Best Tent Camping near Aztec, NM

We came for a mid-week getaway to test a new tent. Camp hosts were friendly and we almost had the whole loop to ourself with some great amenities running water in the bathrooms and showers included for only $10. We had views of the lake, but not so close as to hear any of the boats. good tent sites and some shade from juniper trees.

This is a large campground in the National Park boundaries.  It has camper, RV and tent camp sites as well as 17 group sites.  There is a small store and a shower.  Each site has a picnic table.  You can also get tickets to the Parks attractions, but do this as soon as you get there as reservations can be a day or two out.

We stayed here 2 nights the summer of 2015. It's priced fair and we were able to find a camp spot with some good shade. We were camping in a tent se we didn't need hook-ups. I'm not sure what the hook-up situation is for campers. We were able to enjoy cool evening walks; where we would often spot deer. It was also fairly close to the amphitheater to hear the ranger talks. I would recommend going to the talks because they would talk about a lot of the history that you may miss out on. Also the showers were free; a little old school but got the job done.

Spent two nights tent camping. Plenty of sites and well accommodated. Camp store/cafe was excellent.

Spacious tent sites. Bathrooms within close range. WiFi located at each bathroom.

We had a roof top tent and were able to find a spot good enough to open up and still have room. The showers were nice and I even had warm water. Very clean and comfortable for tent camping

The quieter side of Navajo Lake State Park, this is a nice, clean campground with pull through and tent sites (elec and non) close to Sims marina. Nothing spectacular and a bit remote, so not a place I would seek out necessarily. Keep in mind that this requires a little more driving to get to, so if you’re just passing through, be mindful that it’s ~17 miles from highway 64.

Pros:

• Quieter, seems less crowded than reg marina side of park
• A good mix of pull through and tent sites with plenty of room to drive in. Tent sites are multi level in a few cases (tables and pits are a short level below parking spot)
• Lake views for some spots (seem to be partial as trees do block some parts of view)
• Reasonably spaced, not super private but that is pretty much any paid campground
• Cleanish bathrooms and pit toilets, a little smelly on our visit and had no soap to wash hands (not in peak season, so think campgrounds are a little understaffed with no camp host until mid may)

Cons:

• A bit of a haul/remote if you’re just stopping through on way west through NM

Lovely campsite that is first come first serve, if you have a tent spot. Showers, bathrooms and laundry sites not too far away. Was a bit frustrating that there were no bear boxes at the tent sites. Campgrounds were clean, but could hear generators from the other rv sites.

Campground features shady sites that will accommodate big rigs. If you are tent camping you might feel surrounded, but most spaces are so far apart, we never heard a peep from our neighbors. Overall the campground was well run with super clean bathrooms in each loop. 15 minute drive to town makes this a great home base to explore Durango and the Animas Valley.

This campground inside Mesa Verde National Park is run by Aramark, a major hospitality company, which has its pros and cons. First, it’s more expensive than most national park campgrounds at $36 per night, even for dry tent sites. We were able to get half price with our America the Beautiful senior pass, which also got us into the park for free. Otherwise entry would have been $30 this time of year. (The camping discount didn’t seem to be available online, only upon registration.) There’s a camp store that sells souvenirs and beer. There are endless showers that are free with your camp registration, sanitized after every use. There are paid laundry machines. There are also many dumpsters and drinking water faucets. Toilets with running water are pretty clean, but there was no soap dispenser in the men’s room on the tent loop. We had no trouble getting a walk-up tent site. Some sites have shade trees and tent spots. All have picnic tables and fire rings, although a burn ban is in effect. The combination of Covid and the burn ban led to closure of many trails, the museum, and the visitors center. The beautiful native dwellings and some incredible geological overlooks are less than half an hour’s drive to the south. Also check out Mesa Verde Voices podcast. Very informative.

While kind of on the pricier side for campgrounds I really enjoyed my 2 nights there in early Oct 24. Easy access to get on the road to the cliff dwellings early in the day, flush bathrooms, tons of sites, trails nearby, a little center with a store, cafe, gas, and most importantly showers. 

They let you pick your site which is nice so I got a site with a flat spot for my rooftop tent, but some sites are definately more geared to tent camping, but there are tons of site options.

Would stay again.

This was my favorite campsite on our South West road trip. The staff was very nice and the camp store has everything you need. The price was very reasonable and we had no trouble getting a spot. The tent sites were all dIfferent, some nestled in trees, some out in the open, but all of them nice. They weren’t too close to each other either, so you get some privacy. As far as the park, the cliff dwellings were amazing, like stepping back in time. An absolute must if you are traveling through this area.

I really enjoyed my stay here. I stayed four days three nights, a lot of the trails were closed the times I was there, (COVID-restrictions) but I did walk the Petroglyph trail, (Bring plenty of water with electrolytes you gonna need it!!!) they have cabins tent campsites, RV campsites, just a great park to stay in and the staff and the Rangers were awesome! $9 pancake breakfast, I will definitely be coming back next year!!

Very surprised with the actual size of Mesa Verde National Park. The facilities are maintained very well and are kept extremely clean. The showers they are amazing. Especially after tent camping for a week!

Be prepared to sign up for tours - under $10 per person, which is very reasonable - to see some of the cliff sites up close.T he museum and rangers were great. Be sure to buy your tickets in advance as there is a limited number of tours each day and they fill up. You can only purchase tickets up to 2 days in advance and it has to be in person. The tours are so worth the effort!

The Zuni Loop was the only area open when we were there. We tent camped. 

Positives: showers were open, lots of deer, night sky, so close to the interior of the Park, bear boxes, flushing toilets and running water in bathroom sinks. 

Negatives: smallest campsites I've ever seen > made it challenging to set up. We were told all toilets (3) in that loop were open, but they actually were not (the one closest to us was still locked until the 2nd or 3rd night). Not much privacy as the sites pretty much sat right on the road. 

Conclusion: would not return. Would much rather stay in the state park near Mancos which had HUGE shaded sites.