Best Tent Camping near Gila National Forest

The Gila cliff dwellings are awesome. Well worth the 1.5 hour drive in from Silver City. The Upper Scorpion campground is really a parking lot with nearby tent sites. Campers park in the lot. With that said I was the only occupant of the campground. It was very quiet with a spectacular night sky. The Lower Scorpion campground is the same. The host was very friendly and helpful. No services except pit toilets.

This campground is right off the highway, but not too much traffic. The small creek bed has nice water depending on the time of year. Too hot in the summer. Gets cold I. The winter, but it is a nice place when the weather is too cold to go further up the mountains to other campgrounds in the Gila. Vault toilet is clean. Only a couple of camp spots. We tent camp, but I think you'd be able to park a small camper or trailer.

This trail requires 4x4 and high clearance. It is a bumpy road for all 3+ miles into the mountainside. But it is far worth the drive for the seclusion. There are plenty of spaces to camp before the creek. But we kept going for about 3 miles, hit a road gate, and started traveling into the valley. It will eventually open up and you will see meadow creek. Spots to the left and right of the fork, we settled at the bottom. No service in the valley. Extremely magical, and serene. Leave it better than you left it please! If you want a camp spot off the beaten path, this is it. Perfect for tent camping/car camping.

We tent camped at Cherry Creek campground in late July 2023. We arrived about 4pm on a Saturday and there were like 2 sites available. First come, first serve, no fee, but a ranger told me that could change soon. Lots of nice tall pines. The creek was dry. Very scenic valley. There’s a short, informal trail at the north end of the campground past the bathroom. The trail goes about 0.25 miles out; so 0.5 mile round trip. A nice evening or morning stroll or both. But…there was a big group next to us that partied loud and late—with a generator that lit up their site, and ours. Oh well! At least they were enjoying the outdoors like we were, I think.

We pulled right into our campsite with hot and cold water at our site. I believe they pull it from the natural hot springs that run beneath the mountain. What a treat! Even if you're not glam camping with a fancy RV it's perfect! How many times have you had to wash your dishes in cold water st a campground. I pull a 37ft gooseneck horse trailer that is now used for camping. No amenities but next best thing to camping in a tent. There is a short walk to the natural hot springs down by the river which is really rustic and relaxing. Especially after climbing the step to the cave/cliff dwellings which are approximately 4 mi further up the road. The restrooms are flush toilets, hot water and a heated floor. Super clean! You can pay a small fee to utilize the "hot tub" which is more modern but the best part is that there's no ceiling! That means as you sit in the hot tub you're privy to the unobstructed view of the Milky Way! Bring a pair of binoculars! We saw several shooting stars and we blown away by the majesty of the heavens which were out "ceiling"!
You can get out of the hot tub, go directly into the restroom/shower. There's a code to enter the two shower/hot tub complex. Great because it keeps unexpected/uninvited guests from entering. We parked at site #08 close to the restrooms. There are hookups for more luxurious RVs. We ran out of propane and were easily accommodated with a fire ring and wood for a small fee. Well worth it! Mornings were in the 30's. It warms up quickly so layering worked for us. The camp host were very accommodating and friendly. I loved watching them round up their herd of horses that roam freely through the campground from time to time. At sunset we watched deer in the pasture grazing happily. Then watched them hop right over the fence one by one! How fun is that! Sunrise and sunsets there cast the most beautiful hues on the rock formations surrounding the area. While walking down to the natural hot springs we were delighted to see sheep who had given birth to a couple sets of black & white faced twins! Too cute for words... Bring a lunch as there are picnic tables next to the creek. Great after soaking in the three separate soaking areas. I was told you could arrange pack trips on horses and explore any of the back country areas. This is love to return and take advantage of! As amazing as it is on foot and in the car it Hass to be mine blowing on the back of a horse! I was also told that they do trail rides for those less experienced riders. 

Beautiful campground in Santa Fe New Mexico. We came to stay one night to go to Meow Wolf and ended up staying 3 nights I liked it so much. Would be 5 stars but the water spigot only worked intermittently, and it was difficult to get a site due to online reservations, some of which weren't even used but sites were still considered occupied due to reservation. I dislike National Park Campgrounds utilizing online reservations, it makes it hard for those of us who wish to ramble aimlessly.

The birds are abundant here. I wore a red winter hat and had at least 10 hummingbirds buzz my head in one day. I could hear their wings and feel the breeze from them they came so close. Tons of shade here, and nice cool days with chilly nights in May. We had a night of sleet after a rainstorm with hail but the next two days were gorgeous. Conveniently located to Santa Fe amenities. I highly recommend this campground. Pit toilets were minimally smelly and relatively clean.

Just a short hike from the visitor's center are a series of hot springs. The first spring is really just a trickle and can only be found by touch moving through the stream. I was able to set up a tent on the creek and dig down in the sand to find the hot water and then covered myself to get the geothermal properties. Not a traditional hot spring soak but a memorable experience. The next morning I could find the hot spring seam by the steam coming off the creek and did the same thing while watching coyotes traverse the canyon.

We visited Black Canyon last August on our way to Colorado and stayed two nights. What a lovely and well maintained place. camp hosts were absolutely wonderful. campers were clean, quiet and respectful. Bathrooms were just pit toilets, but man... they were CLEAN! It is cool at night, even in August, due to the elevation. We were so cozy in our wool socks and sleeping bags in a tent. It even hailed on us hard one day. I liked this place so much we booked it again this summer, but were disappointed to see it closed for the month due to wild fires nearby and extreme drought. We get it, but are super bummed. This place is just gorgeous.

Stayed here for a couple nights in the beginning of September 2023. Weather was upper 80’s during the day and mid 50’s during the night. This site is free and provides a vault toilet (which was clean), water, a fire ring and picnic table. There were about 6-8 sites. I lucked out and ended up getting the last one. The sites were pretty close together but spread out enough. I was able to walk right to the entrance of the cliff dwellings trail from this site in about 5 minutes. I could also walk across street and woods to the river, wasn’t much water though. From silver city on 15, it took me about 90 minutes to reach the campsite. It’s a paved road but gets pretty twisty in spots. I stocked up on food and everything I needed at wal mart in silver city. There was no cell service from silver city to the campground. There is a store, Docs, that will let you use their Wi-Fi. The store has a few things but nothing impressive. It was also difficult finding wood in the immediate area, so either bring wood or stock up along 15 when you’re in the pines. There is also no trash pickup anywhere in the area, so prepare to pack out all trash. The only downside of this site is being able to get a spot. There is also the lower scorpion campsite, plus a few others along the way. There are also plenty of dispersed sites along 15.