Blanco Campground at Heron Lake State Park is located near Heron Lake in New Mexico. The area features a mix of forested terrain and open spaces, with temperatures ranging from 20°F in winter to 85°F in summer. Nearby attractions include Heron Lake for fishing and boating, and the Brazos Cliffs for hiking and scenic views.

A picturesque lake set among the tall pines of northern New Mexico, Heron Lake State Park has been designated a “quiet lake” where boats operate at no-wake speeds only, making it an excellent location for all types of paddle craft.
Heron Lake also has amazing sailing, cross- country skiing, and hiking. The park is a fisherperson’s paradise with record-size trout and kokanee salmon. Ice fishing is very popular in winter. Several campgrounds line the shore of this scenic lake with primitive and developed campsites are available for every taste.

Park Elevation 7,167 ft

Please see the Park Alerts section for more information.

Wildlife viewing opportunities abound at Heron Lake, where you may see the elusive mountain
lion, black bear, elk, deer, marmot, bald eagles, and osprey.

Access the hiking and fishing trail along the gorgeous Rio Chama from the dramatic caprock
stairway near Heron Dam. The 5.5-mile trail, which crosses the river by suspension bridge,
affords panoramic views and an adventurous route to neighboring El Vado Lake.

Blanco Campground — Heron Lake State Park

Tierra Amarilla is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Tierra Amarilla is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Tierra Amarilla, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Tierra Amarilla

The Best Camping Near Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico

We stayed in Blanco CG site 52 for 6 days in a 36’ Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow. The park has gone to great lengths to make the sites level and most looked like they were. Ours was very level and I almost didn’t need to level at all. All of the sites are spacious and quite widely spaced. However, the inner loop pull-throughs are a bit wonky given the oneway road, as the hookups are on the apposite side that they should be for a pull-through. Most of them had enough space to make a U-turn and come in from the opposite direction, but our site was to tight for our rig to do that so I had to drop and back in. The park has several nice trails and the bathrooms/showers were pretty clean and well maintained, although there are only 2 shower stalls, one of them HA, for the whole campground. Unfortunately, the lake has been allowed to go mostly dry, during the decades long drought, to maintain a reservoir down at lower elevation and closer to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. AT&amp;T coverage was fair, with 2 Bars of LTE service and speeds up to about 2 MB/s. Most of the trees are fairly low, so we were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site. There were no OTA channels to be had with our fixed omni antenna. There is one small grocery store in Chama, with very limited selection, so plan accordingly. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in Chama were also closed and looked like they had been for some time. Also, Google Maps erroneously shows a Fresh for Less in Los Ojos, but if you pull it up, it’s actually in Bernalillo. I’ve submitted a correction request to Google, so perhaps that will get fixed. Also, also, coming from the South and East RVTripWizard routed us down an impossible, and completely unnecessary, dirt track road to get there. I’ve submitted a request to fix this also, but in the meantime be aware and approach via US-64/84 and State Road 95.

Photos of Blanco Campground — Heron Lake State Park

Real photos from real campers