If you want to explore the beauty of Fort Wingate, glamping is an excellent option. Glamping offers the perfect opportunity to explore Fort Wingate and stay off the beaten path. You're sure to find glamping for your New Mexico camping adventure.
$25 - $35 / night
The campground offers a respite from the heat in a setting of aspen and mature ponderosa pine trees, approximately 6 miles south of Fort Wingate. This is the most recently renovated campground on the Mt. Taylor Ranger District. This area has a rich history of railroad logging, and the original town of McGaffey was built in the vicinity of McGaffey Lake a few miles down the road. Remember to pay attention to road conditions and your vehicle's abilities before driving off of the main road.
$5 / night
$30 - $94 / night
Lavaland RV Park is conveniently located right off I-40 on exit 85. Amenities include pet friendly areas, horseshoes, laundry, bathroom/showers, and an onsite brewery. We are in close proximity to several national parks and monuments. Bluewater lake, El Morro National Monument, El Malpais, La Ventana Arch, Bandera Crater, and The Ice Caves are just a few local attractions that are worth the visit.
$40 - $50 / night
Guide
We used this campground as a starting point for a research trip sampling Precambrian rocks of the Zuni Mountains. I hadn't spent much time in this part of New Mexico, and assumed that the trip was going to be hot and sun-bleached, similar to the desert exposed in nearby Gallup, NM. I was surprised to drive into a beautiful forest just a few minutes off I40.
The campsite includes basic forest service amenities: pit toilets, picnic tables, and metal-rimmed fire pit/grill sites. What set this apart from other non-hosted campsites for me was the condition of the grounds. The tent camping sites had well maintained, leveled tent pads, maintained gravel roads, and clean facilities. The Sites offered a reasonable degree of privacy, although some of the sites near the middle of the loop road place you in close proximity to your neighbor. The area is moderately wooded with pine and aspen, providing shade throughout the day and easy access to the dirt road that transects the Zuni Mountains, letting you out near the Bandera volcano and ice cave, which is a wonderful drive if you have a high clearance/4x4 and time to drive through.
We saw abundant wildlife while working in the Zunis, including several brown bears, deer, and elk. While we didn't have any run ins with these guy in camp, be aware that large animals are present in the area and be sure to take necessary bear-proofing precautions.
Camp fees were $5/night, which is quite the bargain given the well-kept grounds and wonderful scenery. If you're looking for a less-traveled escape from Albuquerque, or just want the chance to explore the under-valued Zuni mountains and western New Mexico landscape (and some pretty interesting geologic features such as orbicular granite), this campground is an excellent place to spend some time on the cheap.
Photos included are from the Zunis south of the campsite, as I didn't think to take any photos while we were at camp.
Guide
We were so grateful to stumble upon USA RV Park on our recent trip through New Mexico. We were dealing with snow all the way from Colorado to Gallup, and decided about an hour out of Gallup to stop for the night. We called USA RV Park, and while no one answered, they returned our call within the half hour. They graciously accommodated our 2 trailers last minute with full hookups! The campsite itself is large, clean, well marked, and very nice restrooms! The store was well stocked with what we needed (including a tent repair kit for our pop up!). The owner, John, was very kind, helpful, and a delight to chat with. We filled our propane tank up on site and were on our way the next day! Highly recommend! :)
TravelerNeeded an overnight stay along Interstate 40 in New Mexico. Check-in was quick and easy, the sites are arranged so that RV doors are not facing the neighbor's sewage pipe, which is something I always appreciate. Most of the sites are pull-through. The park is well laid out and covered with an attractive reddish-brown gravel. The facilities were clean, the staff was pleasant. The park felt safe though the neighborhood around it is economically distressed. The park is family friendly; there is a dog-park, a nice pool, and attractive common area near the office with tables and statuary with a cute bear theme. The only negatives are not under the control of the park: trains pass by frequently day and night, and in the evening the mosquitos are voracious. My wife and I agree that we would return here.
Ranger
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.
TravelerWe stayed at Quaking Aspen Campground for one night but thats all it took. I fell in love with the campground. The big aspen trees, how remote and quiet it was. The elevation at which the cg is at is 8000' makes for cool days and nic crisp cool nights, even in the summertime.
GuideDensely wooded PRIMITIVE campground with trails and fishing but NO WATER. We only stayed there while driving from ABQ to the coast, which was perfect for us, but we will plan to return to explore the Cibola National Forest more. It was cool and shady in August so we quite enjoyed it as a stopover. In our little sedan we didn’t have trouble, but I think there are other forest service roads you’d want a jeep for?
ScoutNice campground, camp sites are nicely spaced, plenty of shade under the pines, sites have picnic tables and fire pits, clean vault toilets, well maintained campground
TravelerWe spent a few nights here. It’s not a big campground and we came in without a reservation. I don’t think reservations are possible? The sites are pretty spaced out and shaded. I think there were about 16 sites total though there might be more. There are clean pit toilets, picnic tables and fire rings. Really nice hiking / mountain bike trails. The aspens are in the trails not the campground
GuideSmall campground with massive campsites. This campground could easily squeeze double, if not triple, the sites out of these woods, but someone decided to let everyone breath a little here, and we should thank that someone. Granted, it's a small crawl to one of the only two bathroom huts (each with two clean pit toilet bathrooms), but with so few campers, even when the site is full, you don't feel like anyone's fighting for their potty time.
Quiet? Absolutely. Stars? All over the place. When summer heat was beginning to knock everywhere else in late May, it was serious blanket weather up here. The hiking must be amazing, although we didn't have time to find out.
Friday night, late May, and we barely got the last spot. No reservations makes this gem a tricky quest when you're running a bit late, but if you're lucky enough to snag a spot, you'll celebrate your success. There ain't a bad spot in the lot, if you're lucky enough to get one.
RangerWe love this area. Amazing hiking and mtb’ing trails. And, a nice lake.
TravelerHaving four dogs who love to bark when they hear/see someone, we really appreciate campsites with lots of space. Dogs didn’t bark once! Very quiet, maybe two others in the park with us on a Sunday evening. About 10-15 minutes from the freeway, so it’s the perfect distance from the freeway - no freeway noise!
GuideWe came in at dusk and it was such a lovely campground! Our only wish was that we could have stayed longer.!! We were shocked when we woke up to snow on Oct. 12, but it was gorgeous. Beautiful pine & golden Aspen greeted us on our way out. Will definitely stay here again.
GuideStopped in to rest late at night on my way to CA. Super easy to find. Set up our tent right before quiet time. Lots of campgrounds. Perfect for tent camping.
TravelerStopped here on our way from Arizona to South Carolina. And we’re hefty campers. This was the best campsite we’ve ever been at. The cleanest campsite we’ve ever been at. Bathrooms were spectacularly clean. It was great for a short night stop only about 15 minutes off of I-40. Don’t forget to bring your own firewood if you want a fire.
GuideI would give this a 5-star rating except it didn't have hook-ups. Still, for $5/night you can't go wrong. Everything was clean: vault toilets, smooth gravel driveways, gravel tent pads, and almost no litter anywhere. Sites were spaced far enough apart we hardly knew there were others camping nearby. We camped in a 30' fifth-wheel and had no problems maneuvering. Some sites have pull-thrus and others are easily backed-in. We'll stay here again.
RangerClaen vault toilets, well spaced and quiet sites. We'll maintained. No water. No hiking from campground. Some trails and dispersed camping 1/2 mi down road south.
LegendLocated about 15min from I-40 is this campground. It offers everything you would expect including tables, fire pits, restrooms, and trash. For only $5 a day you can't beat it. There are a few hiking trails in the area worth exploring as well.
Cell service: Limited by the entrance
GuideGreat place to stop & relax. Laundry room large & comfortable. Bathrooms clean. Friendly staff. Only negative is that tent spots don’t have much shade & one picnic table needs replacing.
ScoutWe needed a stop for our little crew and this place was perfect! Drive through spots, little play ground for kids and little decor that made it nice. We had a large tree and picnic table so we didn’t have to unload our table. All in all I would stay again for sure.
RangerNot 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.
ScoutCalled late to get a reservation and we were able to do over the phone. Very helpful and friendly. Perfect for a night pit stop, clean bathrooms and showers - great pressure and hot water. Hookups and wi fi was great. Would stop by again if we were in the area.
TravelerAdded to favorites will be stopping here when traveling route 40 across country.
We have learned to avoid KOA’s with our cyclone 4270 (44’ triple axel 5th wheel), all seemed to have been laid out with camper sizes of the 60’s and 70’s.
USA RV PARK is sized and laid out for modern rigs. We reserved a large rig sight to be safe but I did see other cyclones in standard pull through spots that I would have been comfortable using.
USA RV PARK is clean and quiet with the one exception of being on airport flight path. Flights were not that often but are load if your outside or have doors open. We were not bothered while inside or sleeping.
One point to be aware of when planning to stay at USA RV PARK is that map apps seem to have the location wrong when coming from the east. The park acknowledged this is an issue when coming from east and said to use exit 16 and follow signs not the map apps.
Dropped pin at entrance and copied gps location
(35.5088626, -108.8118567)
GuideThis was an amazing place. Super family friendly. Amazingly helpful staff. I forgot my airpump for the bed and they gave me one they had so I could use it. Truly nice people.
RangerWe were able to make a same day reservation and the staff were very nice. Someone was in our spot and they quickly got us into a new (and better) spot. The spots are pull-through, gravel, and very close to one another. It was extremely busy when we stayed probably because the location is good and there aren’t many options in the area so there was a bit of a parking lot feel. The pool and barbecue place weren’t open when we went, but the store was open till 8 and had the basics (I didn’t use the laundromat or bathrooms). The cost with our discount was around $40 - we felt like it got the job done and would certainly stay again if we were passing through Gallup and needed a place to camp.
GuideCalled day of and was able to reserve a 30AMP spot with full hook ups $39. As other reviews mentioned it is exceptionally clean, there is pride in ownership and America with a life size carved memorial to the armed services. Great play area for kids, giant chess and a pool (closed due to Covid). They were selling homemade pie and pulled pork sandwiches at check in also which was a fun surprise. A few cute log cabins to rent also. All gravel and not a lot of trees, no view but a clean and safe overnight for sure!
GuideWe stayed just one night while driving from Page, Arizona to Albuquerque. Friendly staff and visitors.
We were able to get pizza delivered to our RV site which was a big hit with the kids.
GuideThis place is cool with many interesting things going on... I'd give it 5 stars if the pool was open but I kno it's not their fault!! Restrooms & showers were clean, everything seems well kept up! My pictures will show more details...
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Fort Wingate, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Fort Wingate, NM is USA RV Park with a 4.5-star rating from 48 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 4 glamping camping locations near Fort Wingate, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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