Best Glamping near Carson National Forest

I love this campsite. It is definitely one of my favorites on the Questa side of the Carson National forest. The views here are breathtaking and the sound of the river drowns out the noise from the road which is fairly close. The sites are are very nice and spacious with a grill pit and a huge circular fire pit.

The bathrooms are simple vault toilets and there is a small wash station. There are plenty of potable water spots and the rangers here are always helpful.

On one side you have the amazing views of the mountains and the other is just beautiful forest with the river running along side. There are a few trailheads towards the back of the campground with awesome trails. Plus this campground is in between the amazing Red River ski resort and Questa. Red River has some great restaurants including a local brewery that is my personal favorite. They also have a small market, or you could head into Questa or Taos for full size grocery stores.

If your wanting to get out and play in the snow or explore more in depth the beautiful culture of New Mexico, Taos has a little for everyone

Not a bad setting. Surrounded by mountains, yet you are really in the city of Taos. Prices are fair, pull through with Electric and Water $43.00. The landscape is really cool, fits the New Mexico motif. A little noisy in the morning with the barking dogs in the surrounding neighborhood. We felt safe with no problems.

This is a great place to stay if you want to explore Taos. Much more vegetation than you would expect from a campground close to town. The staff are friendly. The facilities were clean. The park is older but in an charming New Mexico way. They have funky wooden shade structures at some of the sites.  We felt safe here. We will definitely stay here again.

We really enjoyed our two days at the park this fall.  The sites a quite large and well spaced.  It felt more like being out in the woods by yourself as we couldn't see another camp site from our trailer.

If you are coming for the lake you maybe disappointed.  With the drought, the lake level is very low and the shore line off in the distance.  We came for the peace and quiet and that we found in abundance.  The park was clean and well maintained.  Cell service was 2 bars but speed was acceptable.  

Any sized rig will fit and we stayed in the Blanco loop with power and water.  We will stay again is we find ourselves in north central New Mexico.

I would have given this property 5 stars but they’ve become unfriendly to families. Children under 13 are not allowed in the hot springs.

The camping area is more of a campground than an RV park, in a positive way. Many of the sites are shaded with mature trees. A river runs by the edge of the campground (It can’t be seen from most sites).

Hike or mountain bike right from your campsite. No open flames are permitted but there’s a community campfire by the main lodge.

There’s an amazing restaurant on the property. Yoga is available in the yurt.

The National Forest Service campground is located on highway 64 between Angel Fire and Taos New Mexico. The site is just a few feet off the highway next to a small creek. They have about a dozen small campsites along the creek with privacy between the sites. The sites are very basic and come equipped with fire pits and picnic tables. The location had availability during the summer peak season. The site is self serve pay and does not have a camp host. The location may be a good option for those looking to visit Taos which is about 30 minutes away. I gave this a low rating due to the condition of the sites which needed basic maintenance and cleanup. The site was also far to close to the highway to enjoy a good camping experience. I think this is the type of place you use as a last resort while in transit to Taos or Eagles nest.

This was our 3rd visit and this time we stayed at site #14.  Beautiful forest, nice campground... however, this Red River area has been taken over by groups from Texas and Oklahoma primarily.  Large groups with multiple campers book up the sites and then put up canopies and tables for large parties.  It isn't quite the same as in years past.  I understand their states don't have pretty places like this, but every campground in the area (there are several forest service campgrounds as well as commercial campgrounds) are FULL to overflowing with these large groups.  

If you are looking for quiet and enjoying peace with nature, it isn't at Red River anymore.  It wouldn't bother us so much if there weren't STATE mandated orders about groups and wearing masks, but majority of these people do not follow these New Mexico rules.  Hearing them be abusive to locals and NM residents about it has really soured us on visiting here in the near future.  

It used to be a nice area... love the campground, but the CROWDS,,,, yuck.

The site is like a number of other campgrounds we have seen that were created alongside county or state reservoirs. The campground is in a good location in Northwest New Mexico. We ended up staying an extra night here due to the amazing sunsets as well as the peace and quite. They have self checkin and well maintained pit toilets. The camp was about half full on the weekend in August. Each site had some shade and privacy depending on location. The exterior sites on our loop had a great western view to see the sunsets. The water level of the reservoir was very low and some campers were trying their luck at fishing. The have a couple of stores a few miles outside the camp with limited supplies. The roads are well maintained gravel and the sites all a bit uneven if you have a trailer or van. We took the dirt road southwest to exit the park. This was a mistake the road is very rough and requires a high clearance vehicle and 4x4 after rain. We were pulled over by local reservation police who were looking for poachers. The seemed to be overzealous tribal police pulling people over for no reason on a public road. It made for an interesting morning. I would give this a try if you need a short stay site on you way somewhere

We traveling through Northern New Mexico on our way back to Austin. The campsite was a bit of a disappointment after so many get camps in Colorado. Cimarron Canyon is still recovering from a major wildfire with large sections of the pine forest destroyed. As you travel up the canyon the damage is less so in the State Park. The highlight here is the trout stream that runs through the camp. We stayed at Tolby Campground. The park headquarters and park rangers are based here. So it’s resource for those looking to information or assistance. The campsite has a nice day use area with lots of parking excellent restrooms with for ADA. The camp host was very personable and welcomed each of the guests as they came in throughout the day. You had a mix of families and retirees at the camp enjoying the summer retreat. They firewood for sale as well. Our big grip was the lack of privacy and the size of the sites and campground itself. The sites are right next too each other and many of the huge 5th wheel RVs were running generators all day and night while others were lighting fires in the rain and smoking out the campground. It’s only $10 per night to camp here. So it may be an option for those looking to do some fishing and perhaps visiting in the week when the site isn’t completely full. The road is also very close and trucks can be heard all day long. I can’t recommend this place based on our experience, the condition of the sites,and the location.

Cimarron Canton State Park is a wonderful place to stay, right on the Cimarron River. Bring your fishing gear and license for some relaxing fishing. Some of the sites are immediately adjacent to the river. My favorite campground is Tolby, the Westernmost. It has a Ranger/Information Station in the east end of the campground. It has flush toilets and sinks, but no shower. This is my favorite, because I love to hike and backpack. Just south across Highway 64 from the campground entrance is the Tolby Trailhead. The Tolby Trail takes you all the way back to Tolby Meadow on an excellent trail. A good spot for overnight tent camping. Tolby campground is also just minutes from Eagle Nest, NM and within easy range of Angel Fire, Red River, and a little less than an hour from Taos.

There are two other campgrounds for RVs, Maverick and Ponderosa, as well as one more for tent camping. Maverick sits right next to a pair of gravel pit lakes for added Fishing opportunities. Ponderosa is across the street from that, but is more like a parking lot with painted camping slots around its perimeter.

In the town of Cimarron I recommend dining at the Historic St. James hotel (very haunted) or lunch at the Creemee. Stop in at the headquarters of Philmont Scout Ranch for the National Scounting Museum and a Tour of the Villa Philimonte (Waite Phillips’ mansion). Also recommended is the Tooth of Time Traders at Philmont. It’s a camping/hiking store that is like an REI.

If you’re coming via Raton, the Colfax Tavern between Raton and Cimarron at Cold Beer New Mexico is a great place to stop for food and drinks.

Beautiful dispersed camp spots on the Rio grande. 10-12 spots with reasonable space in between and views of the canyon. Facing west for amazing sunsets. We came on a Tuesday and there were only 2 other cars here. drive further down the campground road for more isolated locations.