Camping near Gila National Forest

Several RV and tent camping sites. Beautiful view of the mountains. The night sky is dark and the campground is quiet and peaceful.

I stayed here during CDT Days. It’s close to downtown. There’s a grocery store within walking distance as well as a Dairy Queen and a Lottaburger. Very quiet. Hot showers. Full hookups. All for $35/night plus tax

After not finding a campsite at the other near one called Cherry Creek. We ended up at McMillan campsite. Super close to the restroom but not close enough where it is unsanitary. Perfect place the camp. There are only 3 sites but they have picnic tables and fire pits. Plenty of space even for large groups. No cell phone service at all! For miles you won’t have service especially coming from Silver City so plan accordingly! The Park ranger came by to clean out the bathrooms. No place to dump trash and no water. During our time here the weather was unpredictable, which is probably expected deep in the mountain. We had a great time!! The only down side was that some random hikers parked at a site and were extremely loud at 8 in the morning however they were not campers.

Free. Tall trees. Campsites very spread out. Wildlife and petroglyphs hike nearby.

Very nice campground with full hookups and inexpensive prices. Quiet with many amenities like laundry and super nice room built to hang out with others

Small but well run campground, perfect for resupply. You might want to go to a laundromat rather than use the onsite laundry. Nighttime was very quiet.

Enjoyed relaxing in the hot springs which are very nice and easily accessible. Vault/compost toilet was clean but smelly as you’d expect while in it. Maneuvering our 24ft sprinter was doable on the property but larger vehicles not advised.

This was a great find! Perfect location to leave our trailer and go out exploring! Cliff Dwellings, hot springs, cat walk, farmers market, super cute old fashion bar and opera house Pinos Altos

Lots of pull throughs, clean showers, friendly host! Laundry great too! This is a gem, quiet and peaceful to boot!!

Very small and tight park. It was basically cheap and cheerful. Used the laundry which wasn’t exciting but it did the job. You can walk to the old town from here. It was $40 for the night which we thought ok. Gravel lots but flat.

Lovely area in western NM. Many spaces to set up and hunker down for a night or two. The general lack of amenities probably precludes a long term stay for most. Access to the rest of the forest and great hiking on a dirt road headed south. Lower elevation than other areas nearby so it stays snow free through the winter for the most part. 

The general store nearby is also a nice plus. No T-Mobile cell service anywhere in the area though.

I think the campground is very nice and convenient to downtown. Full hookups, clean bathrooms and for the summer, nice shade. A lot of local tenants but it was quiet and well cared for with just a few spots coming and foing.

This is the most exposed of the campgrounds to the road. Nice and close to get to a picnic table but I'd stay at one of the others before staying here.

Of the handful of formal places to camp, this is very small but very nice. Trees, a decent hike on a maintained trail. Only a few spots to take but cute if you get one.

This is a picnic ground and you park on the road and walk up to. It is not maintained and I don't think the pit toilet is open

I walked through Kingstown and which is a friendly, adorable town. It is just up the road from their provided campground.

The campground is really just a couple of spots with a picnic table and not a destination but worthy of stopping if the mountains are cold.

Man, free pulled pork BBQ every Sat. evening garnered this place the 5th star!  :) 

Stayed 4/23- 4/30. Nice RV park just outside of Silver City with large spaces and junipers between the spaces. We were in #16 which was huge. Full hookups, laundry. Only one bath with a shower. Naturalized pet relief area with some desert vegetation. Dirt road to the place from Kirkland. No playground so saw no kids staying there. Seemed like mature, respectful RVers. Some folks were extended stay, seemed like any long term residents were in a different area; overall nice, neat, quiet, and tidy. John keeps things in good order.

BTW, in Silver City for Tour of the Gila, cool to see the stage races.

Food aside: Heated up some frozen Bertolli pasta dinner and then: nothing on Sat. night because, free BBQ!!  Donations appreciated.

Road is a little rough but well worth it. No one camped near us. Was able to let the dogs roam without fear. Lots of wood in the area. A small creek along the road. Good hiking area. Will definitely go back.

Apache Creek CG: Apache Creek store is right across the street. Up the road an eighth of a mile. Ice is available there.

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 5 for a one night stop over Security: no Usage during visit: light Site Spacing: Spread out campsites Pad surface: dirt Reservations: Looks to be first come first serve. Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: no Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no Dump Station: no Potable Water Available: I did not see any water spigots. Generators: allowed Bathroom: Vault toilet Showers: no Pull Throughs: yes Setting: in open Ponderosa Forest and deciduous trees. Solar: Sites look to have nice solar Rig Size: Large rigs Sites: All sites are pretty nice.

Cottonwood Campground: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: Not an appealing campground except as a stop over. Security: no Usage during visit: light Site Privacy: no Pad surface: Dirt Reservations: No Outside Road Noise: This cg is right off the highway. Some sites back up towards the highway. Through Traffic in campground: No Setting: Under tree canopy. Solar: solar looks to be pretty good in most sites.
Insects: Did not seem to be a problem during our brief April visit. Host: No Sites: Near highway. Site 1 backs up towards the highway.