Forest Road 568 - Dispersed Camping

It's late June. Weather is nice and the sites are beautiful, but the insects are really buzzing. Be careful if you are allergic to bees. There's also a fire ban which is a camping bummer.

We saw a few folks and some hunters but it was very quest! Best part was the hike included some 4 legged friends!

Stayed at the end of February into March, Saturday-Friday. Totally secluded under the pines with lots of hiking (and wildlife!) nearby within walking distance. Sugar Pines RV Park is 10 minutes away and offers dump and fill for $10.

Great spot that we have stayed at a couple times on our way to Moab.

We drove in around 10pm and the small town of Cloudcroft was beautiful for anyone needing a place to stop before heading into the forest. We saw more elk than we could count! Just glowing eyes everywhere and all in the road. The road dead ends at a fenced private property so we turned around and just got a pull off spot for the night since we camp in the truck but there's tons of tent spots. Some rock made fire pits around. And we didn't see anyone around us for miles. Tons of bullet shells everywhere. It was almost errie how quiet it was! Camped here on our way down to the White Sands.

Road isn't bad, but we are in a higher up Toyota Tacoma. Poor cell signal for T-Mobile but Verizon did!

This amazing camping spot near cloudcroft nm is a perfect place to stop by and see the beautiful woods and mountains of Lincoln mountains.

We arrived at about 7:30 pm so all of the lower spots were taken. We followed the road all the way to the gated closure. There was someone already there in a nice spot, so we turned around (we were able to do this in our 20 ft class c rv, but it might be tight if you’re in something larger) and drove back down a bit, then parked right off the road. Even though we didn’t get an actual campsite, it was ok because all we needed was somewhere to sleep for the night. The road is rocky and narrow, but we were able to make it in a 2 wheel drive vehicle with pretty low clearance.

We went in mid-march and the road there was decently slick. However, after turning a corner we had to stop because a tree was in the road. We lost our momentum and had to sleep in the truck for the night. I’m sure it’s a nice place but be prepared!

Easy to find. A little rough getting in, but we made it in a small SUV. Not sure how well a car will do.

Lots of wildlife driving in. We saw 6 big elk and several deer.

Cold at night but it warmed up when the sun came out.

Lots of fire pits, but if you’re in a tent the ground is uneven and rocky.

If you don't feel like dropping 20 bucks a night or more for a spot to camp, this is a great alternative.  FR 568 is about a mile long and has a ton of all types of dispersed camping on both sides of the road, from little tent sites to pull-throughs for campervans and trailers.

Not a terrible road at all.  I drive a little, low-clearance hatchback and was able to make it all the way to the end of the road and back out while scoping out sites.  Go the whole length and see what your options are so you can pick the best one.

Stayed a couple of nights in different sites.  I would recommend a 4-wheel drive and maybe something with a little clearance.  It's pretty rocky so take your time.  My site was large and I couldn't see or hear any neighboring sites.  I had a handful of others drive by but overall it was quiet.  I would absolutely stay here again if I was in the area.  The nights were gorgeous and quiet.

We planned on only staying up here a couple days, but plans off the mountain fell through and we stayed for 12. It was gorgeous. Huge forest with lots of exploring to do. We got a nice little private spot under a huge tree. There was lots of really nice people staying at the sites at the entrance, but if you go further you can find some privacy. Less than a 5 minute drive from Cloudcroft. We also found a lot of bones from dead animals which was pretty cool.

04/15/22 service road 568, Lincoln National Forest, NM

Friday night/Good Friday

I found this camp on a suggestion from a local waitress at Big Daddy’s. It was a short drive off the main road to get to the camp. The spot I found felt pretty secluded despite there being a lot of other campers in the area. There were several rock fire rings so I took my pick based on the direction of the wind.

It’s a dispersed area, so no bathrooms or showers, but well worth it for the scenery. There was a dry water run off that ran the entire length down the mountain and a tree lined bluff across from there. I bet it’s pretty cool to see the water run when the snow melts.

There was an occasional OHV that cruised by and people walking their dogs, but everything went calm before sunset. I would have liked to hit some of the trails in the area, but my Jeep was completely overloaded so I decided to come back another time.

Needed a last resort spot to sleep and decided on finding a spot here. Visited in last day in November, so it was a bit cold at night. Since it was so late in the year I ran across 0 other people, and at night it was absolutely silent. You can get as far away from main roads as you need. There are infinite spots on this road. It’s quite long and the road conditions aren’t all that bad, so anyone can access it. You can tell where other people have been due to campfires. But if you visit anytime in the year I’m sure you’re able to find a spot, as they can extend up to 200ft back into the woods and have lots of area. About 5 min drive to main road and 8 minutes to cloudcroft. There was no trash, and also no amenities. I highly recommend this spot if you need somewhere free to stay extended or even one night if you’re visiting Lincoln. Coordinates are accurate

Great strip of dispersed campsites along the forest road. Very high elevation (8000ft), so it can get colder. Cell service is great. Services are near at cloudcroft. Was rather crowded here in October but still plenty of spot.

Arrived around 6 pm on a Tuesday evening. Took a right at the fork (sweet group campsite there but occupied) and stayed the night at a pull off to the left, about halfway up the hill. Road is a little rough but flattens out as you go up the hill. After the fork, sites big enough for a van or larger Class B but that's it. I had AT&T 3-4 bars of signal, enough to work my remote job and stream You-Tube. A very nice group site at the top of the hill, big enough for 2-3 Class Bs. 5 bars of AT&T there. You might get something slightly bigger but not a lot of turnaround space for a bigger rig. No services or toilets. Lots of quiet.

Nice road with not to many bad spots fairly smooth and nice. You can have a fire, lots of fire rings at every turn, also lots of rocks so if your ground tenting it can be an issue.

Cell coverage, good clearings. Fills up fast though!

Sleeping surrounded by the trees was awesome. It was so calm. Not a lot of cars drive through the road right beside it, so it’s pretty quiet.

Great spot! Excellent service. Couldn’t ask for a better spot in the trees :)