Karen N.
Guide
GuideSanta Barbara Campground
Beautiful weekend
Stay at Santa Barbara Campground in Northern New Mexico. Was a beautiful spot. Road to Campground was well taken care of Beautiful trails throughout area
Equestrian Camping near Arroyo Hondo, NM
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Carson National Forest near Arroyo Hondo offers dispersed camping options where horses are permitted. Forest Service Road 578, accessible about 5 miles south of Tres Piedras on the west side of Highway 285, provides multiple primitive camping sites suitable for horse owners. The dirt road contains ruts that may be challenging for RVs but is navigable with appropriate vehicles. While no dedicated horse corrals exist at these sites, the spacious clearings accommodate portable corrals and highlines. Many campers report complete solitude during their stay with beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains visible from certain vantage points.
Trail access throughout Carson National Forest connects riders to numerous bridle paths and wilderness areas. The Forest Service provides detailed maps showing permissible riding routes and camping areas. Weather conditions can change rapidly in this high-elevation terrain, particularly in spring and fall when overnight temperatures frequently drop below freezing. Water access for horses is limited at dispersed sites, requiring campers to bring adequate supplies. Rio Costilla Park, located north of Arroyo Hondo, offers additional camping with more amenities including picnic tables and toilet facilities, though the fees have increased to $30-40 per night. The park encompasses 10,000 acres of aspens and ponderosa pines with ample room for horse trailers and various hiking and riding opportunities.
Best Equestrian Campgrounds near Arroyo Hondo (16)
1. Big Arsenic Springs Campground
"The location is isolated and you need to bring plenty of water. The advantage is being able to walk into the Gorge, which if you fly fish, is an amazing thing."
2. Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping
"Many open areas to camp right off the highway. The views of the mountains across the valley are best after the fork in the road. Please pick up extra trash if you use"
"I didn’t see anyone else camping or driving by. The forest is a nice mix of sage, juniper, and pine trees. I saw two elk across a swath of sage."
3. Mallette Creek North
"Serene surroundings and even and beautiful place to camp during a thunderstorm!"
4. Rio Costilla Park
"This is the first campground I’ve found in New Mexico where I felt like I was camping in Colorado, it was so green and beautiful!"
"The park is HUGE and just so beautiful. 10,000 acres of aspens and ponderosa pines only one hour away from the town of Taos."
from $30 / night
Check Availability5. Agua Piedra Campground
"There is a trail head with 2 trails, one atv accessible and one hiking/horse that goes up to Indian Lake. Beautiful views and about 1200' elevation change."
"Tent camped at this location in the middle of September (a week before closing). Very beautiful place to watch the leaves change, trailheads close by and picnic tables at each site."
from $30 - $175 / night
Check Availability6. Cimarron Campground
"Beautiful location in a place I wasn’t expecting it to be sooo green! Very relaxing and remote as there is zero service. It was perfect & exactly what we were looking for."
"There is a walking trail at the back of the campground to get to Surree Ponds."
from $22 - $40 / night
Check Availability7. Santa Barbara Campground
"Stay at Santa Barbara Campground in Northern New Mexico. Was a beautiful spot. Road to Campground was well taken care of Beautiful trails throughout area"
"The trails are absolutely wonderful and well worth taking a few hours to walk part of them. Hard core hikers will use the campground as a starting point for a lengthy hikes."
from $30 - $80 / night
Check Availability8. Hopewell Lake Campground
"My wife and I have stayed at Hopewell Lake twice now. The first time we stayed here, we stumbled upon this little gem of a site while driving from Durango, CO to Taos, NM."
"No luck fishing but several people around us were catching very nice sized trout. Vault toilets were well stocked and clean."
from $24 - $125 / night
Check Availability9. Borrego Mesa Campground
"About a 15min drive from the highway. Only 5 or 6 sites. Close to the Rio Mario Trail trailhead. Campsite is at elevation over 8,000ft so it can get chilly at night. Worked great for tent camping."
"Campground is a little off the beaten path, about 30m from the High Drive highway. Dirt roads were nothing to worry about, should be fine for any SUV or sedan."
10. Iron Gate Campground
"During rainy seasons, ruts form with deep mud on some spots driving up."
"It's a nice little place tucked away in the woods. The road to get there is a bit rough, hence the title. By no means, Not a road for a large trailer or 5th wheel. Wild life everywhere.."
Drive Time
- 1 hr 31 min from Santa Fe, NM
- 2 hrs 20 min from Albuquerque, NM
- 2 hrs 33 min from Pueblo, CO
- 3 hrs 33 min from Farmington, NM
Equestrian Camping Reviews near Arroyo Hondo, NM
85 Reviews of 16 Arroyo Hondo Campgrounds
Tyler G.GuideHopewell Lake Campground
Wonderful Campground in the scenic Tusas Mountains
My wife and I have stayed at Hopewell Lake twice now. The first time we stayed here, we stumbled upon this little gem of a site while driving from Durango, CO to Taos, NM. It was enchanting enough that we made sure to make it back for an opportunity to take in the scenery and relax during a long weekend. The only issue we ran into was an abundance of mosquitos, but this should be expected during the late Spring/early Summer in northern New Mexico and can be easily addressed with a citronella candle and a bit of bug spray. Our most recent stay was on one of those rare nights where you can pull off the rain fly and not worry about a midnight downpour, which left us with a wonderful view of the stars, and the sites are private enough that, as long as you don't set up next to the table, it's comfortable with an open tent and away from prying eyes.
The campground is nice, very well maintained, and the site host is friendly and helpful. The grounds are a
- Christa A.
TravelerRio Costilla Park
So spacious!
This is the first campground I’ve found in New Mexico where I felt like I was camping in Colorado, it was so green and beautiful! The camp sites were nicely spaced, so we felt like we were primitive camping, but it was nice to have a picnic table, especially because we have a small child. Family friendly. We wish we would have brought our 4x4 vehicle because we had initially planned to camp at little blue lake, but my Subaru Impreza was not powerful enough/didn’t have high enough clearance to make it up the road that lead to the lake! We are definitely planning on camping back to check out the lakes. The only negative thing was that we found some trash at our site from the previous campers. Also, some cows woke us up early in the morning, which was cool, but also scared the shit out of us!
- D
Dorrs T.
ScoutIron Gate Campground
Not as great as I thought it would be.
Based on the reviews I thought this place would be a cool oasis up in the trees. Alas, it's not. There's a loop with 14 total sites. Unfortunately, at least half the sites in the inner ring are unusable because of road runoff making it tough to get to them, and we have a Toyota Tacoma. As a result, they do not get used and are, therefore, overgrown with New Mexico ground cover, which is not comparable to soft grass. That immediately bumps it down to about 10 sites. When we arrived, there was one site available that we could access. It was behind the main trailhead parking area and completely shaded. All in all, not bad, just not our ideal choice since it's right there close to any and all foot traffic. Luckily, as we walked the rest of the loop to see if there was anything else, a couple was just finishing packing up so we were able to snag their spot (#13), which we felt was the best one. Score!
Now, let's talk the road to get there. Absolutely do not try to take a camper of any size to this campground unless it's a legit overland type tear or squaredrop, ideally with an articulating hitch. People are not kidding when they say that's not a good idea. We had our Tacoma in 4L and I'm honestly not sure how some 2WD vehicles make it. There are many spots where the incline is pretty good, a number of deep crevices as a result of water runoff, many sections that are absolutely one lane only, and at least 6 spots where there was a small pond of standing water to drive through. Were any of the ponds show stoppers, no, but the water in one dip came up past the bottom of our doors. All in all, the road is no joke. Yes, I get this is a forest road, but the road snakes through multiple pieces of residential property (albeit they are probably summer homes but we saw people at almost every house when we drove past), and there's a hiking trailhead at the campground, so I expected it to be not THAT bad. In my book, it's not officially 'offroading' but it's worse than other forest service roads we've been on. Oh, and the couple residents we passed driving in their vehicles (you can tell by looking at them they are not campers or hikers) made it abundantly clear they weren't happy with us being on their road. All in all, nice campground with great trailheads but there are too many other beautiful places to hike and camp in NM for us to want to go back.
- Jeff K.Guide
Borrego Mesa Campground
Great campsite!!
Good road all the way in. About a 15min drive from the highway. Only 5 or 6 sites. Close to the Rio Mario Trail trailhead. Campsite is at elevation over 8,000ft so it can get chilly at night. Worked great for tent camping. Sites have a small horse pen but you would need to make a gate on them. Not good for big LQ horse trailers.
Steve & Ashley G.
LegendAgua Piedra Campground
Great Northern New Mexico Camp
We stayed at this site on the way back to Texas from our Colorado trip this summer. This is a great National Forest Campground south of Taos in the Carson Forest. The campground is just off the highway and situated in a beautiful mountain pine forest and next to a great trout stream. You have great shade during the hotter summer months. It’s far enough away from the highway that you don’t hear the traffic. It has a huge meadow and group camp site which look fantastic. The individual sites have some privacy between the sites and come equipped with fire pits and picnic tables. We made a reservation but the camp had a number of open sites in the peak summer season. The highlight here is the proximity of great hiking to nearby lakes and fishing in the trout stream. They had great facilities including clean pit toilets and some historic log cabins. They have a camp host and the sites accommodate tents and smaller vans and campers. I would give this another visit on our next trip to NM.
Ken M.TravelerMccrystal Campground
Remote camping with plenty of wildlife to see
A remote location and popular with horse campers and hunters. The campground has sites with horse corrals installed. The campground was quiet and mostly clean. There are pit toilets on site and well maintained. Level spots with good separation. Nice hiking accross some flat lands and a smal creek runs near by. Early one morning we saw a herd of elk down in a valley near a turn out off the road. Bears frequent the area trying to raid the garbage bins during the night. Makes tent camping a bit unnerving. If you want to explore the area, this is good place to camp. It takes an hour to get to the campsite on a graveled road off the highway out of Cimerron. 25mph was best speed to go to handle the washboard road to the campsite.
Tammy V.TravelerAgua Piedra Campground
Excellent campground!
There is a trail head with 2 trails, one atv accessible and one hiking/horse that goes up to Indian Lake. Beautiful views and about 1200' elevation change.
Potable water available at camp host's location. It has sulfer but the smell cleared after half a day sitting in the sun. We brought our own to drink though.
Some campsites were more separated and others were close together if you were with a group. River runs along the camp for fishing, and they were catching fish.
James F.GuideSanta Barbara Campground
Beautiful Hiking
This is a great campground if you like to take some hikes through some beautiful national forest with a picturesque river. The Santa Barbara Campground is relatively small and most of the sites can't accommodate large rv's. A small travel trailer or tent works well in most sites. None of the sites have hook ups so you will be boon docking. There are vault toilets and water available. Sign on the water spigot said not to connect a hose though so filling your rv or trailer is not what they were intended for. I guess it was good that I filled before I left home. There are lots of trees for shade and beauty. The trails are absolutely wonderful and well worth taking a few hours to walk part of them. Hard core hikers will use the campground as a starting point for a lengthy hikes. There were a few cows that got into the camping area. There can also be horses on the trails so be vigilant.The temperatures were quite moderate as the campsite is at 8900 feet. You can hear the Santa Barbara River as it is very close.
Guide to Arroyo Hondo
Carson National Forest provides dispersed camping options in high-elevation terrain near Arroyo Hondo. The surrounding landscape combines juniper and pine forest with sagebrush clearings at elevations ranging from 7,500 to 9,500 feet. Temperature fluctuations can be extreme, with summer daytime highs reaching 80°F but nighttime lows dipping into the 40s.
What to do
Fishing opportunities: The Rio Costilla Park area north of Arroyo Hondo contains numerous fishing spots that attract anglers. "Fishing is great and quality waters. It is fisherman's fly fishing dream. Camping is great too as you can park next to the river," notes one visitor to Rio Costilla Park.
Hiking trails: Multiple trailheads provide access to wilderness hiking paths with varying difficulty levels. At Iron Gate Campground, one camper reports, "Great hiking trails are near by taking you up to some great scenic outlooks over the mountain sides." Many trails connect directly to campsites.
Wildlife viewing: The region supports diverse wildlife, particularly during early morning and evening hours. "I saw two elk across a swath of sage. I could see the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the eastern horizon when I walked farther up the road," writes a camper who stayed at Carson NF Forest Service Road 578.
What campers like
High elevation cool temperatures: Even during summer months, the elevation provides relief from heat. A camper at Agua Piedra Campground shared, "It is just what WE want when we go camping. You can drive 10 minutes away to Sipapu ski resort to use free wifi at the cafe."
Solitude and privacy: Many sites provide ample separation between campsites, particularly in dispersed areas. "A nice secluded little forest road. RVs will not make it, so it's nice and quiet. Stayed one night and saw no one else," reports a visitor to Carson NF Forest Service Road 578.
Mountain scenery: The surrounding Sangre de Cristo mountains create dramatic landscapes throughout the area. One camper at Mallette Creek North described it as "a beautiful view! A couple of neighbors but never heard them. Not the easiest piece of ground to get the trailer leveled but we made it work."
What you should know
Road conditions vary significantly: Access roads to many sites can be challenging, particularly after rain. "The road isn't terrible going up, saw many 2WD vehicles. Good amount of spots but many have no shade/not level," notes a camper at Iron Gate Campground.
Limited or no services: Most dispersed sites have no facilities whatsoever. Even established campgrounds have basic amenities. "Vault toilets were well stocked and clean. Trails nearby for hiking and biking," writes a visitor to Hopewell Lake Campground.
Cell service limitations: Signal is spotty or non-existent in many camping areas. "Cell service drops completely pretty soon after leaving the highway. I sporadically received some messages at my camp site but not reliably," reports a camper at Carson NF Forest Service Road 578.
Tips for camping with families
Stream access: Camping near water features provides natural entertainment for children. At Rio Costilla Park, one camper shared, "Took inner tubes and rode them down the stream! Stayed two nights and loved every minute."
Wildlife awareness: Teaching children about local wildlife enhances the experience while promoting safety. At Santa Barbara Campground, a visitor noted, "There were a few cows that got into the camping area. There can also be horses on the trails so be vigilant."
Temperature preparation: Significant day-to-night temperature swings require appropriate clothing and sleeping gear. "It got cold at night, like 27 F. It was a nice waypoint on my trip between Gunnison CO and El Paso TX," shares a camper from Carson NF Forest Service Road 578.
Tips from RVers
Site selection for equestrian camping: When bringing horses to dispersed sites, look for areas with adequate clearing. "Good road all the way in. About a 15min drive from the highway. Only 5 or 6 sites. Sites have a small horse pen but you would need to make a gate on them. Not good for big LQ horse trailers," advises a visitor to Borrego Mesa Campground.
Vehicle clearance requirements: Many forest roads require higher clearance vehicles, especially for equestrian camping near Arroyo Hondo. "The site isn't easy to get to for low clearance vehicles. During rainy seasons, ruts form with deep mud on some spots driving up," warns a camper at Iron Gate Campground.
Camping duration planning: The remote nature of many sites affects how long you can comfortably stay. "Even with a couple and a new born up the hill I never heard them from our campervan! Serene surroundings and beautiful place to camp during a thunderstorm!" shares a visitor to Mallette Creek North.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian
campsite near Arroyo Hondo, NM?
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Arroyo Hondo, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Arroyo Hondo, NM is Big Arsenic Springs Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find
equestrian camping near
Arroyo Hondo, NM?
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Arroyo Hondo, NM?
TheDyrt.com has all 16 equestrian camping locations near Arroyo Hondo, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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