Best Equestrian Camping near Doña Ana, NM

There are many places along this road (road B059 per Google maps) to pull over and stay the night. Road in is rocky and rutted in places; we made it in our 26ft Class C but a higher clearance vehicle would have made for a much less stressful drive in.  It was extremely windy when we stayed here, and boom / explosion sounds all night made for an uneasy night, especially for our dogs.  We are assuming the sounds came from testing and / or training at the nearby Doña Ana range, but they sounded like chemical plant explosions.  Boom sounds started the evening we stayed there and are still going on as I write this review the next day.   Good verizon and ATT reception.   Spring time in this area should be beautiful with wildflowers.  I don't think we'll come back to see them though.

It really is beautiful here. Southeast New Mexico has mountains believe it or not. The camp is nestled up against one. It’s Memorial Day weekend and not too crowded. Highly recommend for the price (basically free). If you are tent camping and low maintenance this place rocks. If you have a huge rig I’m not even sure I would want to make the drive up the road to the camp site. Spots are small, so you would need to find the best spot if you have an RV or Trailer.

Stayed in #43. Most sites are uneven and short. BLM recommends nothing more than 23' long. Water available at host site near gate before driving about 4 or 5 mi to campsites. Road IS narrow and winding and steep in place but pave and ONE way (don't turn wrong direction). Toilets were clean and mens toilets all had soft-close lids. I am told womens do not. Campground was clean, great 4 mile loop hike, and other much more strenuous/technical options for mountain climbers. Mountain crags remind me of a mix of Tetons, Patagonia and Sawtooth in Idaho. Great views to Sacramento Mountains to the east (Ruidoso/Cloudcroft area--Sierra Blanca covered in snow early Nov.). White Sands nearby along with White Sands Missile Range Museum).  Met some BLM peeps who were very nice, helpful and provided great information re: geology of the area and other points of interest. We brought our own 5 gal of water and were fine for 3 nights.

ALSO: shout out to New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors who were doing trail rehab./maintenance work while we were in area, yay!

I've been on a nationwide roadtrip for a few months that now and I have tent camped alone in many sites from Florida to Arkansas to, now, New Mexico. I chose Aguirra because of its close proximity to White Sands National Park. It is a First Come First Serve site and you must pay in cash. I was lucky to find a site in the afternoon. There are many sites. Over 40. I lucked out with 43 because it is huge! It's a jilly Rocky site with no one around me and several stone fire pits, a BBQ grill, and animal proof garbage can. There are Porta John's in close proximity. I have not found any water yet. Not sure. No RV hookups. But what do you expect for 7 bucks a night. I was here over Easter weekend so it got noisy with Fiesta music and someone throwing up across from my site at midnight! Whole families come here, jam their music etc. It's Easter so whatever. There is a covered picnic table and lots of tree cover to deal with the intense NM sun. I love how this place is at the end of an ascending, remote, windy road though. It's large enough that no rangers come and bug you for trivialities.

If you do one thing in New Mexico--and it would be a shame if you only did one thing, but I digress--full moon camping at White Sands National Monument might be it. As the sun sets on the Sacramento Mountains, the valley is lit orange and red as the dunes fade from white through amazing hues of tan. The full moon then lights the sand bright white and the Organ Mountains to the west loom as black teeth in the west. Sunrise repeats the process.

Camping at White Sands takes a small amount of planning, but is well worth it. You must claim a spot the of your arrival and pay a small fee. This is done at the visitor's center which has a great museum. My advise is to get there early to get a spot then head up to Cloudcroft to the east for a cooler hike in the pines then return an hour or two before sunset.

Once at the trailhead, the camp sites are 1/4 to 1/2 mile of hiking away. This is sand hiking, so plan on a slower pace. The trail is a lollipop marked by posts every couple hundred yards with camp sites in the valleys between camp sites. No campfires are allowed, and you must camp by the post with your campsite number. You must bring all of your water (plan on at least one gallon per person per day) and pack out all of your waste. The trailhead has dumpsters and pit toilets.

Bring a camera and tripod for amazing moon shots and a decent bag because it can get cold at night.

Lots of dispersed sites but looks like a very popular area we passed over 20 campers before finding a spot. Spots are pretty well spaced out with lots of vegetation inbetween. Road is a little rough 4x4 definitely recommended.

Road and camp site were good

Bring your own wood

Go to this campsite. $7 is a steal compared to all the BS in other campsites. Beautiful views and great atmosphere. Facilities are normal for a primitive camp site and there are no RVs which is nice if you’re tired of generators or slow driving. Can have FIRE, there is shade and there are trash cans. Would recommend.

There’s plenty of campsites for vehicles to pull up to. The hike has some good elevation gain so don’t expect a flat hike. Rewards you with great views half the time and shade the other half the time. The halfway point on the hike has hella shade for grillin n chillin.

THIS IS NOT A FREE BLM site. It's only a campground that's $7 for overnight or $5 day pass. If you can figure out the map to this place, figure out what site you want to head to, otherwise you'd be like us and ended up near the exit, we decided to head to another place that's free.

Sites are a bit small and tight. It seems more for cars than RVs. I like that there's bathrooms and covered picnic tables. Not many level gravel sites.

Also, on the way near the site there's a sign saying drinking water to a right side pull over where I didn't see any spigot, just a gate that says employee only.

We went here thinking there's a fee campground and a free BLM site nearby, it is not. It's only a campground that's $7 for overnight or $5 day pass. If you can figure out the map to this place, figure out what site you want to head to, otherwise you'd be like us and ended up near the exit, we decided to head to another place that's free.

Also, on the way near the site there's a sign saying drinking water to a right side pull over where I didn't see any spigot, just a gate that says employee only.

I had originally planned to stay at the Sierra Vista trailhead, but by the time I got there, all of the dispersed sites appeared taken. (It was well past nightfall on a Saturday night.)

Luckily I saw this campground on the app and took the half hour drive over. Even though it was Saturday, there were plenty of sites available.

The thing to know about this campground is that there are two loops, the second loop does not even show up on google maps, but it’s there and you’ll see the sign for it once you exit the first loop. The road in and out of the campground is one way, so it’s a big loop itself, so you cannot NOT see the sign for the second loop.

That being said, because the road in and out is one way, if you see a site that might work for you, TAKE IT. Or else you will most likely have to go all the way down the mountain and back up to fully circle back around. The road up is only about five miles, but the switchbacks are short and tight, which can make for an annoying drive when you’ve been on the road all day and are exhausted already.

All of the sites seem to be situated a little differently. I stayed in site 47 in the second loop. There wasn’t a tent pad, but there was a nice worn down, level spot for a tent behind the picnic area, under a tree. The view of the valley below from this site was a beautiful sight in the mornings.

This site was also right across from the bathroom and trash cans. I thought that might make for a lot of noisy foot traffic, but it did not and I was happy to have the convenience. The toilets are vault toilets and they were clean and well maintained.

I did not personally spot any wildlife while here, but had a nice talk with a birder, so if that’s your thing, it’s apparently a great place for birds. There are also a few trails accessible from the campground. White Sands National Park is about a 45 minute drive away and Las Cruces is about 20 minutes away.

For $7 a night, this place is a steal! I would def stay here again!!

One of the best places I’ve stayed in a long time. Day and night the view is amazing

Simply stunning. Great single lane road to entrance. Breathtaking.

It’s important to understand that upon arrival at the camp fee kiosk the natural traffic flow bears right where there’s a loop with about 20 campsites, but the bigger and more private sites are found by driving straight as if going back down the mountain.

Also, the first fee kiosk is for day visitors only. Pass it and stop a few hundred yards further up the road at the camper fee kiosk. Lack of signage creates the confusion.

There is a four mile hiking trail leading out of the campground, but no trail maps were available.

Aguirre is a clean, well maintained campground offering spectacular views and great hiking.

Stayed 2 nights.

The campsite was beautiful. Wonderful views of the mountains and of the valley below.

Campsites weren’t super level, which I didn’t mind too much. Saw other vehicle campers had blocks to level out their rigs.

Signs were kind of confusing. Two separate areas stated they were the campgrounds but campsites were littered throughout. The loop to get back to the beginning was about 30 min if you wanted to drive to drop off your fees. I ended up walking and realized it was 1) much steeper than I thought 2) much farther than I thought and 3) I was much more out of shape than I thought.

Campsites have picnic tables, Ramadas, fire rings and there were many vault toilets throughout.

First come first serve. Not for a big Rv, we came w our 29ft and made it. We got two spots which was so awesome! (Paid for both of course). It’s confusing w a lack of signage. The loop down the hill ja the best. Spot 29/30 are awesome w incredible views.

First come first serve with clean pit toilets and trash bins. It has beautiful views and great hikes. I will be coming back!

Beautiful campground near Las Cruces NM and White Sands National Park. Love that the camp site all have covered structures over the picnic tables. Definitely keeps the sun off. We stayed in site 25. Plenty of room. No large RVs because they can't get up the road. Lots of folks camping in vans. Could have done without the DJs blasting heavy metal music in the evening and again in the morning.

Nestled a few miles off the main road, this campground has incredible views. The sites are spacious. The sites are on a steep hill and some sites have a few steps up or down from your car. The facility is incredibly clean.

You are very close to White Sands NP.

Las Cruses is a few miles away. It’s convenient for supplies you may need.

I'm not sure you can pick a bad spot here, but there are a few standout sites. I had 49, which had multiple places to put a tent, and some amazing views (see the sunrise pic from right outside my tent). Every site has a covered picnic table. And there's a fair bit of shade from trees as well. 

The hiking! Go any direction and make a path. You'll eventually come across an existing one, and just follow it. There's actual paths with names, but I never bothered to learn them. My dog and I picked a direction and went for it. Valley below, mountains behind you, and a ton of exploration options in between. Deer and quail criss-crossed our paths many times.

The pit toilets are ok, but bring bug spray, because flies love the bathrooms. 

I'd love to see this place in other seasons as well. Midweek in May, we had our pick of spots. No immediate neighbors, but the sites are big enough to not feel cramped even if there were more folks.