Best RV Parks & Resorts near Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Let's start with the fact that there are few actually camping areas close to Carlsbad Caverns or Guadalupe National Park. Assuming travelers are coming to Carlsbad to see these great places, the location becomes a major player. Fine print: there is a small campground (absolutely no amenity campground) in Guadalupe National Park which is first-come, first-serve (aka: full), and there a campground in White's City--although having driven past it, I don't think I want to stay there.

Carlsbad RV Park is primarily an RV Park. In fact, while we were there, they were bulldozing their only tent sites and I'm not sure if they are upgrading them or replacing them with more RV sites. So the "tent" site status is tentative. As with most RV Parks, the RVs are crammed in, side by side, and really the place is like an RV parking lot with amenities and hook-ups--but they do appear to be mostly pull through and the staff will show the way to go to pull through without hiccups. These are not spacious by any means. We stayed in one of two cabins, which were very reasonably priced, esp. when comparing to Carlsbad KOA. They even came with a cable and a fridge.

The RV Park (like all of the RV Parks in Carlsbad) has overall become a residence for the oil field workers, so be prepared to try and sleep through the 4 a.m. traffic rush out of camp to oil field. However, the neighbors are pleasant and quiet to have, even if they must drive away before the roosters announce the coming of the sun.

The park has gated access and we felt very safe during our stay. There is a playground that was being bulldozed with the tent site; I am unsure if it is being upgraded or eliminated. There is a camp store, a pool, a game room, showers (which were ok), laundry, a dishwashing sink, picnic tables at the cabins, and universal fire pit. Please note that I am inherently biased against parking lot style RV parks--so 2 stars from me for an RV Park is quite a compliment.

Carlsbad RV Park and Carlsbad KOA direct comparison: we have stayed at both the Carlsbad KOA and the Carlsbad RV Park. The KOA is NOT actually in Carlsbad, and is over an hour away from Carlsbad Caverns and 30 minutes from town. On the other hand, the RV Park is at the southern end of town and only 30 minutes to the Caverns. While the KOA lots are more spacious, they offer no more and no fewer amenities than the RV Park…well the KOA sort-of offers meals but the RV Park is right in town, so delivery is an option. The basic, no frill KOA cabins cost double the RV Park charges. Additionally, the KOA staff was not as friendly or as helpful as the RV Park staff, imho.

While in Carlsbad check out Fiesta Drive-In for one of America's few remaining drive-in movie theaters.

Overall not too bad of a campground. 15 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns National Park and less than 40 minutes from Guadalupe Mountains National Park. A little pricy in my opinion ($90 for 2 nights) but they have no competitors so they can charge whatever they want I guess. Full hookups and a store right next door within walking distance.

Not the best rv spot or town . Kind of a one nighter place while you visit the Carlsbad caverns. Sprayed the grass with some lethal green chemical. 🤢

Like all NP campgrounds, no fires are allowed which is disappointing. There are pit toilets which are incredibly clean however, the walk up to the flushing RV toilets isn't too far. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of privacy at the sites because they seem pretty tightly packed at first. Each site has a nice tent pad and picnic table. The parking isn't very adequate and at most of the sites you will need to carry your gear from your car a little way to the campsites. Sites are first come first serve. We got there in the late morning during busy season and had several sites to pick from but the camp ground did fill every day. The views are decent from the campground. Location is ideal. It's pretty central in GMNP and only 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP(where they only have back country sites). Overall, not a bad campground and probably the best option around while visiting GMNP and CCNP if you're a tent camper(their RV parking lot looked terrible).

4 miles from Carlsbad Caverns NP. Not traffic. No noise. We had area to our self. Level Dirt/gravel area. Bring water and toilet. Would stay here again.

Pretty much everything wasnt nice about this place, but its 7 minutes from Carlsbad caverns. If you need a place to stay and want to see Carlsbad you can tough it out

Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 30 minutes from Carlsbad NM! Slaughter canyon trail is 20 minutes down the same road the campsite is on. This is a great spot off the highway. You can hear some noise throughout the night. Also, it can be noisy if neighbors are loud.

The area is a fenced-in level gravel lot with pit toilets, trash, picnic table sites, and tent sites. Each site has a grill and campfire area with a covered picnic table. Sites fill up quickly, but there are plenty of spots to park next to the fence. Easy to get here with any kind of camper (RV, trailer, ect). Views are great, and the area is maintained well.

The campground allows five consecutive nights of camping. Verizon service was good!

Restrooms were clean and showers were hot! Super windy while we were there, but made for a nice, quiet place to sleep. About an hour from Carlsbad Caverns, which was awesome! Dump station, if you care, was closed while we were there.

Ok so this is an older rv park. It’s a little rough around the edges but they are remodeling the bathrooms, and the laundry room is great. The employees are as nice as can be!

This worked out great for a visit to Carlsbad Caverns which were phenomenal .

Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 35 minutes from Guadeloupe Mountains NP!

The area is a large gravel lot with some brush and scubs scattered about. Very cool campground with cave systems to explore. Bring helmets, headlamps, and some sturdy boots! As you drive up to the camping area, there are a lot of pull off sites if you don't want to camp in the larger area near the cave systems. Lots of fire rings!

Dispersed area, pack in pack out. Verizon service was good!

Only 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 20 minutes from Carlsbad NM! This is a great spot off the highway with basically no noise from cars.

The area is a level gravel lot with some brush and scubs scattered about. Seems like a place that isn't well known. I'd recommend high clearance to get up to the main area. There are other sites as you follow the road up the hill, but the road gets more rocky the further you go up. One fire ring in the main area and some fire rings in other sites. If you want a site that you can't see the highway from, this is the spot.

Dispersed area, pack in pack out. Verizon service was good!

Simple, no thrills campground. Full hook up and WiFi. Located directly at the entrance to the Carlsbad Canyon National Park. Small restaurant across the street and a general store, gift shop and post office right next door.

f backcountry hike-in spots aren't your thing, this is a place to crash on your way to/from Carlsbad Caverns (which are EPIC- GO THERE). This place itself- anh. Maybe, technically, this park qualifies as an oasis, but don't get your hopes up too high. The place is not exactly scenic. On first glance it all looks pretty barren, but the water clearly supports a lot of life- tons of birds, rabbits, and plants you won't really see in the surrounding landscape. So there's that. We'll call it very subtle beauty. Ultimately, sunrise/set made it all worth it. After driving around the area for a while, and growing weary of all the depressing drilling operations that overwhelm the sounding area, this place offers some reprieve- like breath of fresh air but for the eyeballs. In short, I guess this place is noteworthy in part because of what it is NOT- another expansive oil field.