Best Tent Camping near Cubero, NM

Mother Bosque Gardens is a little retreat in an urban Albuquerque neighborhood. I’ll admit, for me, it was a first for camping in a backyard (that wasn’t my own). Ernesto and Michaela, our hosts, were immediately welcoming and kind. They feel like we could have known them for a lifetime, even though we’ve only met for minutes. Upon arrival, they gave us the tour, and even offered to share a bowl of the aromatic soup simmering upon their stove.

Campsite and Amenities

The campsites (I believe there are two tent sites) are located on the two opposite sides of the house. They are both very private and remarkably quiet. The quiet was surprising being in a city, but it was quieter than many campgrounds we’ve stayed where other groups of campers may be playing music or chatting (loudly) by the fires. The campsite has a private entrance through a gate; parking is off the street. Our campsite space in the side yard, had a table, a couch, and a grill. As stated on the website, and in the Dyrt details, there are no campfires allowed. Michaela and Ernesto welcomed us to use their kitchen, although we preferred some mother and daughter time outdoors during our stay. The tranquil backyard is towered over by old growth trees, and the gardening is exquisite. We shared the space with hummingbirds and roses. The clean bathroom is inside the home where there is a shower available. Michaela and Ernesto even offered the use of their towels. My daughter quickly pointed out that there is Wi-Fi.

Location

The location is very near to the Rio Grande River and the Bosque, which is the natural forest that runs along the Rio Grande. My daughter and I left early in the morning to explore the banks of the flooded Rio Grande (May), and noted the many remarkable birds: violet green swallows swooping along the river exposing their vibrant colors, ducks, egrets, herons, a red-tailed hawk, and several Canadian Geese. We sadly missed the wily roadrunner with three babies in tow. The Rio Grande Nature Center State Park was an excellent starting point for the Bosque. 

Mother Bosque Gardens is also located only a few miles from the heart of old Albuquerque, including Old Town, the zoo, the botanical gardens, and the excitement of Central Avenue.

Practical Pointers

As noted on the website, the camp space can only accommodate an 8X8 tent; it may accommodate two smaller tents. We’ve shared a photo of a standard 2-person backpacking tent set up in the space. I believe the website lists a maximum of three campers in the site. A family with children exceeding a total of 3, who can manage to sleep in tents that meet the size restriction, might consider contacting Michaela and Ernesto for permission to bring more than three. Finally, there is a small walk from the parking at the front of the house to the campsite, so plan to make sure your gear is portable enough to carry it the 75-ish feet (I’m not a good judge of distance so it may be anywhere from 40 feet to 100).

Final Impression

My daughter and I planned to spend a day in Albuquerque for some quality time. In honor of new experiences, we tried something new for us by staying at Mother Bosque Gardens. We were both incredibly happy that we did. We had a wonderful experience not only camping in a beautiful garden, but from the opportunity to meet Michaela and Ernesto. We were welcomed strangers, but I couldn’t help but feel like we departed from friends.

Fine print about my ratings 

When I use a star rating system, I truly do consider 3 out of 5 to be average and expected. Anything above three stars is superb and awe-inspiring. I save 5 out of 5 for what I feel is the most enchanted locations. After all, dishing out a 5 for every spot I like wouldn’t help other campers (as it doesn’t help me in return). I consider it rather difficult to provide a star rating for Mother Bosque Gardens because it was such a unique experience for me. As hosts, I would absolutely give Ernesto and Michaela a 5 out of 5. The campsite has some natural limitations as compared to a traditional site, so while the campsite was very comfortable, when compared with large campsites surrounded Giant Sequoias or a serene alpine lake, well…that’s just hard to beat. So, I’ve settled on a 4 out of 5.

Booking with The Dyrt

I had the honor and pleasure of booking this trip through The Dyrt even as they were still rolling out the bookings. I found the process to be simple and effective.

El Morro National Monument is located on an ancient east-west trail in western New Mexico. The main feature of this National Monument is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base.

We only hiked the Inscription Rock Loop but were impressed with the way the park integrated features like water channels into the land using natural elements. Everything was organized and impressive.

Visited the coal mine campground after driving a 500 mile day, so it was a set-up eat and crash situation. I did make a reservation on line, but that cost more than the $5 per site fee and was not necessary even though it was memorial day weekend. The fee is great because it is primitive, no electricity, no water at all, not just hookups, but the bathrooms were nice and clean with no sinks.

If you are prepared for a primitive camp with your own water and batteries for your electronics it is great. They have fire rings, grills, picnic tables and level places for tents.There are also nice back-in sites for boondocking RVs and the road up to the campground is fine for big rigs.

I ran into two mountain biker's here from Ireland that were riding the Continental Divide trail from The Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Montana. They were staying here since the Trail goes through here. Paddy & Conner were very interesting people and I was fortunate to have run into them here.

I enjoyed my stay with a peaceful quite nights sleep and a short hike in the morning before breakfast cooked on the campfire. I would recommend this over a hotel stay if your passing through Grant's New Mexico on I40. You can probably get a site for the night anytime your passing through.

The tent area is right beside the I-40 and very loud.

It’s a great place to stay outside of Albuquerque. Water is only available at certain times. The bathroom was clean. No showers. Beautiful clear sky & flat spots for tenting

This is just a picnic area, if you have a small tent you can make it work for just a night, one plus is you can hike the South Narrows trail!

El Morro National Monument features some amazing petroglyphs and the remains of a pueblo, offering fun hikes. Nearby is a free campground, first-come, first-served. There's water available except in winter (and then you can fill containers at the visitor's center) and vault toilets.

Sites offer picnic tables, fire rings, and tent pads. Some, because of their set-up, are better suited to tents than RVs, but because you can't reserve in advance, you'll get to choose what works best for you...assuming there's vacancy. In December it was cold and largely unoccupied, but in warmer months I'm guessing it fills quickly. Sit 5 is handicap accessible and located across from the bathroom.

Wonderful place to check out the stars. The setup is great, there’s a raised wood floor to set up your tent on. They also have a fire pit and grill you can use. It’s easy to get to from downtown Albuquerque and it’s worth the trip.

There is a lot of firewood to keep the fire going and there are even horseshoes and bags set up for entertainment.

We did not get to stay here as all spots were full. Also, we are 43’ fifth wheel and the only places that were big enough for us were taken by a couple of tent campers.  As this was the week of the Balloon fest, we did not try any other areas but moved on west.  The sites were very unlevel, there were vault toilets.

It is a bit of a drive from the interstate but it is mostly paved roads.

Stayed here after visiting bandera volcano and ice caves... about an hour away. The campground was very clean and well maintained. Fire ring, pad for a tent and a picnic bench were at each site. Bathroom was very clean. Water was also available. Awesome night sky and very quiet. Small campground with 9 sites. I didn’t visit the monument but loved the area and campsite. I would definitely stay here again.

Camping here was free when we went, you just had to reserve a site using a little tag. We stayed for 2 nights. There were toilets and running water, so we filled up our 5 gallon jug. It was great to stay for free in the NP so we could spend the whole day at the park. There were picnic tables and tons of trees for shade and hammocks. There were also tent pads. When we were there (May) there were tons of open sites, I think we were 1 of 4 people staying there. Nice and quiet!

We stayed here in February on our drive from St. Louis to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful and FREE! It was also extremely cold in February, like my water bottle froze overnight. The campsites are nice and spacious and pretty flat. They each have a tent pad and picnic table. It was quiet at night and you could see a lot of stars. The vault toilets were clean and had TP. The next morning we did the hike around the monument and it was well worth it! There is a staffed visitor center/gift shop with good info.

Only 10 sites and all have covered picnic tables, bbq grill and fire ring. Unfortunately maybe 1 or 2 are level sites. A 30’ rv might be the max because of the uneven ground. I have a 22’ TT and had to use extra blocks to level out. When I arrived their were only 2 sites left. The one I didn’t pick was kinda part of a group site where the picnic tables were close otherwise the sites are 100’ or more apart. Half of the sites were occupied by either tents or people sleeping in their cars. Trash bins scattered throughout the park and 2 vaulted toilets in different areas. No water, electricity or dump. Because this area can fill up fast, it’s best to have an alternate plan, especially near the weekends.