Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Cuba, NM

Rio Chama RV park in Chama, New Mexico, is at the intersection of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the upper Rio Chama. A nice place to stay May 1 thru mid October. The train passing by twice a day is an exciting event and it's a short walk to the train yard.

Pull through sites have great shade and full hookups with 30 or 50 amp electrical service. Spacious tent sites with full service restrooms nearby. Pet friendly with dog park and free wifi. A great place for fishing, train watching and relaxing.

This is a nice quiet RV stop. There is 50 and 30amp only connections. No water or sewer. There is a dump station and RV fresh water fill station. It is all paved except for a very nice ASTRO turf dog run. With water. Our dog loves it. There are provided dog poop bags, Just wish ALL pet owners would be responsible to pick up after their dog poop 💩. Our first night here I bet I pick up four or five other dogs 💩! Plus my own dog's!
This place is really a paved parking lot power station the RV share back to back power polls. There are a few people here that are stay and working in area.

This campground has roomy camp sites and all are well groomed. Camp host is present during open season. Sites were $10 per day and are reservable. Fire rings are in each site. Pets are allowed. There is good hiking areas to take you to many canyons and none of the trails are very steep.

This county facility is basically a parking lot with spaces sized for RVs- excellent for what it is. The electrical(20-30-50amp) pedestals are on a common island between every 2 sites so(except for end sites) so you are side door-to-side door with your neighbor. The sites being angled at 45 rather than 90 degrees means this is somewhat mitigated. Very clean, fine for what it is: a place to park your RV while visiting Los Alamos area. Electric worked fine. The Visitor Center is re-opened, so bathrooms are available while it is open(8am-5pm). Everything is relatively new and generally in good condition. Good potable water supply and dump station with non-potable water(this seems to be free and available to the public). There is a Smiths supermarket, restaurants, etc across the street. 

There are a few downsides, the first of which can be very significant: 

1. Sites are not specifically assigned. If a space is vacant, it is available to be taken. There is a vending kiosk near the nice dog park area, from which you buy a ticket good for that day if there is an open space; it is not for a specific site. This is all fine if you have two vehicles and will be leaving one to“hold your place” while you are out exploring the area. BUT, for people with only one vehicle(e.g., class B or C or even A without a toad), you are abandoning your place when you leave to drive anywhere, and it is open to anyone taking it while you are gone. If you return and there is any open space, you can take it, but the RV park is generally full almost every night, and if you return and all spaces are taken, your$20“ticket” is useless- you are out of luck. I guess you could try parking in the adjacent large regular parking area, but that is not sanctioned. I spoke with the County about this, suggesting they consider a way to deal with this. 

2. Sites are all sloping downhill toward the Fire Station, you will very likely need to use blocks if you don’t have a mechanical leveling system. The slope is greater toward the Fire Station. 

3. Several of the sites are blocked off for the Los Alamos National Lab Exhibit Trailers, reducing the actual number of RV spaces available. 

4. Commute hours traffic is horrendous on the road(Road 4) into and out of the park, so plan accordingly. Traffic noise didn't bother us.

We stayed here 3 nights over Memorial Day weekend. Got in Thursday night and there were plenty of sites to choose from. As other reviews have said, the sites are spaced out well and there were always sites available throughout the weekend. We camped on the road that immediately turns to the right. Along the entire length of this road dispersed camping is allowed. If you go to the left (high clearance is good to have but could make it with 2wd) dispersed camping isn't allowed till you're about a mile in (see map picture). There are some fun single track trails (Water Canyon and Perimeter Trail) accessible from the campsite if you plan on mt biking or running/hiking. Bandelier National Monument is about 15 min drive away and is a fun place to checkout and climb in some cliff dwellings.
Just as a side note we saw 3 coyotes our first night in and heard them howling in the AM and PM, so keep pets leashed if you bring them and keep small kiddos close!

Before I visited here in December I had not heard of Bandelier NM; it's a wonderful place for exploring outside Santa Fe and Juniper Campground provides rustic sites without hookups (dump station and water available, though the dump station is closed in winter). Because it was December, we could drive into the park; in peak season there are shuttle buses that take you to the visitors center. There are no reservations except for the group sites. You'll need to pay with a credit card at the campground or pay cash at the visitor's center. You'll also need to pay an entrance fee for Bandelier NM unless you have or purchase a National Parks Pass. With a senior or an Access pass, you'll get a 50% discount on the already low fees.

Sites are sunny and open with scrub trees providing an element of privacy between sites. Parking pads have been recently paved. Bearboxes are provided. Bathrooms provide flush toilets, sinks, and hand dryers, but no showers. Although pets are allowed, if you plan to do any hiking, you'll want to leave them home. High elevation, so it's cold in winter and may have snow.

I would stock up on supplies on my way out of Santa Fe (about an hour away) or Albuquerque; or in Los Alamos from the North. There are a number of other national monuments in the area and Santa Fe is a nice small city to explore.

This is a nice secluded dispersed campsite on the eastern flanks of the Valles Caldera.  It's the closest CG to Sante Fe along the 4 before it enters the caldera proper.  While most of the trees in this area were burnt by fires less than 10 years ago, it still provides great views of the valley below and the highest mountains in all of New Mexico!  The campground has no amenities so bring everything you'll need and bring along a high clearance vehicle if you plan on heading up the road beyond the campsites that are right off the pavement to the right.

Besides exploring the caldera there are plenty of amazing things to do in nearby Sante Fe!  Our favorite attraction was the MeowWolf permanent art exhibit.  It's an absolutely amazing surreal piece of art that you walk through and interact.  I cannot stress enough how much you should visit because in addition to being an art pillar in New Mexico they also contribute to local and soon regional art and philanthropic endeavors.

I've stayed here twice now since being in New Mexico. This site is right on the water, overlooks the canyon, and is close to a hike to the right side of the canyon through a dried up riverbed. I *love* staying here. It's so peaceful, quiet, enough trees to keep you shaded from the harsh sun here. The road is runner friendly, so you can go on a jog if you like. Its definitely a campsite for people looking to strictly hang out. 

views and sunsets are EPIC. Stay here instead of the packed Rio Chama campground if you're a casual camper who doesn't need amenities. And pick up your toilet paper so this place stays nice!

Cedar Springs Campground is located in northern New Mexico within Carson National Forest, near the town of Blanco, NM. The campground is accessed via Forest Road 87, which branches off from Highway 522. Sitting at an elevation of around 8,500 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the area offers cooler temperatures compared to the valley below. 

This is a dispersed camping area. It is located near the Jicarilla Apache reservation. There are no amenities such as bathrooms or trash disposal, so campers must pack out all trash. The sites are accessible for tents and smaller RVs, offering a basic, self-reliant camping experience.

Check out this video for a drive around the campground: https://youtu.be/ni2fqlVKbPg

My friends and I were climbing at the Cattle Wall all day, and decided we wanted to disperse camp. While we pulled up to Jemez camping nearby, the park rangers told us it was closed because of Covid, but we could go down the road to this unmarked, unnamed, dispersed camp site. 

when we did we drove to the left, followed the path until we saw an opened gate, and turned up to a site on the right. It was well-used and had a fire pit, but you're not allowed to have fires right now. 

We wandered down to a cliff, and the most BEAUTIFUL view awaited us. If it was known, it would be a better view than the jemez falls and people would FLOCK to it. Instead, it was our campsite, free, and people-less. This is just a new mexico thing, I guess. finding best kept secrets everywhere. 

PS: weather was perfect, no sounds from anywhere in the campsite, completely amazing! Definitely go here.

The lake is dismally low as the boat ramps are totally not usable. I don't know when they were last usable and it looks like it has been a while. The trail leading down to the Chama river isn't open, because the starting staircase is unsafe. There are other ways according to the rangers that stopped to chat. All sites are reservation only and that is important for those that just show up. You will have to go online and reserve your spot and cell service can be spotty. The campgrounds were patrolled by rangers and they were nice to talk to. Willow Creek loop was open and the other sites are closed during the winter. Nice abundance of trees and shade. I pretty place in Northern New Mexico. Many of the sites have water and electric. There are more primitive sites available too. Camping in the winter months was nice as there weren't that many people around. The toilets are closed during the winter months and the closest facility is the visitors center.

Cochiti Army Core of Engineer CG: Good location to visit both Albuquerque (50mins) and Santa Fe (35 mins). Bandelier National Monument is 1 1/2 hrs away. El Moro and El Malpias National Monuments could be visited with a full day of driving.
(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 3 (should be a 4 but for poor bathroom cleanliness) Price 2024: $ 6 w interagency pass for non Electric Site Security: Check in stations active on weekends Usage during visit: 1/3 to almost full (weekends) Site Privacy: Open Site Spacing: Pretty good Pad surface: Concrete Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Some sites Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: There are several spigots in each loop.
Generators: Allowed during specific hours Bathroom: Flush toilets. Only one cleaning and attention during our 7 day stay. Also, repair needs of bathroom fixtures is ignored .
Showers: Not kept even close to adequately clean.
Pull Throughs: Not in our loop (Cat Tail) Cell Service (AT&T): 1-2 bars in our loop Setting: Set off of Cochiti Lake which is not particularly attractive. Mountain range to the north is pleasant to look at Recent Weather: Sunny and occasionally windy. Solar: Excellent Insects: None this time of year.
Host: Yes Rig Size: Large RVs present Sites: Ringtail is overall best loop in my opinion. Sites w a View: 51, 53, 50, (57,58)

Also liked: 48, 46,45, 45,43

This RV Park is the most haphazardly laid out place I've seen. Imagine if you had a really large lot. Near the front, you own a small beauty parlor. On your land are a couple of old mobile homes. You decide to add some RV hookups(probably 20 years ago) and you just kinda scatter them about in what is only a semblance of order. That gives you an idea. I had called a few weeks before and"reserved" a 50 amp site(there are only 2). She took my name. That was it. No confirmation#, nothing. I had a bad feeling from the start. We arrive just before 7(that's when we said we'd arrive) and both 50 amp spots were taken. She had forgotten we were coming. She offered us a 30 amp site, which for one night, was more than fine. We backed in(sites are uneven, we had to add blocks to keep our motorhome from being held in the air by the jacks) and started set up. I got my money's worth from my EMS that day! We got a reverse polarity error!!! Fortunately, the site near us(unused) was close enough I could run my power cable that way, and it checked out okay. After that, all was well.

It's a very good location, on the north end of Cuba(tiny town). We grabbed take out dinner from the historic El Bruno restaurant, which was phenomenal. The next morning, we struck camp and drove away. It all worked out okay, but don't expect your reservations to be honored. Theresa is super friendly, but clearly relies only on her memory to help her with reservations. Be prepared with a Plan B, I guess, in case you show up and she's rented everything. But at$20, it's a reasonable stay.

I did a fair amount of research online regarding walk-in tent camping at Heron Lake, during the week. See the great maps and detail at https://newmexicostateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/heron-lake/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NM&parkId=430012 . I called the visitor center to confirm that being a walk-in would not be a problem during the week. Once one arrives as a walk-in, look for the campsites with a green tag on them.

The Heron Lake camp sites shown at the above reserveamerica website all have a fair amount of trees for shade. What the reserveamerica site does not show is a few more Heron Lake campgrounds southwest along Highway 95 (beyond the dam). The southwesterly sites are way more exposed to the sun than the first four campgrounds. Otherwise, the southwesterly campgrounds have fine views of the lake.

I was at Island View campground, in a loop that was convoluted enough that I do not think a trailer (with its inevitable noisy generator) could get in. I guess that this is the point. As a result, all I heard from time to time were muffled voices and no generators. It's the first tent spring-summer-fall camping I have enjoyed in years that was generator-free. I had at least one empty campsite on either side of me as an additional buffer to noise.

I walked along the lakeshore. It did not seem that low. I saw large fish jumping in one cove. I hiked the Salmon Run Trail to the dam. The Salmon Run Trail is a beautiful hike, not all level but not too steep for this older person's knees and walking poles. On the lake side of the dam, walking along the highway to get a good look at the dam, I saw several schools of large fish.

The vault bathrooms and the flush-toilet bathrooms were fine. Not super clean and not super dirty. I did not try the shower but it looked like people were using it.

This time of year, bring some bug repellent or wear jeans and a light long sleeve shirt at night. New Mexico has had a lot of moisture this season, so I think the bug-giness is higher than usual. Still, I sat outside and read for an hour or so pretty comfortably.

The camp host was lovely.

I've camped this area several times. In my van and with Grandkids & dog in a tent. We had a rock campfire ring and I bring my folding table & chairs. The kids love to hang hammocks in the cedar trees.
Bring it in and cart it out.

Make sure the dirt road is dry enough in monsoon season so you don't get stuck.

This was our 4th visit to this campground and we still love it and plan to return again.  Sites are nicely spaced apart with tons of trees for shade.  Hiking trails lead into forest from various points as well as the major hike, Jemez waterfall.  

There are pit toilets only, and water fill stations for personal use, not camper fills.  Dogs are ok with leash.  

YOu must reserve spot ahead of time on recreation.gov as this campground fills up weeks ahead of time for every weekend.