Lake 13-Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge

We stayed here 1 night on our trip back to Texas from Colorado. 

Plenty of room for several rvs/vans  and tent campers.  Picnic tables and trash bins available.  No shade, no potable water, no electric, no sewer.  True boondocking site.  There are pit toilets at the entrance to the camping zone.   Roads are gravel and well maintained.  

Great site for a touch-n-go overnight stay while traveling.

Great location about half way between Albuquerque and Colorado Springs. I snuck in late one night and napped 2 hours near the pit toilets and left before daylight, so as not to disturb the campers with my brief stay. Pit toilets a plus of course. Can be frosty.

This is a good spot for a quick, free overnight

Nice views, level, has a pit toilet, trash and recycling. It was a nice spot to spend a night heading home. There are several picnic tables too. We pulled in around 5pm on a Friday and there were 3 other vans in the camping area with plenty of room.

Nothing fancy but great views of the lake and always some amazing waterfowl. Just drive in and pick one of 4 spots. We’re always the only ones there.

Only the sounds of nature, other than the flies around 3pm it was perfect. In winter or loads of rain the dirt road could become very difficult to pass.

Quiet , just you and the wildlife

Stayed: 5/20/2022

Cost: FREE

Site: N/A

Vehicle: Buick Verano

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Good service

We had an extremely windy night that almost had us take the tent down and car it. If it wasn’t for that, this place was great. It’s a wide open area with trash cans and pit toilets. Nice little spot to setup for a night!

#DareToEverywhere

Fantastic sites. We got one by itself near and old boat ramp. Level and a pull through. Easy access. Just go straight northbound on the main road till you see the sign for Lake 13. Sites are on the west shore.

Came across this camp site by using this app ( The Dirt ) it’s helpful and especially when people like ourselves leave reviews like the other people left. First it’s clean and sorta small but great to you off the hwy and take small break. Just like the other’s reviews. I’ll be back when it’s not cold.

Easy access. Wide open and super peaceful, quiet. No one else out here. Easy access and camping adjacent to a dam overlooking a lake.

We stopped for just one night but could easily have stayed longer. Easy to find by just following signs. There were four of us total the night we stayed but it felt spacious nonetheless. Gorgeous setting. Very peaceful. Pit toilets. No water so come prepared.

We had good TMobile cell connection.

Came here on a Friday night and shared the place with only 2 other campers. The camping area isn’t huge but a few others could have been there and still had plenty of space. There’s a new picnic tables and several trash bins located in the camping area. There’s also 2 vault toilets that were clean. Not much of a lake left but plenty of birds & beautiful sunsets to watch. Super easy to get to off the interstate and was very peaceful. Free & felt safe! Also had great AT&T service.

Camping area has maybe 6 sites, each with a picnic table, but the view looks out onto the lake where hundreds of waterfowl floated. Sandhill cranes were just arriving with many other species. The primitive sites filled up the night we were there, even with a long Class A motorhome. Never saw any official personnel but the sites were mowed and clean. Only reason I don't give this a 5 is the lack of facilities.

A bit of the way off the paved road.  Do NOT follow GPS, follow the signs for the Maxwell wildlife refuge.  

Camping is right next to the lake in an open field with picnic tables and trash.  

We arrived and there was a schoolie and a van.  Later that evening a class A pulled in next to us but there was plenty of room.  There were some flies but not enough to bother with.

We have a 43’ fifth wheel and made it there with no problem so definitely big rig friendly

Super pretty sunset and sunrise. Got here at sunset and just pulled up no hassles. Very quiet people wise, and lots of pretty bird tweets. Also the drive to get here was stunning. First time car camping and couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Really lovely drive out here, gorgeous view of the stars at night. Toilets at the front, a few picnic tables and sites. No campfires allowed.

It’s places like this that make me realize this how possible Van Life is!

I rolled in at 9pm when I had reservation issues else where, after finding this online at 830pm. There are full bars and open spaces. I felt bad rolling in to the lot because there were other people set up and tucked in. A few were blasting music and chatting loudly, but everyone was quiet from 10pm to 8am. I car camp, but the people staying were full timer van life or family’s camping out for the weekend. With spring coming in, the birds were a great natural alarm. Sure the lake was empty, but it’s free, easy to find, and free. The pit toilets were clean, and there were a few picnic tables at a few spots and lots of trash cans to keep it clean. Plus, the Milky Way was to die for.

I pulled into a tall grassy area so I felt kind of guilty in the morning when I saw they cut the grass in recommended dispersed spots. It wasn’t an issue though, set up anywhere as long as you’re not being a jerk.

It’s very accessible, good views, 30 mins from capulin volcano and sugarite state park.

FREE campground! Large relatively flat grass lot with garbage cans and picnic tables. Pit toilets and recycling at  the entrance. The lake was completely dry but has fishing and trolling motor boats only allowed when there is water. Very quiet place to stay the night. There was only one other camper that showed up when we stayed here. Lots of wildlife and pets allowed on leash.