Best Tent Camping near Carrizozo, NM

We tent camped at Eagle Lake aka Eagle Creek campground on the Mescalero Apache Reservation over Memorial Day weekend 2022. The surrounding Lincoln National Forest was closed because of extreme fire risk, so there were very few places to camp in the Sacramento Mountains and escape the heat of El Paso. We used camp stoves because of a fire ban. We camped among the pine trees in the first tent area. There were clean porta-johns in that area. The showers and permanent bathroom were located up in the RV park about a 3-mile round trip walk on the road from the first tent area, so it’s more practical to drive to the showers. The permanent bathrooms and showers were clean.

Very pretty scenery, surrounded by mountain ridges and peaks and pine forest. There were two small lakes and a small creek flowing through the campground.

The campground format is kind of laissez faire because there aren’t assigned sites and it’s first come, first serve. The first tent area seemed about half full and we found a good site. We didn’t scout the second tent area because the host said there weren’t as many trees there. The first tent site was developed on a forested slope albeit they built flat rectangular-like terraces into the slope where you can pitch a tent(s) and park your vehicle(s).

Eagle Creek, near Ruidoso, had a similar feel to the Mescalero Nation’s Silver Lake campground near Cloudcroft, but Eagle Creek had a more quiet vibe. The main drawback was the 10:00 am checkout time, but we were still able to cook up some breakfast burritos as we broke camp. Good times.

Update 6/22/2022: At some point after my review, the Dyrt deleted the actual campground, which is where the road forks and moved my review to the nearby and similarly named RV resort, which is totally different. I love the Dyrt and I’m a pro ranger but sometimes c’mon man.

Has one handicap accessible & next to bathroom). There is a group site that has three picnic tables under a shelter and two grills. 2 RV sites have covered picnic tables and grills and water and electric hookups. Five tent sites. One of the tent locations is at the handicap accessible site. CLEAN restrooms with flush toilets and drinking water are available. Pets are allowed in the campground(on leash), but are not allowed on the trails. Petroglyph trails are rocky, but not difficult (keep your eyes peeled, there are petroglyphs everywhere). Hosts were very nice. Campground has well-functioning electronic/pay check-in. Great BLM campground. Other places in area include Malpais lava flows. Sierra Blanca hovers to the east. Sunset was early in Nov. so if hiking trails in late afternoon take a flashlight. Nearby Carrizozo reportedly has a photo gallery or three that we were told were well worth checking out but we did not get chance to do so.

Coming from the stark heat near White Sands, it is pretty remarkable that just 40 minutes away you can find a cool, windy, shady oasis. I give this campsite good remarks due to the fact it’s the only one open in the area (all the others marked on this app nearby are closed), it is the only campground I’ve seen in the past 30 days on the road that has only ever other site opened to ensure social distancing, a clean vault toilet (and 3 toilets on site), beautiful sites full of shade equipped with picnic tables, ample space and parking, and fire rings. Perhaps this site is usually cheaper (I don’t know) and maybe it’s only this much due to COVID and lack of other options, but $23 seems remarkably high for the type of site it is. I’ve been through 8 states in the past month and stayed in much more “expensive” camping areas (i.e. primitive sites that know they can charge an arm and a leg due to being close to parks like the Tetons or Yellowstone or glacier) and I have not found any other sites expecting $23 for this type of space. If they were not doing every other site being open, you would be veryyyy close to your neighbors. That being said, it’s a great spot and if you can afford it, go for it.

Close to White Sands. Note: winter hours gate is closed 6pm-8am. Wouldn’t want to navigate the entrance road after dark anyways. Road is paved and in good condition however. This campground is on the side of a mountain. Views of Organ Mountains driving in is breathtaking and windy - limit on vehicle length. No water except at camp host when you drive in - several miles before campground. Site was $7. Pay at self service kiosk. My parking pad was not level would definitely be more careful to choose a site that was more level bc I slept in car but many are not because of the hilly terrain. Chilly and rained hard at night while I was there. Great shelters and concrete pad at each site and fire ring. Gorgeous alligator juniper trees. Vault toilets - no other amenities. Mountain View and view of valley is amazing.