Best RV Parks & Resorts near Gila National Forest

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.

What a great find. This RV Park is still taking reservations during the coronavirus pandemic. We called and got a site for three nights. Sites are long and spacious, level, gravel, wide with shrubbery and some fencing between, adding lots of privacy. Both easy back in and pull through sites. Several large clean showers/bathrooms, laundry and library but no amenities like a pool or hot tub. Did i mention the Excellent cell, and even better fast WiFi, which was very good with multiple access points to connect to through out the park. Staff are super friendly and helpful. Great prices ($34) and we used AARP to get additional discount($16), they also accept Good Sam. Cabins available. We were very happy and recommend it.

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 love this rv park has all you need well spaced, clean,friendly far price

Quiet ranch in the mountains of Gila National Forest. Must be prepared for a very steep grade drive with switchbacks. Beautiful scenery with sheep and horses.

Stayed here with a couple of friends in late December of 2019. Great proximity to Gila National Forest, which is the primary reason we chose this campground. Obviously was very cold during December, but we were comfortable with an all-season tent & sleeping bags.

Camp hosts were super nice and gave us a lighter when we couldn’t find ours, which was a saving grace when it came to be dinner time. Picnic tables were great, especially when you’ve become used to primitive camping without such luxuries. Pit toilets were clean and accessible. Overall, nothing special but a great campground for the location and the helpfulness of the hosts.

This is a great spot for tent, trailer or RV campers. There are a handful of trailer/RV spots in the actual camp ground loop with plenty of room for tents in the center. There is a vault toilet that is clean and stocked with toilet paper. If the actual campground is full there are plenty of camp sites in the surrounding areas.

Nice Park just outside/south of the Gila National forest. Perfect spot if one wants to park and then drive into the Kila forest or cliff dwellings. Has clean showers and laundry, and a nice couple that runs the place. Just a few miles north of silver city. Nice drive to get supplies in town

Campsites are just steps from fisherman’s trail along the SE shore of Lake Roberts reservoir on Hwy 35 in the Gila National Forest. Sites are well spaced out under a stand of ponderosa. Deer, turkeys and javelins are regular visitors; several hiking trails are nearby. Birdwatching along the shore or from the water in a canoe or kayak.

We stayed at Mesa Campground during a tour of the Gila National Forest with friends.

The lake views aren’t great, but you can easily walk down to the shore.

The trash bins and running water are really nice amenities. Our site had a table and grill and we were able to fit our truck with a rooftop tent and a truck with a small pull behind, but we were really close to each other.

We’ve also caught and ate trout from Lake Roberts.

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

Stay for two days to allow us to visit Gila lift Dwellings. Full hookups (30 amp) with water and sewer. Good cell coverage. Amazing Starlink speeds. Staff was awesome and they filled our propane for us.

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

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 a small campground on top of a hill, therefore great for stargazing! It is dispersed camping (yea, free!) and has two vault toilets. The bathrooms/toilets were well kept and not super stinky like in some places.  There's gravel parking great for RVs, and plenty room beyond that for tents. However, there is NO shade, so beware the summer afternoon. Perhaps because of this there was hardly anyone there, but that's makes for a quiet, unintrusive stay. Also, there are some free range cows, so watch out for cow patties.

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.

I took my dad there for Labor Day weekend last year and was totally pleased with the campground. Extremely well kept and clean. Didn’t use the RV restroom at all. The restrooms at the grounds were very clean and only a short walk from every campsite. Drinking water to fill your camper was available in several locations. No hookups but that was ok. The country surrounding the grounds was absolutely beautiful! Snow Lake provides great fishing opportunities and the views from all over the surrounding Gila Wilderness were simply amazing.

We met some folks from Silver City during our stay and became lifelong friends with them. We spent most of the weekend with them sharing meals and stories around the campfire! I will definitely be heading there again at least once a year!

Nice campground with about 10 sites. With concrete picnic tables, and a fire ring. Vault toilets, hiking trails, and with cell signal. No hookups. Curative camping at its finest

This is a basic free campground, with dispersed camping, no hookups and a vault toilet.  We were there in april and during the week at it to ourselves.  Is was rather full on the weekend but still quiet.  The hiking in the national forest was fabulous and this was a good base to get to hikes from.   There is a small store in Apache Creek about 5 minutes from the campground that sold water, ice, and other essentials.  Nice clean place to camp.

Sapillo Creek lies straddling the original branch of the CDT. This is a free, national forest dispersed campsite with a couple pit toilets and very few other amenities, no cell signal either. Easily accessible from NM-35 and near a couple of general stores in Lake Roberts (10 minute drive north) and Mimbres (15 minute drive south). 

Popular with the local crowd during peak camping/ATV season, so be mindful that there might be some related noise during the summer; but generally sees little use during winter and the shoulder seasons.

The four campgrounds in this area (Iron Creek, Railroad Canyon, Upper and Lower Gallinas) are all closed in December 2021. Perhaps just for the season. Contact NFS for status.