Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Gallup, NM

Needed 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.

We were in Site 113 in the back of the park.  Pull through gravel site.  Sites are very close.  No privacy. We had a nice chat with our friendly neighbors though. Fenced Dog Park but it was dirt. No grass. Nice, clean pool!  Laundry facility was nice.  AT&T, T-Mobile Cell Service great. Drove to the Historic El Rancho Hotel & 49er Lounge for entertainment one night.  BBQ dinner at the park on Tuesday evening was pretty decent. Would recommend this park!

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! :)

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.

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!

Nothing fancy. Close to I-40 but you can get far enough away to limit road noise. Road is good enough to drag a camper back. Sites are pretty decent sized. Good place to camp for the night of going climbing around Gallup.

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.

The place was pretty backed when we finally rolled in at 9pm! My latest arrival and hopefully the only time we arrive so late. The kids were thrilled to learn the pool was open another hour after the long long drive we had today. The check in was quick and the staff very polite & helpful. The grounds are well cared for and lots of amenities such as an on-site BBQ, free coffee in the morning. Pool. Outdoor chess, beautiful fountains, wonderful kids playground. I’d definitely make Gallup a stop over in the future.

When driving through Gallup, one doesn't expect to find such a great place to land on Route 66. On the surface it may appear to be a great over-nighter location - which it is! Level pull-through sites with a picnic table.  But it's so much more than that. First the business seems to be comprised of  family-owned and operated. They have excellent amenities including a lovely pool and playground area. Their shop is absolutely GREAT. The laundry area, showers, dish-washing area and other services are excellent.  Sites include electric, water and a picnic table. A dump station is positioned right by the exit. We had an unexpected delay for four days due to a medical situation, and they recommended a doctor who helped immensely, and they worked with us day to day to keep us in our spot as needed. Highly recommend this RV Park! Great folks!

Having 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!

Free simple campground with just a vault toilet and some picnic tables. You need to bring your own water and/or treatment methods! We love this area within the Cibola National Forests. Nothing too fancy, but great shade and forests. There are a lot of hikes and some swimming holes with waterfalls. For those of us who were not in the mood for miles and miles of rugged hiking there is a road to drive along with incredible views. Dog friendly!

We stayed away from lake because of our dogs. They tend to bark if people go by. The space was nice but the sites were too close for us. I preferred more space for privacy but we’re new to RVing, so perhaps this is normal. Park Ranger was very nice and helped us settle in. The view to the canyon and hills was beautiful. I’m not sure we’ll stay again because we’d like more space and water hookups. But other than that, it was a beautiful spot!

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.