Best RV Parks & Resorts near Counselor, NM

We were trying to find something before the sun went down and stopped here, but ended up moving on as they didn't have tent sites that we were interested in and we wanted a bit more seclusion. I was able to grab some info though. This campground is sort of between building of the fairgrounds.

About the park: This is a large RV park along the San Juan River between Farmington and Bloomfield. There are over 100 dry camping sites. 574 RV spaces with electric and water hookups.The sites don't have tables or fires pits. Each of these sites is 21’ by 41’. There is a dump station on site.  There are a lot of sites on the river.

Security patrols the area frequently.

Lots of activities happening at the fair and close to town. 

Showers and restrooms are by fair buildings so they are a little walk away from the sites, hence the "prefect for RV's".

I know the park rangers are spread thin, but the check-in system is pretty disorganized.  If you aren't familiar with the park and campground, it could be easy to take a wrong turn if you're trying to find your own way.  And that would be no fun in an RV.  We arrived at 4pm in our Class A, and there was a park ranger checking folks in.  He found our reservation, but NOT the extra payment we had made for our kids to be able to drive to meet us and park on our site (extra $10 per day per vehicle).  Later, I found the paperwork proving we had paid, but not  until my kids had already paid for a day when they arrived.  And getting a refund was going to be too much hassle.  And they don't always have any staff at the entry.  So some folks are left to fend for themselves when trying to find their campsites.  

That's the bad news.  Good news is that this tiny little lake and the surrounding area is lovely.  It's great if you fish. We don't, but we took several easy but longish hikes and it's just beautiful.  Lots of birds, wildflowers and we even saw a beaver on the lake!  The campsites are nice too...many are right along the Rio Cerros river (stream really) that makes up the lake.  The one loop with electric sites (where we stayed) is a bit back from the water, but there is still LOTS of shade.  We sat our for hours and enjoyed the quiet.

30 amp service only.  Decent water pressure.  No dump station on site (another drawback).  No cell service of any kind.  There are a couple of satellite wi-fi hot spots around, but after 30 minutes, you have to pay, and it is incredibly slow.  I had to use it once for work; not great.  So just plan to be 100% disconnected.  I liked the 2pm check out time, by the way.  We slept in quite late for us on our last day, and still had plenty of time to get packed and out of there!

We are already talking about next year's visit!

The campground is reached via 511 to 173 (top of the hill when you see The Sportsman Bar and Grill and a scenic drive). Wind through the little town of Navajo Dam, cross the river and  then you turn on Rd 4280, which is approximately 2 miles of rough washboard gravel. This takes you to the park entrance which is nicely paved. The entrance is currently under construction as of my visit and there is heavy machinery moving earth to make a more elevated entrance road. The need for this was evidenced by signs of washouts on the existing entrance road. However, this construction has nothing to do with the rough gravel road leading to the park entrance road.

Once inside, this campground is a big loop with 47 campsites coming off like spokes on a wheel. The inside sites have views of the other sites across the circle. The outside loop sites are more private.

Overall, the campground is nicely shaded by large cottonwoods and many of the sites back right up to the river. There is a decent amount of space between sites. A few don't have much in the way of vegetation between them, so not much privacy for those. There are back in and pull through sites. Also a dump on site and a group site. Hookups for water and electric. I used the restrooms and they were clean and adequate. Not sure if there were shower facilities. I didn't use them.

There is a paved trail to the river with benches for relaxing and taking in the beauty of the San Juan and there is a trailhead at the end of Rd 4280, but I didn't hike it.

I had zero Verizon cell service. Had to drive up to The Sportsman Bar and Grill in Navajo Dam to get a signal.

This is a fly fishers paradise as you can wade right into the river, fish and then walk back to your campsite with your catch.

It’s about 6 miles from the hwy with the first 1/4 mile being beyond washboard. After that little stretch it’s on and off washboard. I can imagine if it rained it looks like it could be quite slick. Didn’t count, but I think about 9 sites half with a covered picnic table and campfire ring. A couple sites seemed to be geared towards tent camping while some of the others were only big enough for the smallest rv campers and a couple that might squeeze in a 30’. Their is one group site that even the big rigs could get into, but that’s only one and these sites can fill up fast. So it’s a gamble expecting a site that your rig will fit especially if you have something bigger than 20’. I felt quite lucky to find 3 sites available with my 22’ tt after beating myself and the contents in the trailer to get here. Near the entrance theirs parking at a overlook and day use picnic area halfway to the camping sites with vaulted toilets. Not much for hiking trails at the camp sites. Only one I found on the west side of the campground that follows the rim, but it’s short.