Eagle Nest is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that New Mexico camping has to offer. Find the best campgrounds near Eagle Nest, NM. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.
$15 / night
"Some of the sites are immediately adjacent to the river. My favorite campground is Tolby, the Westernmost. It has a Ranger/Information Station in the east end of the campground."
"This campsite sits on the edge of a road next to two little ponds that are great for trout fishing. The river runs next to the ponds and you can find a few fish there too."
"Much more vegetation than you would expect from a campground close to town. The staff are friendly. The facilities were clean. The park is older but in an charming New Mexico way."
"What a wonderful find, just a short distance from the beautiful town of Taos! Plenty of privacy at each site with your own sagebrush garden, picnic table, grill and water pump."
$22 / night
"The spot was mostly level making set up easy. We had access to a fire pit as well as a grill and table. The creek flowed about 75’ from the site. The camp host was great and very friendly."
"The views here are breathtaking and the sound of the river drowns out the noise from the road which is fairly close."
$38 - $45 / night
"Great views surrounded by mountains...right on the red river. Minutes away from town and skiing.... Level spots host are amazing, super helpful and attentive."
"The showers and laundry were clean and beautiful. And the town was a short walk away with great restaurants. Can’t wait to come back."
$25 / night
"The trailer was really cute- we had "Jazzy," which had a separate bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/living area. The kitchen was fully stocked with cookware, silverware, and coffee."
"But camping here means you have access to the very clean bathrooms/showers, water, and other services at the "hotel."
Surprise! "
"We had great rain both evenings and sat under the awning and just relaxed after a long day on the trails.
The location of this park is its best feature, I have to say."
"Spaces are really close to each other.
However, the bathrooms/showers (Qty 3) were always very clean. The camp host/owner and employees were very friendly and accommodating."
"Lots of dispersed camping a few fire pits. There’s a 1.25 mile hike down to the river to cool down. Plenty of shade and lots of off road trails for driving/running/biking."
"Pulled in around 4pm on a Saturday and only 1 other camper was here. A few vehicles were parked at the bathroom/trailhead, super friendly."
"A vehicle with off-road capabilities is recommended if you want to reach this campground. While not impossible with a regular sedan, it does take navigating up some unpaved switchbacks."
"There are about 5 by the lake and then 3 on the trail up. It's a busy road, constant stream of people. The trail itself is maybe a 2/10 for difficulty."
$6 - $12 / night
"This was a nice basic spot, close to highway 64 so you get some traffic noise, but that goes away after dark for the most part."
"About 10 first come first serve primitive campsites next to the road and creek. The trees give some privacy in between the campsites and road."
"This is where the magic happens, beautiful moonrise’s and sunrise, sunsets. clean wasteland clean bathrooms. I camp here as often as I can."
"The location is isolated and you need to bring plenty of water. The advantage is being able to walk into the Gorge, which if you fly fish, is an amazing thing."
GuideCimarron Canton State Park is a wonderful place to stay, right on the Cimarron River. Bring your fishing gear and license for some relaxing fishing. Some of the sites are immediately adjacent to the river. My favorite campground is Tolby, the Westernmost. It has a Ranger/Information Station in the east end of the campground. It has flush toilets and sinks, but no shower. This is my favorite, because I love to hike and backpack. Just south across Highway 64 from the campground entrance is the Tolby Trailhead. The Tolby Trail takes you all the way back to Tolby Meadow on an excellent trail. A good spot for overnight tent camping. Tolby campground is also just minutes from Eagle Nest, NM and within easy range of Angel Fire, Red River, and a little less than an hour from Taos.
There are two other campgrounds for RVs, Maverick and Ponderosa, as well as one more for tent camping. Maverick sits right next to a pair of gravel pit lakes for added Fishing opportunities. Ponderosa is across the street from that, but is more like a parking lot with painted camping slots around its perimeter.
In the town of Cimarron I recommend dining at the Historic St. James hotel (very haunted) or lunch at the Creemee. Stop in at the headquarters of Philmont Scout Ranch for the National Scounting Museum and a Tour of the Villa Philimonte (Waite Phillips’ mansion). Also recommended is the Tooth of Time Traders at Philmont. It’s a camping/hiking store that is like an REI.
If you’re coming via Raton, the Colfax Tavern between Raton and Cimarron at Cold Beer New Mexico is a great place to stop for food and drinks.
LegendThe National Forest Service campground is located on highway 64 between Angel Fire and Taos New Mexico. The site is just a few feet off the highway next to a small creek. They have about a dozen small campsites along the creek with privacy between the sites. The sites are very basic and come equipped with fire pits and picnic tables. The location had availability during the summer peak season. The site is self serve pay and does not have a camp host. The location may be a good option for those looking to visit Taos which is about 30 minutes away. I gave this a low rating due to the condition of the sites which needed basic maintenance and cleanup. The site was also far to close to the highway to enjoy a good camping experience. I think this is the type of place you use as a last resort while in transit to Taos or Eagles nest.
LegendThis is another great spot in the New Mexican high country, especially if you’re a fan of hot springs AND vintage campers. In addition to full-hook up camping/ RV spots, the resort offers vintage campers for rent. It is a great and quiet place to rest, recuperate,
and just enjoy yourself.
We stayed in the camping loop, and even with electricity and wifi available, had plenty of sunshine for solar power as well as good access for our Starlink. Cell service was pretty skimpy though.
The bathhouse at the camping area was well heated with wonderfully hot showers, flush toilets, and plenty of space. Water and a dump station was available in the camping area for an extra fee.
Access to the hot springs spa was NOT included in the price for camping, and not inexpensive, but the variety of pools and the beauty of the place was worth it. They offer steam rooms, a multitude of pools of varying temperature and mineral content, in addition to a mud bath, lap swimming pool and full locker/ changing room. They also offer full spa services, massages, etc. It was very busy on the weekend with day-use customers, but going early or mid week was a far less crowded time.
The onsite restaurant/pub is a class act and delicious. Nearby there are a few hiking trails right from the property, and with the national forest nearby there’s lots of outdoor adventures available.
The nearest grocery/ convenience store is just down the road, but the selection is pretty limited. The closest town with full services is in Espanola about 30 minutes away.
RangerMy wife and I just spend two days at this RV resort. Its attached to the Ojo Caliente Spa Resort. The spaces only had eletric and water. The eletric and water outlets where placed in an odd location for the site and a dumb station is available for extra $20. One thing we both noticed about the RV park was how quite it was at night. No campfires in the RV park but the spa area had a big fire pit lit every night and where there so many of the RV community hung out there. It gave us a chance to meet our neighbors and talk traveling. We spent one whole day at the spa and was given a discount on its entrance price while staying at the RV park. There is also a great restaurant on site. We where traveling in a 34 foot 5th wheel. Cell service is spotty.
TravelerWe stayed 3 nights on our first trip with our new rig. The spot was mostly level making set up easy. We had access to a fire pit as well as a grill and table. The creek flowed about 75’ from the site. The camp host was great and very friendly. The bathrooms were clean. Road noise was minimal.
GuideI grew up going to this campsite almost every summer, so this review may be a little biased. The campsites are great, specially for tent camping. There are some big spots for RVs but those get pulled quickly. The campsites are a little close together, but I have never had any problems. The facilities are nice enough as well.
This campsite sits on the edge of a road next to two little ponds that are great for trout fishing. The river runs next to the ponds and you can find a few fish there too. I like to walk up and down the river to find some good spots that are a little quieter. The ponds fill up with quite a few people now.
You will need to bring everything you need. There are not any stores really close by, you will have to go to Cimarron ot Eagle Nest to stock on supplies if you are missing anything and they can be 30 minutes away. There are also no big box stores in these towns so things close down early.
ScoutThis will be a lengthy review but I need people to know not to book, especially site 11.
I’ll start by saying I don’t normally stay at developed camp sites so maybe all my issues are typical and I’m just ignorant. That being said, camp site 11 is an unfortunate little piece of land. It is unusably small (maybe 25sq ft of barely usable space) and bordered by a mountain, the road, spot 10’s driveway, and trees. The picnic table and fire pit are centered in a way that left very little room for our 2 tents on rocky uneven ground. My tent was forced to be less than 3 feet from driveway 10. Our other tent had to be so close to the fire pit that it would have caught fire if the pit was used. It also is a waterway for all the road water and mountain side so a small river formed through our space (hitting both tents) when it rained. All this on top of the fact that every other spot around us was so plentiful (4 to 5 times our size) in space it almost made our spot seem like a cruel joke. It should cost 1/4 of the price of the rest and should be for small RV or day picnics only.
Now the camp area as a whole is well maintained and the vaulted toilets smelled surprising decent the entire 4 day stay. The mountains are beautiful as mountains tend to be. The hiking is great and there is an awesome stream that rolls through the campground in certain areas. There is constant highway noise so be aware of that, though the spots further in or near the stream probably don’t deal with it. A lot of the sites are packed close and you can easily hear many conversations at normal talking volumes.
The camp staff guy (Bill?) was friendly at first but that changed rapidly after the first night. There was a no wood fire restriction at the time of our stay despite days of rain and rain every day so we used only our propane stove the entire time. This didn’t stop Bill from calling the fire department on us the first night because he “thought we had a wood fire”. We didn’t.
Now this second part I’ll admit was on us but was handled poorly. I didn't know there were curfews at that campsite. The bulletin board does show quiet hour times but it’s buried in a novel of information most of which was about a bear sighting so that may have distracted my attention when I first looked at the bulletin. Quiet time is 10-6 and I know that now. So we’re hanging out around the “campfire” and I decide to walk down to the restroom, it’s about 11pm. As I’m walking back, I pass Bill and say hi. He doesn’t acknowledge me (he wouldn’t talk or look my way the rest of our stay either). When I return to the campsite the 2 women and 2 children I was with told me Bill had just ran up on them and was standing over them in a very aggressive fashion pointing his finger in their face and reprimanding them for breaking the quiet hour rules. He left after getting directly in one of the females face and saying “don’t make me come back here” in a very threatening tone. They all, just remained silent throughout the ordeal. C’mon man. We messed up and felt horrible but it was an honest mistake and had he just told us respectfully we would have shut up just the same but instead he created this uneasy tension for three days. And to put a cherry on top, other campsites broke the rule every night and morning (music, laughter, generators) and were not reprimanded. I know because everyone was so close we could see what was going on. Also, we saw Bill greet every camp site every day multiple times a day except ours. We aren’t abrasive people, we try to be generally respectful, courteous, and aware of our actions so the treatment of our camp was unjust. I will say that had he not had it out for us for one reason or another I’m sure things would have been cool. We saw Bill constantly having friendly conversations with everyone so I’m sure he’s nice to most campers.
In short, I know there are better campsites out there. Go find them.
GuideThis place is great for staying close to the baths and getting the full experience while also camping.
The sites are a bit tight for our liking but not many folks were camping this weekend (2/12/22). The bathhouse was nice and heated, which is a plus this time of year.
We also missed having a campfire and there didn’t seem to be a communal fire going on as referenced in other reviews.
GuideIf you have a pet and want to overnight versus stay at the Casitas, it’s just a short walk to the spa and hot springs (20% discount). RV/campsites offer simple flat overnight spaces and picnic benches. On-site showers too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Eagle Nest, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Eagle Nest, NM is Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park with a 3.7-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Eagle Nest, NM?
TheDyrt.com has all 16 glamping camping locations near Eagle Nest, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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