middle ground between Carlsbad and the Roswell area attractions if that is the goal. If the only plans are to see the national parks (Carlsbad and Guadalupe), I’d recommend considering Carlsbad RV Park—which is right on the southern edge of Carlsbad. While in town, consider checking out Fiesta Drive In Theater. It’s one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters.
Crowded, charming, typical KOA. Located about 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Quaint store, great play room (super nice staff- left the playroom open for us an additional hour due to downpour!) Accommodated our family as our reservation was deleted and we had nowhere else to go! :) Great clean restrooms and showers.
If you haven't yet discovered the beauty of the chihuahuan desert, the Carlsbad KOA is a great place to hang your hat while you explore.
I often stay in camping cabins at KOA's while on road trips with my children. We like having a bed to spread our sleeping bags out on sometimes, access to AC after a hot day of exploration and the kids like a chance to 'plug in' while we are unplugged....
Carlsbad KOA is big, but it has adequate bathrooms and showers for the size, and they were in very good shape when we visited in June 2016. There is a pool, laundry, all the amenities you need if you are RVing, a game room and food on site. If you like camp cabins, the cabins had grills, picnic tables, the usual double + set of bunks (bring your own bedding), and AC.
Campground was peaceful. The great tailed grackels were courting and whistling, quail wandered through and rabbits romped around our cabin.
If you are in this area, visit the Living Desert State Park and Zoo and of course Carlsbad Caverns - stay and watch the bats fly out in the evening.
The only drawback on this KOA was that the wifi signal was spotty at our cabin, and I had some work to do. If you are taking an ACTUAL vacation, it wouldn't be an issue!
Honestly, I'm just not a fan of KOAs. They're not scenic, and I always regret not just going camping. but I do have to admit, Carlsbad was AMAZING. So beautiful, just not a fan of the campgrounds.
