Best Equestrian Camping near Doña Ana, NM

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Doña Ana, NM

94 Reviews of 6 Doña Ana Campgrounds

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  Nov. 23, 2020

  BLM Dispersed camping along B059 New Mexico

  Odd sounds from Doña Ana Range Complex / Fort Bliss

  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.

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• 

  Nicoli D.

  Scout

  May. 29, 2022

  Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

  Great spot to camp! Not the best for RVs or Trailers.

  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.

• 

  Alistar B.

  Traveler

  Apr. 4, 2021

  Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

  UNIQUE

  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.

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• M

  Mark M.

  Legend

  Nov. 17, 2024

  Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

  Hidden gem

  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!

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• 

  Damon T.

  Guide

  Jul. 7, 2016

  Backcountry Primitive Sites — White Sands National Park

  Camp on the moon!

  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.

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• 

  Jacob W.

  Ranger

  Apr. 3, 2025

  Gap Tank dispersed camping

  Still lonely desert, still awesome

  I tent camped at Gap Tank again in January 2025. Awesome time again. It was actually cold then. The sky was dark at night and we couldn’t see any electric lights. Kind of cool so close yet so far from El Paso. No border problems. No javelinas this time, just a jackrabbit. Gap Tank was dry but nearby Mesquite Tank had water and even a little ice on the edges.

• 

  Jacob W.

  Ranger

  Aug. 3, 2020

  Gap Tank dispersed camping

  Lonely desert

  Gap Tank is located in the gap between Mt. Riley and the E. Potrillo Mountain ridge in the Desert Peaks National Monument on BLM land in the Chihuahuan Desert. Very few people out there. Very primitive. No campground. Little to no shade. I’ve camped here twice in my truck bed—once in 2017 when I climbed Mt. Riley and once in 2020. Close to Mexican border but I didn’t have any problems. Probably not conducive to RVs because difficult to pull off county road.

• 

  Katie M.

  Ranger

  Nov. 20, 2020

  Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

  Great Find Last Minute!

  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!!

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• 

  B B.

  Traveler

  Apr. 9, 2022

  Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

  Pure Silence & Absolutely Beautiful

  Beyond amazing campsite tucked up against an incredible expanse of towering mountains. Great hikes nearby. Clean out toilets. Sites are very well spaced—I felt like I was the only one around!