Best Tent Camping near Conchas Dam, NM

As we drove around the first more populated side of the lake the tent sites were not what we were looking for, good sites close to the water but the view was blocked by the trees. As we looked around we noticed there was South side so we decided to check it out. Wow!! The tent campsites were more secluded and the view of lake was gorgeous. They have electric hook ups, developed w/o electric. There are several little loops to check out with a vault bathroom close by.

The primitive campsites are the only good spot for tent camping. There two big campsites are more for Rv’s

Bummed when we pulled up and were told we couldn’t tent camp. Found a better place up the road near the lake.

Very nice place. Well maintained & clean! But only RV - was going to tent camp out of the car but host denied. (with a cravat, he offered to 'put me in the back' for a small fee IF I agreed to not abuse the facilities) -apparently he had problems with campers in the past, so, yea, no camping

Campgrounds were fairly clean here. Keep in mind that if you are tent camping A LOT of the spots are extremely rocky and just full of gravel! Campground has clean showers and bathrooms as well. Sites are fairly close to the lake too. The campground is also only about 12 minutes away from the town of Santa Rosa if you’re in need of supplies!

While I usually am pretty sad when I find a site which does not welcome tents, this spot was actually quite nice to check out and I feel had I been able to enjoy it a bit more I could have rated it higher. So why a 3?

I always keep my eye out as a travel blogger for sites which might interest my fellow traveler or followers and I have a lot of questions about equestrian camps because people like to travel for rides and such. I also am constantly asked about RV sites which are large enough for big rigs to easily navigate around instead of being crushed.

This place fits both of those needs really well!

Visually, it isn't much I must say on the outside, mostly because there isn't a ton of vegetation, but it is kind of in the desert so that can't really be held against them. It is the perfect destination for a good trail ride, which is actually what this place is designed to do.

So what does set it apart for someone like myself though who isn't interested in trail rides? The clubhouse!! It is visually probably one of the best clubhouses I have found. Bright bold colors, a pool table, fun paintings and a staff which is so friendly.

Then did I mention it is part of a Wildlife Refuge area? Yep, so if you are like me and LOVE to see nature at its finest this place checks off a lot of boxes. If only it could check off the tent site box it probably would have been the perfect blend of nature an nearby Route 66 to me.

TIPS:

• Check out their working camper program it is pretty cool, the camp host was telling me just a little about it and it was very appealing.

• Sure if you are there for the trails, Route 66 might seem an after thought but there are some really amazing preserved spots just in town that you will love if you like a bit of history.

We stayed here primarily because it was on our route to Northern New Mexico and Colorado. It was exactly as we expected and we enjoyed an overnight here in June. Fortunately we had electric power for AC and were comfortable. Enjoyed some short hikes right from our campsite. Very isolated location between Tucumcari and Las Vegas, New Mexico, but that was our intended route. Marginal highway, but almost no traffic.

This is a great place to hang out on the weekend in Eastern New Mexico. The water is great and it's pretty clean lake. When the wind kicks up it can get pretty rough but overall nice. The grounds are well taken care of as well. I would recommend staying on the South side of the lake if you like it quiet, you can also find more "trees". Try to keep your elevation low because the wind always blows in New Mexico.

Book on Reserve America for New Mexico “Santa Rosa Lake” very pretty and peaceful. Not all streets were labeled but the directions worked to get us there just fine. Park for kids, gorgeous sunsets and the stars show off at night. Clean bathrooms. Had hookups.

This is a hidden gem. We were evacuated from our camping spot in Northern New Mexico due to wildfires and set out for a new spot. Exhausted from driving, we pulled into this campground. It is clean, well maintained and the dog got a kick out of doing a bit of swimming. There is unique topography and enough to explore for a night or two.

Good overnight stop! It was a quiet rv park with clean bathrooms and hot showers. The staff was super friendly at check in and if you like the little touches they offer free coffee and tea! I always think that's nice.

Flat spot, cell reception, right by a gas station and a neat place to explore route 66. Highly recommend La Cita, for New Mexico Mexican food. Very good, friendly staff and also the coffee house is ran by the nicest husband and wife couple with incredible baked goods!!

We spent two nights and it only cost us $16. We were parked right on the lake, and being right after a holiday the lake was pretty much empty. They have several different campsites, with a website that makes it easy to reserve a spot. However, we called to ask, and ranger let us know we could come for first come first serve. They have signs that make finding your way around easy, also having stations that you can pay(cash only) for your campsite. The rangers were sweet and helpful as well as having a host, who was there all night in case of an emergencies. The restrooms/showers were clean and it looked to be recently remodeled. Also they had ramps going into the water for boats and a dock for fishing. Something else we learned about New Mexico, not being from here, April-May is a rainy and windy season. So be sure to check the weather before heading out

Traveling the old familiar Route 66 time and time again I have found so many stops to enjoy. I try to make it a point to check out new places each time I pass to get a full perspective of what this strip of highway has to offer. Not always will you be able to stay in a classic roadside stop, but when you can get within throwing distance of one you have to jump on the opportunity.

The grass here is semi green the spaces are large enough to not be on top of your neighbor and the staff is friendly. I like that they have a grassy tent area with the signature KOA feel in the picnic structures and while you are in a semi desolate looking space, you feel that the area has a sense of community with a lot of retro trailers and rvs passing though on the same mission as you.

This seems to be an older KOA so some of the amenities, while nice are not as up to date as other campgrounds. I noticed this mostly in the playground, and while I am perfectly happy with the see-saws and older swing sets which remind me of my own childhood, I am sure to newer parents used to all things plastic and padded this is a nightmare waiting to happen.

The pool is not large but perfectly sized for a small group and is gated to protect it from being used by just anyone at the camp during any non-specific type of hour. It is, like at many KOA camps, seasonal so if you are wanting to take a dip, might call in advance to make sure you aren't there when it isn't open. The one thing that was a little strange to me was the height of the fence, a little tall and made me think they ave had issues with fence jumping previously, then again maybe it is just an extra precaution for insurance.

Nights here are pretty quiet and if you can get past the appearance of chainlink surrounding the property you have an amazing New Mexico sunset only a short distance from the old Neons of Route 66.

The sites themselves for tents come in 3 basic types, standard grassy sites with no improvements, pull thru sites with water and electric and group sites known as the tent village. The prices vary depending on type of site and location and for tent village I will recommend booking well in advance online because I tried on three different sets of dates and it always said NOT AVAILABLE. Average cost of camp however is between $28 and $35 before tax.

TIPS:

• Opt for a site further from the road because traffic can be a bit loud along the road side of this campground.
• Checkout is at 11 a.m. make sure you are aware of this because otherwise you are subject to an additional days charge at any KOA camp.

We almost lost the tent one day. There isn't alot of shelter for tents. The bathrooms are clean and plenty of hot water for showers.

I stayed at the North Campground in the park and it was great. The bath house was recently renovated and very clean. The only downside to the park was that the tent pads we rock and gravel making it very difficult to stake a tent. Each site had a covered picnic table and a charcoal grill. There was easy access to drinking water and there was an access road to the lake close by.

The campground is so close to the highway, we would be just as well rested if we slept in the gravel under an overpass on I40.

The tent area was overgrown and full of burrs.

The bathroom was filthy.

If I could award negative stars I would.

I was really impressed with the sites. The tables had a nice cover over them and each one had a electric hook up with a regular 110 outlet. We stayed in a tent, but the sides were clearly for RVs. Didn’t matter to us. There were trails all around that we took our mountain bikes on. Not biking trails, but we were able to navigate them with some skills and careful judgement. 

Worst case scenario ever Stopped filled out form with payment 20 minutes later some Ahole pulls up claiming we are fully self contained Well no we have a gray tank and the restroom is open Just needed a place for the night but he insisted that we had to leave There was two tent trailers there with o little gray tanks but they are okay The guy was a real POS and cussed at us as we left Don’t stop here it is a crappie run place

The photos that show up above for this campground are actually of Santa Rosa LAKE which is about 20 minutes north on 91. The campground/RV park at this address is definitely more of an RV park. It is very close to I-40, there are streetlight-style lights throughout, and not much in the way of primitive camping. But if you're an RV-er you may love the amenities here, I think there is WiFi and a pool! We are tent campers and continued on up to the lake. The lake is operated by the State Park system. As of October 1, 2020 reservations are required for all state park sites, and they are only open to NM residents! We bent the rules as it was 2 am, and the rangers were cool about it in the morning. There are 2 campgrounds at the lake (Rocky Point and Juniper Park) - only Rocky Point was open currently, presumably for COVID reasons.

When the water returns it will be great again.

20 sites. Approximately half have adobe shelters. Very open and windy. All have water none have electricity. Today is July 1st, Monday is the 4th. Plenty of boats out on the lake for the holiday weekend, but the campsite still has 17 site open.

Contrary to what's on The Dyrt. There are 3 camping areas on the lake. The south end and the central campgrounds are Army Corp of Engineers. The north area/campground is State Park. I was there over the July 4th weekend on the south end USACE site and it was empty. Lots of boaters, but only a few campers. It is hot and open. Nice rocky plateaus to hike. The lake is down 40 ft. Hasn't been up full for 17 years. About a third of the site have a adobe shelter/lean-to. Which provides some needed shade. You can see how open it is by my pictures.

We stayed at bell point campground and although it’s still a Rocky hike to the beach the views are breathtaking. Camp was quiet enough (depends on your neighbors). Deer cover the campground. Each camp site has a covered wind break area for eating lunch. No ATVs. Kids loved it and so did dogs. Friendly staff - the rangers gave the kiddos a coloring book and badge when we got here. All the sites are nice that I can tell but not all have water views

This has to be my favorite lake in NM. Bathrooms with showers, restaurant and convenient store, and gas station. We always rent a boat slip and go night fishing!

Nice views of the lake and rocks from Bell Point campground. We stayed in site B19 and it was easy to back in to with our 20' camper. Electric was appreciated, but water was unavailable due to repairs, the dump station and showers were closed - making our stay shorter than expected. There were porta-potties available at the restrooms. The only place around to get water is in the town of Tecumcari, atleast a 30 min drive. If we're in the area and the water gets turned back on, we'd visit again. ATT signal is good and Starlink worked great here, no interruptions in school, work, streaming or gaming. Loved the views, did a bit of hiking around the lake area, saw a boat or two on the lake every now and then. We saw a roadrunner near our site which was really neat