Best Equestrian Camping near Chama, NM

These coordinates are a rough estimate, but this entire forrest road is filled with amazing campsites you can simply pull off and camp in. currently there’s a fire ban, so it makes it hard to stay warm at night, but the stars are amazing. it’s quiet. it’s lovely. there’s canyon walls for miles. it’s really amazing. some of these pics are from the nearby canyon that’s a bit of a walk up the road, but most are from our campground. loved our first experience camping in New Mexico!

The website listed for this campground is correct Ponderosa campground Antonito, CO.

Phone 719.376.5857

This is a very relaxing place to stay and it seems like most of the people there have been there many times before. The drive in is easy on Route 17 and does not require a vehicle with high ground clearance. They do allow campfires, they have clean bathrooms and a shower house. I stayed in a backpacking tent after driving all day arriving on a Friday at about 4:00 PM. The campground is set-up for small campers and has some cabins for rent too. The bathrooms with showers are clean and comfortable. The sites have fire rings with grates and picnic tables. The owner manager is great, providing quality fishing advice, conversation and even a free cup of coffee in the morning. Hiking on the CDT is near the campground and fishing is right in the campground. The steam train is right up the pass and I happened to be there the night before opening day catching a photo when I drove over the pass to Chama New Mexico. The Cumbres and Toltec Train traveling between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico. This is a very nice drive and Chama is a cool place to visit, it is a trail town on the CDT.

I will visit this campground again for sure.

We actually stayed down the road about a mile and half from Rio Chama Campground, however we were still in the park and off of Forest Road 151. We camped off-the-grid on a spot right by Rio Chama. We were lucky to have found a spot mid-day and that had a sort of “beach front” type inlet to the river. Definitely a place to launch kayaks or rafts. If you prefer to have bathrooms, head towards the actually marked campground, but if you want to “rough it” then find a dispersed camping lot.

Always remember: PACK OUT WHAT YOU PACK IN!! Please don’t leave your trash at any site and keep the wilderness- WILD.

Chama canyon is our weekend go-to place. Only 2 hrs from Albuquerque. Many campsites available (some are dispersed) along the river. Almost every single site here offers a nice shade and shelter for strong sunlight during the day and strong wind at dusk (it gets really windy at dusk!). River is very soothing and birds are always chirping. You can find a Andy beach access to the river from some campsites. It gives you more private, primitive, and exciting camp feel to it compared to stay at the Amphitheater campsite nearby.

I actually deleted my other review because I thought I had the wrong campsite but I checked and it’s all good. The only amenity we had was a vault toilet with a nearby water pump, a fire pit, picnic table and bear boxes. The vault toilets were probably the nicest I’ve been too. They were clean and didn’t smell at all.

The view was beautiful and it’s a short hike down to wade in the cool water. I really enjoyed the quiet here. There were only a few other campers and it mostly felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Nice, clean privately owned campground with lots of amenities. Hot showers, bath house, ice and few supplies sold in the office. Campsites right along the river. Very friendly staff. Campsites are a little too close for our liking but worked out well for our stay. Close to lots of fishing and hiking in the area. Beautiful place to watch the sunset and the stars at night. Nice and quiet at night.

This campsite is only accessible via boat. There are two fire pits. The land is flat compared to other sites at the Reservoir. Most of the ground is covered with sand. The mosquitoes were not too terrible even though we were right by the water. There are no bathroom facilities just nature. It is a nice quiet cove with amazing views. The stars and the moon light up the sky. I highly recommend staying there if you have boat access. It is secluded and private.

Being the rv, tents, 4wheelers, bikes and canopies. Lake is very nice to fish in, not much shade. Plenty of back country to explore. If the campground is full there are some amazing back country camping that can be found.

It’s a great place to camp. The scenery beautiful. Great place to hike, bike and ride atv’s. Bring water cause sometimes their isn’t any. Fishing is great but usually is a little windy only at lake.

Very secluded! Even when full I imagine the spots are far enough apart. If the spots are full keep going down the road! Plenty of dispersed camping! We’ll be back! Beautiful scenery!

Very nice campground. Camp host, Dawn, was very pleasant. No luck fishing but several people around us were catching very nice sized trout.

Vault toilets were well stocked and clean. Trails near b for hiking and biking

Extra dispersed campsites up dirt road from campground entrance

Tent and RV sites are large and spread out. Some sites have livestock pens, but I’m not sure on the campground policies. Hopewell Lake has tables for day picnics and is a popular fishing location. Be prepared for summer monsoon rains.

Views are amazing! Very quiet and the star gazing is some of the best. Stayed right on the water. Host was knowledgeable of area and things to do. Red Lake hike was awesome and easy.

They were super responsive to all our questions! It was a beautiful property along the river. Definitely recommend camping here!

Great place! Many options for camping. We chose a secluded site and the only people we saw were kayakers. There are hiking spots, the echo amphitheater, and a monastery to visit. We even made objects from the clay in the river. Then fired them in the camp fire.

it was memorial weekend, but it looked very crowded at this specific campsite. you’re much better off doing dispersed camping down the road, which is easy to find and closer to the main road.

We were able to find a very private spot with easy access to the river!(went on a random Saturday) We will be visiting again. Great for our dog too. Some spots are unshaded, so recommend you bring a tent cover or something.

Beautiful place to camp. Free campground with plenty of sites. Found a nice trail. Toilets and campground very clean

This place is gorgeous! There are tons of spots for dispersed camping. We got a spot along the river which was beautiful but a little windy and noisy from the stream. But we didn’t mind! We came on a Sunday afternoon and passed quite a few people leaving. So other than a few campers, we pretty much had the place to ourselves for 2 nights. It was very peaceful! The road to get there is about 10 miles but it takes about 40 minutes to drive. It’s a little rough and narrow in spots. But totally worth the drive! We will definitely be back!