Best Dispersed Camping near Carson, NM

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is BLM land so it is all dispersed camping. You will need to make sure you aren't on someone's property or nearby any roads. There are plenty of turn offs. 

This isn't a "get away" more like a stopover spot. I stopped here on my way back North to Colorado to see the bridge over the Rio Grande and so I wasn't so high up in elevation that I would freeze. 

But if you can find a quiet place it is a beautiful dispersed spot where there is civilization nearby and toilets at local businesses  and picnic areas that you can use. See map on review. 

Be careful roaming at night. The drop into the river is quite deep so offroading isn't just ill advised for keeping the flora and fauna safe…but you as well. 

There are picnic ares around the monument too, just not established camping spots.

The location on Dyrt maps is wrong, forest service is NW of 285 & 64. Beautiful dispersed camping spots plentiful. Park ranger Melissa was the top notch. Couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly. Definitely stay there again.

The area is right next to a landfill which worried us at first but turned out not to be a problem, I imagine it gets worse in the warmer months. You can drive around and find some cool and private spots but there is trash seriously everywhere. We even found shot gun shells a little further out all over the ground. When you pull up to the area you can either turn right into the blm land or go straight past the signage into the National park area. I think it said El Camino Real. This is where the toilets and shelter is. The toilets were actually well kept. There were some nice people but I can imagine if you drive further out away from people it feels a little sketchier. It wasn’t the best, but it was definitely free.

There are a bunch of different roads you can turn off to camp on if you’re driving from Taos to Durango. We mapped Forest Road 578 and it took us to a dirt road with a lot of flat spots you can camp on. We spent the night there and it was very quiet and peaceful. If you keep going to Durango you’ll get to Carson National Forest, which is not too far from the coordinates on The Dyrt. That’s where more people are camping, you can pull off right before the 64H road marker. You’ll keep passing camping spots as you drive to Durango so you can really go almost anywhere!

All camping spots here are right off the roads where you can find one or two spots that are less close. Arroyo Seco is the town close to the camping, but you keep going straight from the coordinates to get to Cuchillo de Medio and Cuchillo. It’s not truly “dispersed” camping because there aren’t many sites and your pretty close to your neighbors. Cuchillo Del Medio does have some fire pits, picnic tables, and a bathroom. You do get to camp right on a clear river that is beautiful!

There are a few tent spots and car camping spots, and it’s right along a creek where you can fly fish. It was a longer drive out there than expected, but there’s a sign that lets you know your in the National forest and out of peoples private property. You probably want 4WD because the road was rough, but definitely worth it with the fall colors! We loved this spot!

I tent-camped off of Carson NF Forest Service Road 578 in mid April 2022. FS 578 is south of Tres Piedras about 5 miles on the west side of Hwy 285. There are several dirt road turn offs but FS 578 is clearly marked with a brown NFS sign (see photo) and has no gate but there is a cattle guard/grate. Here is a NFS road use map that shows dispersed camping along FS 578 and many other NFS roads: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/mvum/Carson/CarsonTresPiedrasCanjilonElRito.pdf (see also screenshot). My Tacoma had no problem on the dirt road, which has ruts and might be tough for an RV. There were few clearings suitable for dispersed camping but I found a nice spot with a small fire circle in a small clearing on the south side of the road just past a fork in the road. I carried two black boulders over to serve as a table and chair. I didn’t see anyone else camping or driving by. The forest is a nice mix of sage, juniper, and pine trees. I saw two elk across a swath of sage. I could see the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the eastern horizon when I walked farther up the road. It got cold at night, like 27 F. It was a nice waypoint on my trip between Gunnison CO and El Paso TX but it didn’t look like many people camped there. I had intended to drive to Taos the next day on Hwy 64, but didn’t.

We found this place randomly. Seen all the road exits of the Carson National Forest on our way to Taos we said “let’s give it a try!” And we found apparently a fairly popular place. It may be due to available internet connection (which we greatly enjoyed it after weeks!) or just a lower altitude spot that may help with physical activity and weather temps. At any rate, easy and short access to the camp sites via gravel sandy road, some with fire rings and camp tables, leveled grounds for trailers and lots of pine trees for privacy. There are signs for trailheads and pretty rock formations that will need to be explored next time. We stayed a night and enjoyed it to the fullest. Highly recommended, especially as nights get nice and chill (vs. hot day temps) for good sleep.

Overall, this is a good spot to camp. It was simple to find, there was plenty of space for dispersed camping, and was a quiet place.

Not too far out of Santa Fe. There are multiple places for dispersed camping along the same road, including a few trailhead campgrounds like Diablo Canyon (rock climbing hot spot).

No amenities except some great river side places.

Dispersed camping along the road (though it’s not a busy one, especially not at night so not noisy) right on the river.

First coms first served with mostly tenting spaces.

Easy to get to just outside of Santa Fe. It’s BLM dispersed so no facilities at all and a bit of a Nomadland vibe. Some folks were pistol shooting in an arroyo until dark. We were able to find a spot with adequate privacy but not isolated, although one could certainly go further in. A truck with just running lights came through during the night and a BLM LE officer came by in the morning. It was cold af in mid-Dec. I would stay here again.

This camping spot is awesome but can be busy at times. One down side being close to the river is the bugs, literally thousands of them can make it unpleasant. Outside of that the spot on the river is fantastic for viewing pleasure. You can certainly find valuable relaxation here.

A nice secluded little forest road. RVs will not make it, so it's nice and quiet.

AWD/4WD needed on the rutted rocky road.

Stayed one night and saw no one else.

Multiple pulloffs for unmarked campsites, but the one I picked was right off the road.

Cell service drops completely pretty soon after leaving the highway. I sporadically received some messages at my camp site but not reliably.

This dispersed area is close to Hopewell Lake and Campground where there is fishing and vaulted toilets. The Continental Divide Trail goes right through this location.

The 8 campsites are distributed along the forest road. Each campsite is no more than 10 feet from the road (very little privacy), but most appear to have a fire ring close by and space for a tent which is protected from vehicle encroachment by the strategic placement of some very large boulders. The well cared for creek runs next to each campsite. There were two campsites that could possible fit a larger trailer, but again, you will be right next to the road. The forest itself has taken some extensive damage from fire and I’m guessing drought. It is beginning to repair itself, but may take decades to get back to its former glory. Dead trees standing and fallen, dot the hills, but so do live aspens, very young oak, grasses and some fire damaged pine. We have a 4 wheel drive truck, but we saw many smaller 2 wheel drive vehicles. The road is bumpy and narrow at times but serviceable. There was light traffic all day and into the evening, including ATV’s. Our campsite (one of the few that would fit our trailer) had a lot of trash strewn about, including a very used bucket and a car battery. We packed it out, but it’s distressing to see our forests uncared for.

Campsite got very muddy river was no clear what so ever. Otherwise quite nice

We spent a few nights in the dispersed area near Hopewell .  We rolled in at 5 and had plenty of sites to choose from.  We chose one of the lower areas, with one large open space surrounded by smaller sites.  There were many more up the road, and there was constant traffic headed uphill until about 9PM.   Once the traffic stopped it was very quiet, only the cattle calling through the trees.  It rained for several hours and our spot stayed solid.  Some offshoot roads were rutted out. The main road had minimal rocks and holes, didn't get very muddy.  TMobile\Google mobile service worked well enough.  Verizon did not work.

Next to a landfill, which is loud near the trailhead. Pit toilets are disgusting. Would rather dig a hole for that… long term campers mainly at the trailhead - RV, tent, and van. Plus loads of trash and abandoned RV’s.

However, I stayed here the 14 day limit and found some great spots that are secluded from the residents and flies. Other than the serenading coyotes, it’s very peaceful at night. Great views of the surrounding mountains and awesome sunsets. Conveniently located to Santa Fe. I don’t think I’ll stop here again unless it’s overnight.

As a dead end (there is the Taos ski resort up further, the best spots are before the ski resort) there wasn’t much traffic. One of the cleanest campsites off a road I’ve been to! Plenty of brush if you want to start a fire. There is no Verizon service.

There are so many campsites to choose from, all along the Hondo Rio. It's peaceful and quiet. We brought our four dogs and 13 year old. There's so much to do to keep them busy. The dogs love the river and to run through it. No one really bothers anyone. There are toilets at some of the sites. Very clean. We had storms while camping. At least six rock/mud slides on the road. I don't know who, but someone managed to clean it all up in record time. We've had a great time, even with the rain and hail. We will definitely come back.

Just a square patch of land, but plenty of space. You’ll hear a bit of shooting from the gun range nearby, and maybe some ATVs. But overall peaceful, and nothing beats free. No amenities whatsoever.

Also, people have been dumping old large furniture items like couches and mattresses.