If you're looking for a place to dispersed camp near Capitan, look no further. Here you'll find a diverse selection of places to camp, including remote dispersed camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. From secluded to easily reachable, we offer dispersed campsites near Capitan just for you.
The Upper Bonito Dispersed Recreation Area is located at the end of Forest Road 107 in Bonito Canyon. It is a popular dispersed camping site with access to the adjacent White Mountain Wilderness Area and its trails.
Throughout the Lincoln National Forest you are allowed to do what is called 'dispersed camping'. This is a rustic experience where you are allowed to drive up to 300' off of designated dirt Forest Service roads onto USFS lands to park and camp. Do not drive across creeks and no camping is allowed on private property or within city or village limits. The Motor Vehicle Use Map, available as a download from fs.usda.gov/Lincoln, will show detail on where camping is allowed in each district, as well as a listing of the roads allowing dispersed camping. This map is also available at the District offices, at no charge. No permits are needed for dispersed camping and no cost is associated with this camping experience. Be sure to bring what you need, especially water, and also pack out what you pack in. Leave No Trace principles should be followed for all camping experiences in the National Forest.
Partially developed picnic and dispersed camping area nestled next to the waterfalls called Bluff Springs. A short trail exists just beyond the bridge that will take you up and over the waterfalls as well as another trail (Willie White Spur T112) that follows and old railroad grade to the east.
Throughout the Lincoln National Forest you are allowed to do what is called 'dispersed camping'. This is a rustic experience where you are allowed to drive up to 300' off of an open public road onto USFS lands to park and camp. No permits are needed for such activity and no cost is associated with this camping experience. Be sure to bring what you need, especially water, and also pack out what you pack in.
Throughout the Lincoln National Forest you are allowed to do what is called 'dispersed camping'. This is a rustic experience where you are allowed to drive up to 300' off of designated dirt Forest Service roads onto USFS lands to park and camp. Do not drive across creeks and no camping is allowed on private property or within city or village limits. The Motor Vehicle Use Map, available as a download from fs.usda.gov/Lincoln, will show detail on where camping is allowed in each district, as well as a listing of the roads allowing dispersed camping. This map is also available at the District offices, at no charge. No permits are needed for dispersed camping and no cost is associated with this camping experience. Be sure to bring what you need, especially water, and also pack out what you pack in. Leave No Trace principles should be followed for all camping experiences in the National Forest.
Guide
This is a quiet area tucked away in Lincoln National Forest. It's not too far from Cloudcroft, NM so it's easy to resupply on water, snack, etc. You can camp right next to a creek and the valley makes for some great views. This area is basically everything you can ask for when dispersed camping. It's quiet and other than the occasional hiker, nobody else is around. There's plenty of hiking and just good times to be had. A quintessential camping experience.
RangerBluff Springs is nestled in a pretty forested valley with a creek and falls in Lincoln National Forest about 10 miles south of Cloudcroft off Sunspot highway on Upper Peñasco Road. There’s a gravel parking lot with bathrooms but no campground. We tent camped Sat, Aug. 1, 2020, arriving about 2pm. There were many people camping and it was difficult to find a spot along the road with dispersed camping sites. We had to camp in thicker grass among cow dung because the mowed sites were taken. Still, life outside is better, right? It stormed much of the day and night but Sunday morning dawned clear and we took a short 1-mile hike from the Bluff Springs trailhead to the Willie White trailhead. There are longer hikes too. There were some camping trailers but no big RVs. Upper Peñasco Road is narrow in parts. A decent place.
GuideDispersed camping along the bluff spring stream. A ton of campsites, and easy access to bluff spring and a trail complex. High clearance vehicle recommended, pretty packed in the summer months.
Traveler
A lot of dispersed camping areas don't have toilets, but this one does.
Lots of first come first served campsites along the little creek. Not much privacy when it's busier (warmer months).
Good base camp for some of the best hiking around Ruidoso (Big Bonito Trail, Argentina Trail, etc.)
Be prepared for lots of dust with the dirt road uphill from sites.
In the summer there are horse riding camps set up to provide trail rides.
Can get snowed in in the Winter months.
Guide
04/15/22 service road 568, Lincoln National Forest, NM
Friday night/Good Friday
I found this camp on a suggestion from a local waitress at Big Daddy’s. It was a short drive off the main road to get to the camp. The spot I found felt pretty secluded despite there being a lot of other campers in the area. There were several rock fire rings so I took my pick based on the direction of the wind.
It’s a dispersed area, so no bathrooms or showers, but well worth it for the scenery. There was a dry water run off that ran the entire length down the mountain and a tree lined bluff across from there. I bet it’s pretty cool to see the water run when the snow melts.
There was an occasional OHV that cruised by and people walking their dogs, but everything went calm before sunset. I would have liked to hit some of the trails in the area, but my Jeep was completely overloaded so I decided to come back another time.
GuideIt has dispersed camping that, depending on the site, may require a short walk. I did not actually camp here (wish I did!), but spent an afternoon at the campground. A beautiful area!
ScoutLots of dispersed camping along A027, with some being very private. The main site mentioned here also has bathroom facilities. It was a bit crowded, so I chose a private spot up the road with no issues. Beautiful area!
Guide
This was a good patch of dirt and trees up in the mountain with a good clearing to park the truck. Very much so dispersed camping with no amenities. The road up was a little muddy but over all smoother and easy. We picked a spot at the highest point along Bailey Canyon Rd. There were several other dispersed spot further down the road. Nobody in sight, no animal sightings either.
LegendThis is right off of highway 244. From CloudCroft take highway 82 east to highway 244 about half mile past designated campgrounds is a dirt road to the left. There is a large grass/dirt area right off the road on the left and a couple of spots further down. To the right there are a couple of more"secluded" spots though the generator noise and the chainsaws are still loud. One generator ran all night long. The chainsaw eventually stopped after the guy had maybe enough for a log cabin.
You can continue up the road which is a nice hike and there are a few more pull out site along the road. The road Ys and to the left are more sites that are private but the road is a bit rough. This place is FREE which we usually look for but this is probably one of the loudest we've been to. Both roads at the Y offer a nice hike with minimal traffic, there was only a single vehicle we came upon. Very nice.
Good cell reception AT&T and Verizon. No water, garbage or bathrooms. PACK IN AND OUT! Multiple rock fire rings in random places as this is a dispersed camping area and watch out for the multitude of animal limbs and carcasses laying around from hunters.
Legend
It was late November and cold so I stayed where I had electric service. But I rode my bike all over the place and there's dispersed camping everywhere. Good cell phone service. I plan on staying for a full week and working from here. Lots of things to see and do close Ruidoso is interesting Lincoln is interesting. Probably not the place to stay in high summer but otherwise really great location.
GuideThis is a little pull-off area in a very populated National Forest. It can get pretty crowded so hiking in is important. The car-camping and RV camping is right on the road.
GuideIf you don't feel like dropping 20 bucks a night or more for a spot to camp, this is a great alternative. FR 568 is about a mile long and has a ton of all types of dispersed camping on both sides of the road, from little tent sites to pull-throughs for campervans and trailers.
Not a terrible road at all. I drive a little, low-clearance hatchback and was able to make it all the way to the end of the road and back out while scoping out sites. Go the whole length and see what your options are so you can pick the best one.
GuideWe tent camped here on a Friday night, it was kind of crowded for dispersed camping but a really beautiful place and still easy to find a spot despite arriving at like 8:30pm. We camped right on the creek, kids loved playing in it and seeing the waterfall. We saw deer, tons of elk, a hummingbird came right up to us and chirped and tried to land on us, and we woke up the first morning to a herd of cows mooing and walking past our tents with their calves. Would definitely stay here again. No cell signal (Verizon). Road to get there is not paved and in some places can only fit one vehicle so we did see some minor issues with that with people traveling the road.
Guide
The camping is great and the views are amazing. However, the trail up to the camping spots is steep, washed out, and tight. Can be navigated with a stock 4x4 pick up. Also, there is a gun range at the bottom, so you'll hear gun shots til sundown. Also, a little highway noise is present in the distance.
TravelerGreat strip of dispersed campsites along the forest road. Very high elevation (8000ft), so it can get colder. Cell service is great. Services are near at cloudcroft. Was rather crowded here in October but still plenty of spot.
GuideGreat little spot next to pit toilets in the Sacramento district of the Lincoln NP. Easy to find and can get there with 2wd no problem. This is a super popular spot on the weekend so the camping area and parking lot were PACKED all day when we were there on Saturday. Cleared out Sunday. Big OHV area. Nice trail access from the campsite that is OHV friendly, so not super great for running or biking. There is a small waterfall that we could see and hear from our campsite and a creek for for kiddos to play in. Its a free range area so cows are all over the place which was fun to see. Cloudcraft is the closest town, small and cute to visit.
TravelerThis campsite is a gem. We stayed from Wednesday to Saturday and we were the only campers there until mid day on Friday. Many people visit for the quick waterfall hike (can be done in less than 30 min). The “campsites” are very spread out. I’m not sure where they all are because I only saw 3. It was HOT during the day and COLD at night. Great easy hikes right from the campsite. Only downside was the gnats/flies (mostly during sundown) and lack of shade. Bring your own pop-up. By Friday night, this place was PACKED. So if you want one of the better sites, go mid week. It was also a tiny bit muddy on the road
Guide
We have a 30 foot motor home and were so glad to find a dispersed spot in the mountains we could fit!
Rim Trails and Alamo Peak Trails in walking distance. There were other campers nearby but it was quiet and beautiful.
No cell service except for a few bars down the road toward Alamo Peak.
Elk, hummingbirds, all tucked away in aspen grove. This is a special spot.
Guide
The good: it was enjoyable out in the night sky and the stars were very clear and beautiful. Fire pits were all over the place and area had a lot of spots to set up camp.
The bad: camp sites were a little too close together and for a packed Labor Day weekend it wasn’t quite the escape it could have been. Weird noise in middle of night, sounding like screaming but who really knows.
Overall had a good time and would return.
GuideArrived around 6 pm on a Tuesday evening. Took a right at the fork (sweet group campsite there but occupied) and stayed the night at a pull off to the left, about halfway up the hill. Road is a little rough but flattens out as you go up the hill. After the fork, sites big enough for a van or larger Class B but that's it. I had AT&T 3-4 bars of signal, enough to work my remote job and stream You-Tube. A very nice group site at the top of the hill, big enough for 2-3 Class Bs. 5 bars of AT&T there. You might get something slightly bigger but not a lot of turnaround space for a bigger rig. No services or toilets. Lots of quiet.
TravelerWe arrived in Cloudcroft NM around 7pm on Thursday the 6th got some last minute supplies at all sups gas station and headed to the ranger station just down the 130 Cox Canyon Hwy to get a map of the park, we kinda knew where we wanted to go but wanted to do a last minute look see at the map. We kept our plan of Bluff Springs and headed out. We found a pretty big spot and set up camp. With one camper, two tents, two jeeps, two dogs, six kiddos and 10 adults it was a chore to get everything out and set up but worth every minute to enjoy the next three days worry and technology free. The spot was amazing right next to the little creek. We will definitely be going back soon.
GuideNeeded a last resort spot to sleep and decided on finding a spot here. Visited in last day in November, so it was a bit cold at night. Since it was so late in the year I ran across 0 other people, and at night it was absolutely silent. You can get as far away from main roads as you need. There are infinite spots on this road. It’s quite long and the road conditions aren’t all that bad, so anyone can access it. You can tell where other people have been due to campfires. But if you visit anytime in the year I’m sure you’re able to find a spot, as they can extend up to 200ft back into the woods and have lots of area. About 5 min drive to main road and 8 minutes to cloudcroft. There was no trash, and also no amenities. I highly recommend this spot if you need somewhere free to stay extended or even one night if you’re visiting Lincoln. Coordinates are accurate
GuideNeeded a last resort spot to sleep and decided on finding a spot here. Visited in last day in November, so it was a bit cold at night. Since it was so late in the year I ran across 0 other people, and at night it was absolutely silent. You can get as far away from main roads as you need. There are infinite spots on this road. It’s quite long and the road conditions aren’t all that bad, so anyone can access it. You can tell where other people have been due to campfires. But if you visit anytime in the year I’m sure you’re able to find a spot, as they can extend up to 200ft back into the woods and have lots of area. About 5 min drive to main road and 8 minutes to cloudcroft. There was no trash, and also no amenities. I highly recommend this spot if you need somewhere free to stay extended or even one night if you’re visiting Lincoln. Coordinates are accurate
Traveler
Not to many trees that are tall so u get cover but not complete seclusion but enof to where it’s enjoyable and u see the sky at nights so path ways are very down sloap if ur in a car know how to drive cougars so bring either 40 cal gun or a 45 cal gun fpr power not a 9 mm i dont get why people get those its like getting a 22 but a little more powerful so please be smart get something with some kick to it i can actually see the vally of trees witch is nice if u are a photo guy or girl umm pretty simple to get to alot of open areas just keep quit respect the rules and ull be fine just enjoy
GuideEasy to find and not a rough drive. I saw several dirt pull offs surrounded by trees before parking. This was a very private remote area in the forest. It was a nice change of pace from the desert that surrounds the Forrest! Although I did not see anything, there were signs of wildlife everywhere. I got 1-2 bars of cell service here. Would spend multiple nights in this spot!
GuideWent to this area to camp and pan for gold. Creek near by that didn't have much water in it. But over all pretty (Dry) Area.
TravelerIt’s a nice area to spend with another person and even with kids, restrooms are clean, there’s some privacy if you find s good spot, could be busy during the weekend, but it’s worth visiting
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Capitan, New Mexico, where nature lovers can find serene spots away from the crowds. With a variety of locations offering unique experiences, this area is perfect for those seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Capitan, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Capitan, NM is Upper Bonito Dispersed Recreation Area with a 4.3-star rating from 4 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 16 dispersed camping locations near Capitan, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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