Best RV Parks & Resorts near Elephant Butte, NM

We stayed for Christmas weekend and the park is very well taken care of. There are numerous trails outlined by rocks, and there's a variety of trails to go down to the Caballo Lake reservoir. We stayed in the Palamino Loop which has a nice view of the lake with full RV hookups, but the spots did feel cramped.

Only one full hook up site. Not too busy. Showers and restrooms ok but not cleaned every day. Campground was built for smaller campers but a few can handle big rigs. Our site was good for our 36’ 5th wheel.

If it were to stay here again, I'd stay in this campground as the layout is a lot nicer and more private. This campground is full and none of the others are right now. Nice walking trails and spots with some privacy and full hook ups.

We camped in Loop B, which is supposed to have the best view of Elephant Butte Lake. It totally does, the views are excellent. Very affordable RV camping at under $20 a night, which is a steal with both water and electric hookups. But, the bathrooms - they are not great. The one closest to our site was closed (maybe temporarily, but nobody could give us an answer on that), and it's a 15 minute walk to the next one. The showers are the push button type where you only get 60 seconds of water at a time, which is ok, but the facilities are very run down and clearly not cleaned too often. Overall, great location and views, but bring a shower bag.

There are a few hot spring resorts that we keep in the back of our minds, always ready to return whenever we’re within striking distance…and this is one of them!  A good friend who used to live in T or C raved about this place, and let’s say she was not wrong. 

While the campground itself isn’t much to write home about (just a parking lot across the street), quick access to the pools, the environment, and the scenery are simply amazing. The campsites are full-hook up slots, tastefully divided by local plants and shade trees, but very close to each other. You’re within the city limits, but it feels somehow more like a quiet neighborhood. 

The resort offers showers, bathrooms, and of course a multitude of pools at different temperatures to balance whatever the weather might throw at you. With nothing but the Rio Grande River, and the Chihuahuan Desert sprawling into the distance, the resort is serene, and feels a million miles away from the interstate which is only a couple miles away. 

Even with the electrical hook ups, we still gathered all we needed with our solar powered system, and our south facing campsite was perfect for satellite internet as well, even though the resort has some spotty wifi. 

The town within walking distance has everything you might want, especially if you like New Mexican cuisine, the answer is always “Christmas” WYKYK. Gas, food, Walmart all close by, etc. it’s all there. 

Nearby is the Elephant Butte State Park with a massive reservoir for all kinds of boating recreation, mountain biking and hiking. Just make sure you go at the right time of year! Also check out the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge if you are at all interested in birds and other wildlife.  You'll find reviews for all of these places on our The Dyrt Reviews.

General: There are many different camping options at this state park from dispersed (especially on the beach) to those with electric/water hookups. We stayed in the Lions Beach campground with the w/e hookups. 

Site Quality: Lions Beach is laid out much like an RV park with little to no separation between sites. Each site has a fire ring, and covered picnic table in addition to the hookups. The driveway was paved and level. 

Bath/Shower: Only vault toilets close to the Lions Beach campground. They are ADA accessible complete with a ramp but although clean, there was no hand sanitizer in any of them. The only restrooms with running water, flush toilets, and showers are located about a mile from Lions Beach and IMO, not adequate for the crowds this park attracts, especially on the weekends. The showers looked sketchy, and I decided not to use them. 

Activities: If you like to fish or have a boat, this is the place for you! There is a marina. Some hiking trails. We enjoyed Riverbed Hot Springs a few miles down the road in Truth or Consequences. We don’t have a boat or fish so although we stayed for two nights, we chose this campground because it was on our route. 

Because dispersed camping on the beach is allowed, it is very popular, especially on the weekends but be warned the sand is soft and deep – I’m not sure how vehicles without 4-wheel drive can navigate it without getting stuck. We were told there were wall-to-wall RVs on the beach on the weekend before our arrival (third weekend in April) so thankfully we were not there on a weekend! If we were to return, we would select the sites overlooking the lake on Ridge Road with no hookups but generally, not our preferred camping vibe but for others, it might be different.

South Monticello Campground is part of Elephant Butte State Park. It is very quiet compared to Lions Beach and definitely the rowdy beach camping further South on the lake.

Unfortunately because the lake is so low the boat ramp is out of the water and only the Rio Grande River runs through there. Keeps the crowds down!

There’s a great trail that wonders from the campground 11 miles south. We rode our bicycles and most of the trail was well maintained but there can be spots where flooding cause sandy spots and can be difficult to ride through. Perfect for an adventure walking or running. Photo of the map on review.

We were there in October and many flocks of Sandhill cranes fly over and sometimes land in the valley below near the river.

The shelters are great with large smooth concrete bases and nice big tables. The sites are raked in a fun Fen Shui pattern by the Camphost.

The spaces are spread out along several loops along the edge of the mesas over looking the valley to the Rio and Elephant Butte lake. Water and electric hook ups!

It’s 9 miles to Elephant Butte for gas, a dollar store and several decent “eats”. A golf course in town that looks nice but we don’t golf so no review on that.

Another 5 to the town of Truth or Consequences for WalMart, Sonic, McDonalds, Denny’s, etc! T or C is know for its hots springs and Ted Turner owns Sierra Grande a motel and spa. I’ve heard some rooms have hot springs tubs in the room!

Would have loved to stay longer but the park has a 14 day limit!

We stayed there for three nights. A very short drive to Elephant Butte State Park. Site was pretty level, very quiet and peaceful. Staff was very easy to get a hold of during business hours. Security patrols the park regularly.

This is a fantastic campground. It’s desert cove in the elephant butte campground. There are other campgrounds but this is the one I chose. It’s a short walk to the lake and there is a teal nice trail to walk my dogs. Sites are water and electric. $14.00 per day.

I love the Elephant Butte State Park and have stayed around 4 times. February 2024 I spent a week there in my small travel trailer. It can be quite windy in Feb/Mar so before booking I called the park office ans asked which campground might be more wind sheltered. They suggested Quail Run so that is what I booked. It was more out of the wind and a very nice, less exposed area. /bear in mind, the excellent prices are ending for 2025 and will be considerably more. I plan to spend a few days there in Dec before the prices go up.

Came down to southern NM to visit my daughter at NMSU and stayed at Cabello State Park campground in Riverside view. Campground has very easy access and large pull through sites. With my NM state Park pass the over night stay is $4 with water/electric 30amp regularly $14. Sites with sewer include are $18 nightly. Nice level sites and super quite at night. Temperatures in August upper 80s and low 60s at night.

Campsites are well sized and maintained. Bathrooms not open. Beautiful lake. Close to beautiful Gila National Forest. Ride on hwy 152 was awesome. Close to Elephant Butte’s perfect beaches. W/E. There are a few FHU.

Elephant butte is great for a short getaway. You can rent kayaks, jets skiis & more while you're there. I bring my own kayak and go at least 2X a year. My favorite part is grabbing a floaty and float down to caballo lake a smaller lake that connects by river.

Caballo is kind of hidden between Percha and Elephant Butte but has lots of places to camp and is well maintained. This has a nice paved road leading to it, tons of spots where you can have privacy and trees. During the spring, it would keep you out of the wind.

Great flat spot with great views. It’s inside the Elephant Butte lake state park, but seems to be a dispersed site. No one around. No amenities. There is a vault toilet maybe a half mile away. There are pay stations around. We had paid for a site on south Monticello campground but came here instead.

Had to duck in here one afternoon to avoid 70 mph cross winds on the highway.  What a find!  Loops A, B, and C of Lions Beach are terraces high above Elephant Butte Lake.   Spectacular lake views!   Loop B  (sites 66 thru 79) is particularly sweet because the sites back up to the edge of the terrace for gorgeous lake views right from your camper window.  We wish we could've stayed longer.

This very popular state park, on the edge of the Elephant Butte reservoir, is a great wintertime get away. We spent the winter solstice here and woke up at sunrise to see the moon setting in the west and the sun rising in the east. Spectacular!

The campground offers many reservable spots, as well as first-come, first-served sites. Each site has water, electric, picnic table (with sunshade) and a fire ring. The bathrooms are either vault toilets or full service with showers. There are no trees for privacy, but the sites are nicely spaced apart so you don't feel like you are on top of your neighbors.

Now, we don’t normally get critical of other reviews on this site. But some were very negative about the bathrooms, and we simply cannot understand why. The bathrooms were heated, the toilets were clean, as were the showers. The water was warm! Yes, these showers are the push-button type which only gives you a minute or so of water before you push it again. However, the showers were free with the campsite, which only costs $14 (2018) and is in the desert! Water is a precious resource here, so you can’t get your nose out of joint over decisions made by management to limit water consumption when you’re only paying this little.

During the summer months when the reservoir is up to recreational levels, boating and fishing are the most popular activities. Judging by the size of the boat-launch parking lot, you’re going to have to get up early in the morning to grab a spot. There is a great hiking and mountain biking trail right out of the campground which winds between all the other park roads, picnic areas and amenities on the western side of the lake. The trail is relatively new and in most areas is graveled. However, rainstorms have washed a lot of sand across the trail in areas and it can be pretty soft. Further south along the trail we encountered many more arroyos which upped the challenge. The nice thing is that you can always hop back on the pavement to return to the campground.

The town of Elephant Butte is nearby which offers a few restaurants, a general store, and gas. But just 15 miles south is the larger town of Truth or Consequences (interesting story about the name). This town has everything you might need, grocery, gas, food and other lodging....and hot springs! Check out our blog for more details about the latter.

Level, stone covered sites. Picnic tables under gazebo covering. Various levels of hookups. FHU to none. Ours has H2O and electric. Walking distance from lake. Garbage containers in each separate campground.

Convenient spot when driving south in New Mexico. Nice campground. The water level on the lake was pretty low. There is some good hiking nearby and also a bike trail that goes around the lake which is quite long. We were there early in the season so there was a lot of accessibility for campsites.

Boondockers Galore! Plenty of spots with hook ups or right on the beach. I stayed at a spot with water and electric and had everything we needed. There is only one shower house in the off season and it's not the best in terms of temperature or pressure, but it's a trade off for the views imo.

Very clean and well maintained. Staff were very friendly. No shade for the trailer, but the covered picnic table was good. Electric hookup worked. Water was off due to water system maintenance. We were able to fill up at the campground below the dam. Quiet at night, just some road noise from the highway. The lake is great with easy access for kayaking at the boat ramp. We would stay here again.