Best Tent Camping near El Morro National Monument

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.

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.

A fun little campground with space to park an RV or rent a cabin. There are no hookups but you’re in a remote part of New Mexico under pines with a Giant night sky above. Plus you’ve got easy access to two fun little explorations... a 1.5 miles hike to the rim of the Bandera volcano and a 1/4 mile hike to the ice cave. It’s a family run business and they have a nice little gift shop and market with a few supplies. Once the park closes for the night, you have the hikes to yourself to take in sunset with lava rock surrounding. It’s a really beautiful area with a lovely family running the business. They charge $20/night for trailer parking but I’m not sure the price of the cabins. They’re also right by Malpais and El Morro national Monuments. Highly recommend for an overnight along your journey through New Mexico!

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!

This city-operated campground is bordered by highway on one side and red rocks on the other. There are events at the open arena, featuring rodeos, Native American celebrations, and an annual balloon festival in early December. It's beautiful to watch the balloons float about the red rocks in the park and there are a lot of places to scramble on the rocks yourself. 

The campground itself is dusty and relatively open; you will hear road traffic. I was there in early December and most of the campground was reserved for the balloon festival. There are electric and water hook-ups, but not sewer. Arrive before 4:30 to obtain the key to the rest room if needed.

They don't provide much information at all on the website, you need to call to get it or just stop by. If you need a place to park overnight, this is a reasonable option. The Petrified Forest is another 90 minutes down the road; El Morro National Monument, Acoma Pueblo, and El Malpais National Monument are a few of the interesting places to visit.  We enjoyed dinner/take-out at Dickey's BBQ just 4 miles away. And Jerry's Cafe is popular Mexican restaurant, may require a wait, but it's the sort of place where the locals eat and the waitresses know them by name.

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.

No reservations accepted, but no one there so we had our pick (showed up on a Tues. in late May). Mens/womens restrooms look new, 2 of each, side by side. Sporadic 4g Verizon network (was VERY slow when it was up), sometimes no service. But, we were surprisingly able to watch end of game 4 Knicks/Pacers playoff, once it finally loaded! Short walking trail that is not marked well; took a side trip where it forked at the beginning and not sure where it went so, turned around. Right next to Hwy, but there was minimal traffic so no noise. Sheriff drove through once in evening. Some trees, some spots have some shade, elevation ~7000' or so (estimate). Some spots had nice space for multiple tents/sun shades. Most spots are level; those that weren't, were level enough, really not bad. Seemed safe enough. No water available, no hook-ups, no dump station.