Lake 13-Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge

We seem to always be here in the winter. It’s fantastic and free. Just pull in and pick your favorite spot.
This place can get cold. If the forecast is for 15° plan on 0.

We pulled in at dusk. There was two other campers already here. It’s wide open, clean.

We really enjoyed this spot.  Quiet, the roads were good going in and out, washboard but no ruts and pot holes.  Right as you get off the interstate there are some city dumpsters for your trash.  The visitor center was stilled closed due to the shutdown.  We stayed three days and there were lots of birds and a couple of deer.  Everyone was quiet once the sun went down.  We will be back for sure.  We were in a 40' class A with a Jeep toad.

Has pit toilets and trash, a truly great spot for birdwatching. Very calm. I did get a knock but they were just warning me about a prescribed burn in the area.

Pulled in here and found a place to camp. No marked sites, just an open area by a beautiful lake. Very high winds with a wind advisory when we arrived. 30-40 mph winds with gusts to over 60 mph. We have camped in higher winds than these so, not a big deal. About 6 others camped here now, only 3 when we arrived at 1 pm.

Just a small open area, three picnic tables, a couple of pit toilets, trash cans. Lots of birds, a couple of deer, lots of coyotes off in the distance. Fishing is allowed but I didn't see any.

We were looking forward to boondocking at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge today, in early May - and we will try again in Oct when we come back this way. But north eastern and north central New Mexico have had days of heavy rain and flooding alerts. Today was dry until shortly after we arrived to check out the camping area. We deemed the ground too damp, figuring we would get stuck sinking into the soft earth if we drove onto the grass. Another rainstorm was coming in fast. The 2-3 miles of dirt washboard road was not a problem when dry, but would be a problem after rain. We were lucky to leave just as the rain started. We encourage folks to camp here. It's not a bad place! But don't bring a heavy big rig if it's been raining. We went on to a Harvest Host location (Calfax Bar and Diner, about 12 miles west, very nice people), but the ground was too soft there too. We ended up in the Raton, NM KOA. It's not free, but it's a fine place.

There are reports of bears in the area (wildlife refuge). This is a great Boondocking spot, the ground is nice and level, there is a lake here but it appears to be fenced off. The view is breathtaking, the sounds of nature are all around you. I'll be coming back again for sure

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.

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.