Best Dog-Friendly Camping near El Morro National Monument

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.

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.

General: Conveniently located close to I40, there are 20 pull-through 50-amp sites, 16 pull-through 30-amp sites, five back-in water/electric sites (ok for tents), five tent-only sites (no hookups) and four cabins. Other amenities include showers, laundry, a short (approx. 1/3 mile) walking trail, free WiFi, and a playground. We were welcomed by a very friendly staff and offered a cookie upon check-in. But perhaps the best amenity is the dinner service. You have a choice of several entrées, sides, and pie, choose your 10-minute delivery window, and the food is delivered directly to your site! A free continental breakfast is included as well. 

Site Quality: As we expected, there is little privacy/separation between the sites. Our site (A) was located right next to the playground so expect to hear children playing if you are in this site (assigned by staff upon check-in). The sites are all gravel and level.

Bathhouse: Three all-in-one toilet/sink/shower combos and one additional bathroom. All were very clean, and the shower was very welcome after many days without one! There were two hooks, a bench, a garbage can, electrical outlet all in the room. There was a little drainage issue but there was an additional drain in the room. There is a code to access the restrooms. 

Activities: There is so much to do in the area! The campground itself has a short walking path where pets are permitted. Outside of the campground, you can go to Ice Caves/Bandera Volcano (about 30 miles away) and a bit further, El Morro National Monument. One exit east takes you to El Malpais National Monument with more trails (note the Ranger Station and Visitor Center is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but you can still visit). Chaco Canyon is about two hours north. There are also several museums in the area and also a stretch of Route 66 (be sure to pose your car and yourself for a selfie in the Route 66 Arch!) Note you will hear an occasional train and road noise from I40. 

As far as the campground itself is concerned, it is nothing special but the amenities more than make up for it! We highly recommend the pie!

Not much here to write home about, but this park does offer a small, enclosed dog park, pool, a small grocery in their office building, and a “cookout” concession stand like you would find at a theme park or stadium. Their stage was being used to display a patriotic homage to the US military. No pets allowed in the amenities area. Room for improvement would be adding trees and cactus appropriate to this climate to beautify the park, because it’s pretty barren. Staff did not wear masks indoors during the rising Covid pandemic.

I called at about 8pm desperate to get in somewhere to tent camp. Clark answered the phone and was so kind. The office/store stays open until 9 pm. The grounds are clean and complete with a dog park area. Every tent site had electricity and water. The bathrooms and showers were really clean and I can assume the laundry facilities were the same.

The tent sites are covered with small gravel so no dirt or sharp plants in the way. The sites are really large and spacious!

The area is well lit and there were police patrolling the camp off and on during the night.

I kick myself for not taking pictures. You should definitely stay here.

This is a really nice RV park on the West side of Gallup with easy access to I-40. It was a perfect overnight stop but would be good for longer stays as well. Access through the park is great, sites are gravel, level, and good size. We had a pull through site which was about 80 feet long and nice and wide. They also have back in sites and tent sites. We had a full hookup site and the connections were in great shape and located just where they needed to be. There are some trees between some sites but most of the area is pretty open. Some of the trees are large enough to block a satellite dish. They offer cable TV but we did not try that. They have free wifi which was decent. The restrooms, showers, and laundry rooms were clean and good size as well. There is a small dog park in the back and there is also a dump station. Check in was easy and the staff were friendly and helpful. They also have a large gift shop and a small area with groceries. They offer a barbeque on some nights which is cooked right there behind the office. Cell service from AT&T and Verizon was great. We paid $37 for one night with Escapees discount. There is clear pride of ownership here.

Ok place. Inexpensive at $30 a night. Nothing more than gravel drive thru except electricity, water, sewer and some drive by security. Nice views of surrounding area. They have a nearby casino with excellent prices. Pork ribs full rack w/ salad, vegetable, baked potato for $16.95. Pet friendly. Quiet and gas nearby @ $3.79 per gallon for regular.

We loved this RV park for many reasons. Friendly people, creative vibe, nice campground, cozy cabins, full hookups for RVs, beautiful spot, free-range chickens, pet friendly, plus a yurt with enchanting wind chimes, spiritual labyrinth, a gong, art and healing artifacts. Not to mention the groovy Ancient Way cafe which was closed when we were there (April 2021) but opening next month. My parents stayed in the cabin and loved it, we stayed in our camper van. We really enjoyed talking with some of the folks who live there and it’s a very welcoming community. Feels like home. Morro National monument nearby is spectacular. We’d love to return and stay for a few weeks. Special spot.

Ashley here with The Dyrt! We're happy to have this partner on our platform. Please note, due to wildfire there is no longer a bathroom. Please ensure you bring a portable toilet, no cat-holes. Surrounded by El Malpais National Monument, all park rules apply at this location. If you're up for an adventure, book this site and leave your experience here!

My first visit to New Mexico and the southwest. Red Rock Park is in Gallup, NM right on the Arizona state line in between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. Church Rock Trial and Pyramid Rock Trail are both about 3 to 3 and a half miles round trip from the campground. Your surrounded by desert on one side and dark red stone on the other, very cool place and trails.

I have stayed at this campground several time it was a New Mexico Stae Park, it has since been turned over to the city of Gallup as a city park. There are several hiking and horseback riding trails around this campground. One of the best is to castle rock a really good hike. Make sure you call to check for availability, there is a rodeo arena near by and will fill up if there is a rodeo.

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.

Stayed in a full hook up, pull through site and everything went smoothly. It has a couple of dog runs, but they are too small for play. Not much dog walking space without cacti. I was most excited about the brewery on-site, but sadly I was too tired once we got there. Would stay again for a chance to drink the beer.

As we where driving to our next destination I stopped to check out this National Monument. Plenty of parking and even easy access with my 34ft 5th wheel. There are two trails to hike, I was a little short on time and just did the shorter one in about 30 minutes. This hike takes you along the base of the cliffs and to a natural pool of water. Trails are well maintained. I also saw they had an RV park there at the Monument but was limited to trailer under 27ft. Worth the stop and was dog friendly as I took my dog on the hike.

Small campground. Maybe 9 or 10 sites. 2 vault toilets. No pull-throughs. Free for both campground and the rest of Nat. Mon. Dog friendly trails. Interesting place to visit.

Easy check-in. Many sites have water, electric & sewer. Sites are very close to each other and there are no tables. The dog run is very small. Road noise from I40. There is a small brewery on site, hence upgraded to 4 stars. It appears that most sites are occupied by full-timers.