Best Equestrian Camping near Gallup, NM

This was the only lake we saw on our trip to the cattle ranch in New Mexico ;) The park is lovely and we truly enjoyed our time here. There is a nice beach as well as boating and fishing. The campground is broken up into a couple areas. Our site was somewhat shaded, which was nice in the heat of the summer. Very cool sites overlooking the lake. I wouldn’t say the sites are secluded, but it’s still a neat place. I haven’t been to many state parks in New Mexico so it was a unique experience!

Great rate for 30 A. I love to see the wild horses roaming the park.

The camp sites are well laid out with picnic table. The bath room was primitive and I didn’t check out the showers. The lake and the area is enchanting!! It was my first visit to New Mexico and for sure I will be back! The lake is large and has fishing.

Area is very well maintained! Restrooms and showers were immaculate.

Watch out for the wild horses and their droppings.

Plenty of spots if you’re sleeping in a hammock.

Lake was muddy brown, not blue. First come, first served and we arrived before noon, but no electric sites were available. Views of lake and surrounding juniper covered mesas was good. Early in morning horses grazed right through our campsite.

Very nice park & camping area. Wild horses & jack rabbits present. We dispersed & parked our truck camper right on the shoreline for $8. The hook up sites over looked the water (paved pad, pavilion, fire ring, 30&50 amp electric) bathrooms, showers, dump station. Boat ramp. Nice Pike and Muskie for the anglers.

Bluewater Lake SP is a unique campground in regards to the layout. You can pull up to all of the sites, and you can overlook the lake, be on the lake, be a little further away, private, have neighbors, really what ever you want. Checking in was very easy and the folks were quite nice. Also there were random horses and donkey’s walking around??? So that was a fun surprise.

Found this campsite heading west on I-40 on a memorial day weekend road trip last minute. Had 40 designated campsites with about 1/2 reservable online and 1/2 first come first serve. They also allow dispersed camping along the lake and there were probably 50+ groups of people in RVs and trailers comfortably spaced.

Wild horses roaming around the lake were also pretty cool.

We took a designated campsite overlooking the lake and added this park to the list of places to return to.

Great campground. Not far off I-40. Lots of sites. Most have a level, gravel tent pad, table and fire ring. Vault toilets in abundance. One bathroom with sinks and flush toilets. Separate shower house was closed when we were here. Some electric sites. Some large level pull thrus. Most sites have at least a glimpse of the lake. There were horses roaming through the campground. Mostly empty this April midweek. Good trails for hiking. I only saw one water pump in the park. There is an EV charging station.

So we were very lucky that we decided to check out this campground, it is absolutely gorgeous! There was not a single other camper here so we got a nice level spot with power. It was a bit cold, got down to 15, there was some leftover snow in some spots but nothing that was a problem. Last night something was bugging the dogs so I looked outside to see a herd of wild horses grazing next to our camper! There are lots of good hiking trails. The water is still on here and the dump stations are open if needed.

1 star for the following reasons: 1) bathroom is locked until you get a key. 2) Their website says that there are tent sites. You will be pitching a tent in an rv site. 3)Even once you do go to register on their site, an awful experience that is on a timer and will reset mid registration (yes all your info). You have to choose a discount to get the tent by rate. 4) Map is awful, because the numbers of aren't on well lit and there are no signs. Good luck not waking everybody up. 5) There's a train audible from here. 6) the best view is of the stars. 7) Maze to get here.
All of these reasons are completely verifiable, but i don't suggest it. When i think of campgrounds from hell, this will be my go to. I want my money back.

Most cramped campsite I've ever seen, absolutely no privacy between sites. Staff was unhelpful when we arrived and someone was in our reserved spot (which they require reservations online). We ended up going elsewhere.

Drove in here late in the day (about 9:30pm) to find the bathrooms locked and sites full of RVs. Turns out their policy is that you get a key to the bathroom if you check in, and the office closes at 4:30pm, so if you haven't arrived by then you are going to be looking for a place to squat, and good luck finding one that's not in sight of at least 8 other campers.

Unpowered sites are $10 and powered are $20. The rock in the area is pretty, but that's about it. Otherwise this is an unpleasant, muddy city park with little to offer. Keep on driving, if you ask me!

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.

You get what you pay for. $22 for water and electricity is a bargain.. but…. We booked spot 47 online and got 64, without notice. Facilities are outdated, not well kept. Restrooms were heated to 80F but the showers were warm at best. Doors of toilet did not lock.

Water and electricity on our spot was fine, and only had to level 1 side

But staying in this red rock canyon and walking the church rock and pyramid rock is a once in a lifetime experience

Campgrounds easy to access.  I did not have a site reservation, buit there were lots of vacent pads available.   Nice view of the lake.   Only drawback was the all night  incessant  winds.  They were strong, gusty and loud.  So strong they collapsed my tent on top of me. Notmuch sleep that night.  It might have been where I was (pad 44),  They were still strong in the morning, but I noticed they were less/non existant at the campsites near the main entrance.  Just bewaye and be prepared.

Not far from I40. Very quiet and beautiful lake view for only $8 (dry camping). Hook up optionally available.