Best RV Parks & Resorts near Capitan, NM

This place is a hidden treasure. Located at about 6500 feet elevation on the eastern slope of the Sacramento Mountains this campground is a perfect launching pad for daytrips to many local attractions. The Rio Penasco River runs right through the park and offers the opportunity to catch a trout or 2. Local Mule deer and turkeys are no strangers here and visit frequently. The WiFi is good but cell signal is hard to come by. There is a nice Cafe in Mayhill, as well as a convenience store and gas station about 2 blocks from the campground. The campground is open year round and caters to hunters in the Fall. The campground is family friendly and offers live music at times during the summer months. The managers Bennie and Yolanda are top notch and always at your service. That being said my wife and I came here last November and have been here ever since as Camp Hosts. We just love it here.

Beautiful scenery with huge tall trees. Site was spacious with fire rings and picnic table. Lots of hiking trails. Dump station and potable water fill area, but not at site. Dry camping only. $5 showers. Didn’t take reservations, but do have overflow area that is a huge parking lot. It could take a lot of “overflow”. There was still snow on the ground in mid April. No AT&T coverage, but Sprint worked. There were some steep grades getting there with tight turns. Fine for our Class B, but a big rig would probably be sweating. Concrete and grass RV pad. We used site 21 and backed up to the woods. Very cool. Bear country too, but didn’t see any

I messed up thinking I had booked this campground - I hadn’t. It was five minutes to seven pm and the staff called me back and got me a site for less than $50 for the night. It was a nice, level pull through site with water/sewer/cable/electric. I was pretty relieved that we would have somewhere to camp - no one else picked up their phones.

We didn’t arrive until nearly nine and the same staff person was still working - helping someone back into their site. She was very kind and welcoming.

The next morning I checked out the campground. The area was pretty industrial, but less than two minutes to the science museum and zoo. Individual spaces were generous (especially the tent sites - they would fit any tent size) and I liked the little patio we had. The playground was newish, the pool looked like it would be nice when filled, the laundry room looked great (but cash only - I prefer the card ones) and there was a lovely store and rec room. There were also showers and a small dog run.

This KOA had everything you could need - including excellent customer service.

20-25 minutes to White Sands National Monument.

Dint judge a book by its cover… this is a well run place. John keeps everything clean and maintained. If you need a stopover to see white sands and everything else is booked, it is better than you expect at first sight.

A handful of sites are available for short term folks - all long pull through - option with/without sewer. The non sewer sites are along the pond and afford a bit more privacy (wish we’d done that - don’t make our mistake). It is mostly like long term stays and older rigs but don’t let that dismay you.

Sites go opposite directions and are snug - so you’ll be close to your drivers side neighbors and have a shared space with your door side neighbors if you go for a with sewer pull through.

What brings this up to a 3 is the meticulous care of the owner/manager John and the surprise amenities. A pond, a small play set (swings, slide) nice laundry room, some exercise equipment including a pretty modern bow flex! And a great book room that has a chalkboard some desks and a couch if you need a fresh space to work. He even has sleds to loan out for the dunes.

John’s a Vietnam vet and a great character. He runs a clean campground and will take care of you. It makes the grounds feel safe and well tended. Would definitely support this business if we came back through.

Scenic and wooded, but was hoping for more privacy. Sites very tightly packed, I could literally reach out my window and touch the neighbor’s awning. 30 amp at my site didn’t work, used 50 amp w/adapter so not a big deal but annoying. The demographic here is older, mostly retirees here for extended stays. Stayed 3 nights, did not see (or hear) any kids other than our own, didn’t see anyone under 45 other than us either so not the best place for kids/families. It it’s also very tight driving through with a trailer and very tricky backing into the sites due to hills and tight sites. Location pretty good, 3 min to Walmart, 15 min to grindstone lake, etc. NO fires allowed, regardless of any local burn bans in place or not... bummer.

This BML maintained campground is like new! There are no reservations, so it’s first come. An iron ranger for payment is at the entrance, but there is also a nice ranger on site who drives around the campground in a ute. I camped in a pull through site a few up from the entrance, but there was very little road noise from Highway 380, which is a beautiful drive. Most camp sites have electric, paved pads, covered picnic tables and fire rings. RV dump is also on site. Camping with electric is $18 and Dump station costs $15. It also costs $6 to take a shower. I didn’t visit the bath house, but like everything at this campground it looked maintained.

The highlight for me was the location, the experience of camping next to this extraordinary geologic site, and the 3/4 mile Malpais Nature Trail that offers a boardwalk style hike through the lava flow. 

Quiet camping with distant views of White Sands Missile testing area, Little Black Peak and amazing stars!

Great hike to see 20,000 plus Jornada Mogollon petroglyphs, 1 mile round trip. Fee area, $5 cash only. Dogs leashed in campground/picnic areas and no dogs on trail.

Really clean picnic areas and flush bathrooms. 11 picnic sites, 1 ADA. Campground closed but when open there are: 2 RV hookups (water and electric 30 amp and 50 amp, no dump station) and 11 dry camping sites (5 of the 11 have tent boxes). One water spigot in campground. Each site has a picnic table, shelter, upright grill, and garbage can.

Call 575-585-3457 to reach this site.

Website is http://www.blm.gov/visit/three-rivers-peteroglyph-site