Best Cabin Camping near El Rito, NM

4k River Ranch is the best campground in Red River. They've got RV sites, apartments, cabins and a beautiful penthouse in the center of town overlooking the town and mountain. The Red River runs through the park, so you can fish in it or in the stocked private pond. The have 50amp & 30amp sites. Pull-thrus, back-ins & buddy sites. WiFi is good for checking emails and browsing websites. Very nice bathrooms with showers plus a laundry room. The staff is fantastic and they've got a really nice new office/store. They're building new cabins along the Red River plus a new pavilion for family gatherings along with a playground for the kids.

Stayed for 3 nights. Awesome experience. Campground is rustic. Water and electric only. They do have a dump station but it is an extra cost. Sites were small and some hookups are in strange places. Our site #2 was shaded but hookups were at front of site and on wrong side so make sure you have enough power cord and hose. Campground does have a small bathroom and vintage rental trailers. You still have to pay for entry to springs but you get a discount for being in campground. The hot springs are amazing and you can leave and come back. Open till 10 pm which was great and we showered in the great locker rooms at the springs area before going back to camp. There is a great restaurant on site as well as beer and wine.

The campground is okay- more trees than the landscape shots in my pictures. You're paying quite a premium to wake up at the hot springs (that part is a full-on resort). I did have a nice frosty trail run out along a frozen pond and then up the hill to the archeological sites a little to the west- really interesting. In terms of the camp, I was disappointed that the only other vehicle to roll into the campground that night parked at the site right next to mine - shining headlights into my tent and running a generator all hours. It would be nice to designate tent and RV sections of the campground to avoid such issues. All that said, when I met the inhabitants of the RV in the morning, they turned out to be some of the nicest people I have ever met. The hot springs are a treat and I'm happy to sleep cheap and soak all day.

When it doesnt snow on us anyway.. but the weather was good for long soaks in the awesome hot springs. Camping area was nice, large spots, in close proximity to the springs. We had a great time, the facilities are great, and everything was awesome besides the weather. But you cant win em all. Photos show us waking up to snow one morning. Still - We cant wait to go back and visit again!

I would have given this property 5 stars but they’ve become unfriendly to families. Children under 13 are not allowed in the hot springs.

The camping area is more of a campground than an RV park, in a positive way. Many of the sites are shaded with mature trees. A river runs by the edge of the campground (It can’t be seen from most sites).

Hike or mountain bike right from your campsite. No open flames are permitted but there’s a community campfire by the main lodge.

There’s an amazing restaurant on the property. Yoga is available in the yurt.

My 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.

Great place to soak your cares away.  We’ve stayed here about 6 times.  They’ve definitely upgraded the campground over the years.  There is now a separate bath house for the campground. The campsites are so-so, but it’s not really about the camping experience, more about taking advantage of the mineral springs.  You pay for daily camping plus a day fee for access to the soaking pools.  Definitely worth it!  The soaking area is about a 5 minute walk from the campground.  There’s a nice restaurant and wine bar as well.  There are also some nice hikes here.

This campground has it all. Showers, full hookups and the Hot springs.

This 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.

A great place to stop and enjoy the mineral springs. Nice hiking too. A definite destination. Site -12 is the best. Super private and abuts BLM land.

Camping near the vintage trailers was a cool aesthetic and I appreciated the co-ed restrooms with private showers and toilets. Campers get a free lovely yoga class per day, with another available to purchase, and hot springs soaking is 20% off. I found it quite busy in the afternoon but everyone was friendly and there for a quiet, peaceful time. The gift shop is pricey but absolutely worth visiting.

This 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.

We absolutely loved our stay at Ojo Caliente. The entire staff is helpful and kind, especially Danny on the grounds and Annie at the restaurant. We wanted spot 17 but it was booked so we got spot 11, which had some privacy as well. As others have mentioned, the hookups are on the opposite side but they will lend you extensions if you need. All spots have picnic tables. The spots further from sitting have most privacy and are still only a 5 minute walk to entrance (I timed it from our site). The best part is that you get early access to the pools, you'll have them nearly to yourselves 7:30-10am and 20% off admission. Also there is free yoga at 9 or 10:40 for guests and all the instructors were fantastic. The onsite restaurant was good, although we wished they had more than 5 bar seats. Would definitely stay again, so many amenities for the same price as a state park!

If 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.

This is a beautiful campground in a unique spot with incredible hike. Great amenities - showers, ice, refrigerator, sink for washing dishes - only downside is that the sites themselves seem a bit crowded in and not all have cover. Some are larger than others and it’s a bit of a pint what you will get. Recommend arriving not too late to see if you can get a good spot, we didn’t have shade so had to go find a nice shady bench away from our site for eating lunch / relaxing after our hike.

While many say that Georgia O’Keefe owned Ghost Ranch, that’s not true. She actually only owned 7.5 acres of the large ranch. The whole ranch has been turned into a top notch facility with campgrounds and motel rooms, horses for rent, classes, and great hiking. The campground is large with several interconnecting loops. There aren’t many trees, but the sites are not on top of each other so there is a semblance of privacy. Showers and laundry are available in the campground. It's pretty nice that this campground is pretty much open year round, and even better with tents and RV's kept separate. There are some great hiking trails heading out of the campground as well as from other parts of the ranch. Stop in the visitors center to get a map of trails and some advice about what to hike and when (don’t plan on any mid-day hikes as it is just too hot).

Spot is well maintained. Usually lots of others around so not super “off grid” but it’s nice and you can view the lake! Beautiful to drive around too. Pueblo land, be respectful!

My wife and I spent 3 days here in late May.  Because we planned out trip a little late, we actually stayed the first night in Spot 16 (no hookups) and then the last 2 at Spot 14 (electric and water).  Spot 16 was in the "Chama Loop" and I have to say, this loop is really not for our rig (a 30' Class A).  We had a pull in spot, and fit okay, but the spots here are all on the smaller side and we mostly saw tents and some truck campers and a couple of Class Bs.  We could NOT get level on our site without some serious efforts and more blocks than I really like.  We never got level enough to feel comfortable putting out our slides.  When we moved the next day to Spot 14 (in the Pedernal Loop, where the only electric/water sites are), it was much better.  Leveling was easy as can be.  The hookups were very conveniently located and we had no complaints here.  Very spacious lot.  Picnic tables under cover, a grill and a fire pit.  

Spaces between spots are fairly generous.  Not huge, but far better than most commercial sites.  We felt very much "alone" here.

Some great things:  the camp hosts Al and Cindy were INCREDIBLY helpful and friendly.  Best hosts we've ever had!  The playground is excellent (we don't have little kids, but we actually enjoyed the swings and such ourselves one evening!).  The views of the lake are very good (you can't get down to the lake from here, but the extra height made for great views), and the walking trail from the visitor center to the boat launch goes right through the park, so you can join it easily if you wish.  Dump station has two dump spots, which was nice.  There are lots of picnic areas, and the tent sites looked very nice too.  

Not the greatest:  other than the aforementioned levelness issues, I was amused to see how steep the road down to the little "front gate" is.  Not ideal for RVs!  You come down off a Mesa to the much lower campground on a fairly steep grade, and 2/3 of the way down, you have to stop to check in.  Just seemed weird.  The dump station has NO hose hookup for the non-potable water (just a weird contraption that sprays water everywhere), so no easy way to flush the black tank, which I don't love.

Connectivity:  no wi-fi.  And the cell signal is spotty.  We were able to use my iphone to create a Verizon hot spot, and actually, after a struggle, could watch some Netflix.  But then surfing sometimes went from slow but okay to non-existent.  My one word review would be:  inconsistent.  And now, we don't spent our time surfing the internet, but for doing research, checking email, etc., it was not ideal.  Workable, but not the best.

We'd stay here again in a second.  We've already talked about what we'll do next time we stay here.