Best Campgrounds near Cliff, NM

Great sites in a phenomenal place

Meadow Creek Rd starts out as a well maintained dirt road with a handful of sites marked by fire rings. There are two main spurs before the road gets too rough for most cars and those spurs also have two to three well spaced out campsites each. 

Plenty of space to stretch out at each spot, well situated halfway between Silver City and Lake Roberts, with plenty of hiking in the immediate vicinity and world class natural and archeological attractions a short distance away in the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. 

No amenities, but free. Leave no trace and pack out ALL your trash. The Gila is exceptionally remote and all trash is difficult to remove. 

T-Mobile cell service was spotty, but somehow still available in some clearings and higher areas.

I chose to stay in town this visit but these spots are much nicer and there are trails and things to see very close.

As the photos show, I'm not sure this is open. Nice long and private spots if it were open.

Arrived just after dark.  Kept my headlights off as I drove in as I didn't want to disturb others.  I saw a small pull off for a spot, and I took it.  In the morning, I discovered I hadn't gone all the way to the actual campground.  Lots of places for people and almost no one here on a lovely Friday evening in November.  Easy access for my 25' RV.  Highly recommend.  We were able to see the milky way (faint), satellites, and 3 shooting stars, all in about an hour.

Our grandsons loved this place. We went without reservations so there was no open place but they allow the overflow to camp in the group sites if they are empty.

You can spend hours exploring all the rocks. 

With reservations you can get a spot with power but they are closer together. We were very happy with the great place we had. Would love to go again.

$14 for an RV site with electric and water. Good TMobile service.

They have reservation as well as first come first serve sites.

Amazing volunteers, so knowledgeable and fun to talk to. You could just walk around the rocks and campground or take one of the trails out into the desert landscape. We had our bikes and were not disappointed!

Would absolutely come back.

I spent two weeks here at three different sites, and while I was ready to get back to civilization (the park is fairly remote), I genuinely had a relaxing time.

The bathrooms/comfort station are clean and fairly new—the only downsides are they’re only open from 7am-5pm to conserve water and it’s a bit of a trek by foot if you’re at one of the far campsites. I also had strong enough reception with T-Mobile to work remotely, and good service through Verizon as well.

Site 25 (Crab): a truly iconic site within a park where nearly every site is a gem. Downside: very little privacy and no shade from the afternoon sun. Upside: Site is level, great sunset views and a quick walk to the pit toilets.

Site 24 (Hercules): Connects to site 25 via a the rock formations, but more private as it’s not directly on the main loop. Again, close to the pit bathroom. There’s a fun and semi private climb up into the rocks to the left of the picnic table that will give you a stellar sunset view. Site is level and protected from the worst of the south/SW winds. I also saw the most wildlife from this site (marmot, roadrunner, jack rabbit, and more). Downside: the site curves rather drastically and is best suited for vans, tent camping, or very small RVs; little shade as the tree that used to offer shade was removed.

Site 30 (Triangulum): hands down, the best site in the park IMO. Lots of shade and privacy as it’s set far back from the main road; it almost feels like you have the park to yourself. Pit toilets are conveniently at the end of the drive. Downside: people climbing through the rocks occasionally end up near your site, but no one ever wandered too far; the windmill does makes some noise but it’s really not too bad; this site has FULL shade, which is ideal unless you run on solar panels. For a few hours a day I had to back my van into the sun, which put it at a fairly severe angle as the drive slopes once you back out of the sweet spot by the picnic table; very little protection from the wind, but there is some.

No facilities, but a beautiful spot. Lots of shade. Dirt road in decent shape. No road signs off of highway 15. Just need to use the GPS coordinates. A few level spots with fire rings.  A little ways in you'll see large piles of gravel. Not sure what that's for. There is a placard that states "Constructed by the United States Conservation Corp in 1976". Not sure what was constructed. There is just a dirt road.

City of Rocks, NMSP: NON- ELECTRIC Sites: Sites Nestled into Uniqueness. One of the best campgrounds , in regards to campsite layout, we have stayed in during 4 1/2 years of full timing - (Electric sites are not so. They do have views, but are crowded together.) (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 5 for the non-electric sites. The are nestled into semi private/private locations. I did not see a non-electric site that I would not enjoy. Even the worst of these sites would be among the best at many campgrounds. Sites in the back loop where we stayed were among the best. Price 2024 : $10 for non-electric sites Security: I think the gates are locked at night. Not sure.
Usage during visit: Electric sites were full . Primitive sites had some availability. Site Privacy: Good to great Site Spacing: Many sites are very well spaced.
Site surface: Gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: Too isolated for this to be an issue.
Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Availability Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: Yes Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Pit toilets are throughout the campground. Showers: No Pull Throughs: Yes, there are some.
Cell Service (AT&T): 0 - 2 bars depending on location Setting: Primitive sites are set among the rocks. Electric hook up sites are close together, but have a view of the rocks and desert. They are not as nicely laid out.

International cosmic campground: Beautiful scenery. Beautiful views. No water availability. Concrete pads for telescopes. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 3 for camp site layout 5 for dispersed sites Security: No Usage during visit: very full during weekday Site Privacy: No Site Spacing: close Pad surface: Gravel Outside Road Noise: far from highway , no highway noise problem Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: no Potable Water Available: i did not see available water. Generators: yes Bathroom: Pit toilet Showers: no Pull Throughs: All are back in.
Solar: Good in sites Insects: not an issue during our Spril visit Sites: sites in the campground are tight. Some dispersed camping nearby looks pretty nice. Some are close enough to use the bathroom.

Bighorn, NM: great for stopover., As it is right off the highway (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 3 perfect for a stop over Security: no Usage during visit: light Site Privacy: no Site Spacing: OK Pad surface: dirt Outside Road Noise: some highway noise Through Traffic in campground: no Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no, Dump Station: no, Potable Water Available: no Generators: allowed Bathroom: pit toilet Showers: no Setting: parallel with creek, just off the highway. Solar: great Insects: none during our visit in April. Host: no Sites: along the creek bed, just off the highway.

This is an amazing place with beautiful rock formations that you can spend hours exploring. Overall I really enjoyed staying here and seeing the sights. However, I ran into two issues (one major) while camping at site #28:

1. There is a large wasp nest in the base of the tree at this site. Depending on the time of day, there can be a LOT of wasps flying around throughout the entire area of site#28, making the entire site unusable. Notably, this nest is in the only shaded area of the site, so you have no usable shade. Once you bring food outside, even more come out and they get aggressive. I got stung twice while trying to eat outside. I contacted the park about this by e-mailing the park manager (Gabriel Medrano) twice. He never responded to the e-mails. I also called the park office during business hours, but they did not answer. I left a voicemail, but they never called back. Clearly this park's management does not care about its guests. I later talked to one of the rangers. They said they are not allowed to disturb the wasp nest by spraying it or doing anything else due to directives from management. In other words, the park manager would rather preserve a dangerous pest instead of ensuring visitor safety and park usability.

2. There is a windmill near site #28 that makes a very loud and annoying metal grinding noise when it turns slowly. It is shockingly loud and at first I thought that there was some sort of metal fabrication factory or construction site nearby. This happens any time of day or night, depending on the wind, and can be clearly heard from most sites on the west side of the campground. It would be loud enough to wake someone in a tent, but probably not an RV. Again, I e-mailed the park manager (Gabriel Medrano) about this, and didn't even get the courtesy of a reply.