Best Tent Camping near Jemez Pueblo, NM

The Juniper campground is perfection. The layout of the campground allows for both RV and tent camping, while still having you own quiet area. Plenty of water filling stations, and bear boxes. The evening ranger presentations, held at the amphitheater, are informative and interactive.

Not good for large trailers but if you have a smaller one or tent camping, this place is great. When it is full it is still fine as it seems people there are decent and know their manners. (becoming unusual these days) Will stay there again.

Airbnb for tent camping, overnight parking for van camping, full access to home amenities - this was exactly what we needed for a one night stop. The hosts were quick to respond, communicative, warm and accommodating; the site is peaceful and has a genuinely good energy. I love the whole setup and would definitely stay there again.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Turquoise Trail Campground, Cedar Crest, NM

Turquoise Trail Campground is a small privately owned campground located five miles north of I-40 off Route 14 (exit 175) just outside the east side of Albuquerque. Tucked along the base of the Sandia mountains, at 6940’ elevation. http://www.turquoisetrailcampground.com/

There is plenty of visible signage to guide you down Snowline Dr into the campground.

As you approach the office/museum on the right, the RV/Camper loop is visible on the left (which appeared full). Behind the office building are two tent loops (upper and lower). There are two very clean bathroom/showerhouses located between the office and tent loops. A laundry room and dishwashing sink is located at the back of the office building. *This is also the only water access for the tent loops.

RV sites have full hookups. Tent sites have only a leveled, gravel tent pad, picnic table and standing grill. Only stove fires were permitted at our visit due to open fire restrictions.

Tent sites are separated by scrub brush, which offered partial privacy between most sites, but you will hear your neighbors. The outer tent sites back up to a residential area, with a fence separating. Bring earplugs for undisturbed sleeping, as road noise from Route 14 can be heard, along with local dogs randomly in the distance.

At $20 a night, the campground is convenient and sufficiently met our needs as we traveled west on a tight itinerary.

Shower tokens are provided with your nightly fee. Each token gives you 7 minutes of shower time.

There is plenty to do nearby, with bike trails and hiking trails…though nothing of particular interest in the campground itself.

The bustling city of Albuquerque is the next exit west, so you are still very close to shopping, eateries, and nightlife.

Sites are exposed, and summer is hot. I imagine fall or spring would be more ideal weather. Definitely planning a trip back later in the year. Each tent site is small, relatively flat with picnic table. A few pull through sites are available. Firewood is pre-cut and can be purchased for $1 a log (cash only, drop box).

Fenton Lake is usually busy and reserving months ahead of time is a good idea. We like spots number 1 and 17 for tent camping. Rangers patrol the campgrounds and in general people are usually well behaved. Nice hikes along the creek. Getting a fishing spot may be hard to find sometimes as the small lake is usually circled with people fishing. Fishing is usually good though as it is well stocked. Temperatures at night can get down in the low forties after being in the eighties during the day.

This is a civilized campground located just a few minutes north of Albuquerque. Amenities include a camp store and laundry room. I arrived without a reservation and was able to find a nice tent site with plenty of shade and wooden fences on three sides for privacy. Water and electricity were also available at my site.

This being an urban campground, there was some traffic noise from nearby roads and freeways. However, the campground quieted down at night and I slept well. The bathrooms were very well appointed, and required a code to enter.

I’ve been coming to Fenton Lake for camping with family since I was little and we’ve always loved it. It’s beautiful and well taken care of. Park rangers are always making their rounds and always friendly and helpful. Plenty of tent sites; only a few have some good privacy. Not many electrical hookups though. Trash bins and vault toilets are usually close by. Love the trail that runs along the side of the camp and the stream that runs adjacent to the campsites. Fishing is fun but get there early because spots fill up quickly. Only downfall I’ve seen is that theres only one water spigot and it’s right at the lake.

We checked out this campground as an option when traveling to the Tent Rocks and it was a great place. The campground was clean and sites were not to close together. We noticed a good mix of both tent and rv campers on the property.

For tent camping with no hook ups it was only $12 which fit the perfect price point. These sites included a pad for the tent as well as fire rings and awnings with tables.

The view of the sunset here was impressive to say the least and I was so in awe of the colors in the sky I forgot to take a picture, that doesn’t happen often!

Bathrooms were just the right size for the amount of people who were coming and going and best of all, hot showers!! That in itself is nice to find when you are traveling in the southwest sometimes.

We were only about 15 miles from the Tent Rocks on very nice roads so it was perfect!!

We were very excited on our first night to settle into our campsite after a long day of adventuring. Just a short drive to the outskirts of Santa Fe in mountain country we found our campground, Rancheros de Santa Fe.

Upon entry the staff was very friendly and welcoming and we felt like this would be a great place to call home away from home.

The campsites were laid out well with room between campers and because it was the end of a weekend, they were not entirely at capacity which made for a pleasant sense of space in the great outdoors.

Our campsite was positioned in the "high road" tent site area which is a primitive campsite without additional amenities. Each campsite has a fire ring and also a picnic table for campers to utilize and a pad site for tents slightly raises from ground level.

It made for a beautiful night sleep under the chilly New Mexico skies.

By morning we ventured up to the public showers and restrooms which were clean and had amazon water pressure and hot water to set the morning in motion perfectly.

The facility also offers a pool and theater room during summer months so while we didn't get to take advantage we were excited to know upon return we would have these features available.

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Overall we give this campground a 4 of 5 Bunniea! The only things we noticed which kept it from a 5 were the lack of wifi reach in the back sections of the campground, wouldn't have been a big deal but cell service in the off grid location was also patchy so the wifi would have been handy. And the pad site was not designed for a tent quite our size. Our tent is a 12x8 and had a little side hang on on the 12 foot end.

Really nice campgrounds right inside entrance to Bandelier National Monument. Self serve/first come, so get here early to snag a spot. We stayed in Bear Loop and found those sites the nicest for vans, car camping, tents.

Pros:

• Relatively quiet for a three loop campground, esp at night
• A good mix of pull through and tent sites with plenty of room to drive in. Our site did not have partial shade, though there are plenty of trees in the loop to help with that
• Frey and other hiking trailheads accessible near camp (lived this)
• Firewood for sale at pay kiosk (cash donation, $1 per log)
• Kiosk was pretty easy/took cards, just be mindful of searching for a spot before you pay
• Nice bathrooms, no showers available at time
• Was really awesome launching point for exploring Bandelier; easy to drive or walk right into the thick of things

Cons:

• $12/night may be too pricey for some, but we found it reasonable

General: 54-site campground in four loops; the Pedernal Loop has water and electric hookups, the Chama and Puerco Loops do not and there is a walk-in tent site loop. There is also overflow camping. 

Site Quality: Sites appeared to be mostly level (at least in the Pedernal loop); most were paved but a few were gravel. Most were back in, but some were pull-through. There are two ADA-accessible sites in the Pedernal Loop. Many have reservoir views. Site 14 has a generous-sized paved driveway. Completing the site is a lantern hook, BBQ, and covered picnic table. Too bad it was so darn windy that we could not enjoy these amenities. There was also a garbage can at the end of each site but no recycling that I saw. If you do not need hookups, sites 34 and 39 (in the Puerco loop) provide excellent water views. 

Bath/Shower House: Basic with two shower stalls, two toilets, and one sink. Very clean. There are also very clean vault toilets located throughout the campground. Did not use the shower so cannot comment on how well it works. 

Activities: The Abiquiu Lake Vista Trail is a 4-mile hike and bike stacked-looped trail (so you can add or duplicate interconnected loops). Boating access is one mile away. Fishing is also popular. There is also a volleyball net and a very nice modern playground. We were there at the end of April, so it was very quiet (which is the way we like it). Shout out to great camp hosts – we were greeted upon arrival and they made sure we didn’t have any questions or concerns. For $16, this is affordable but with the senior pass, $8 is a bonafide bargain!

**Campground Review: **

Imagine 1.25 Ma ago an eruption blew apart the landscape of Northern New Mexico that would rival the shear volume erupted by the world famous Yellowstone hotspot!  Jemez Falls and its namesake campground are the closest, largest, and most developed CG to the Valles Caldera proper and the entrance to the caldera's access roads.  The Jemez Falls CG is more developed than the nearby primitive (dispersed) sites that surround the flanks of the caldera proper, this CG offers 50 single sites and 2 double sites, $10 and $50 respectively.  Most of the sites can accommodate RVs and trailers up to 40' in length with good options for tent camping as well.  Each site has the usual metal fire ring, along with picnic tables and a paved driveway/parking area.  You can reserve sites from mid May through Mid September.

Even if you plan to stay here for a couple weeks (which is the limit) you'll have more than enough to keep you preoccupied!  If you want to drive around and hike or fish in the caldera proper then you will need to go to the Valles Caldera Visitors Center and buy a pass.  They typically cost $25 but when we visited during the International Balloon Fiesta the fee was waived.  If they are charging when you arrive, you can also use your National Parks Pass to get entrance.  Be sure to arrive early on the weekends as they restrict the # of permits they hand out.

Now with all this exposed rock you know there's going to be some amazing climbing!  All of the rock in the immediate area was created by the caldera and related volcanic and magmatic activity in the area in the past few million years.  This gives you the opportunity to climb on some "bulletproof" welded tuff (hardened volcanic ash) much like what exists at the world famous Smith Rock State Park in Oregon.  If you want to find out more about the interesting geology of the area you can look Here

Product Review:

Being a Ranger for the Dyrt allows us to test and review gear from time to time!  This time we got to test out the Men's Free Rein Jacket by Red Ledge.

Pros:

• First thing I want to say about this jacket is that it is super cheap for a rain jacket this rugged and with this many features!  It was only ~90$ after shipping and is comparable to some of my other jackets that were 2-3x as much! 
• I also really liked the mesh fabric on the inner portion of the breast pockets.  It added another dimension of breath ability to the jacket to prevent condensation from building up on the inside.  This was a nice addition to the gusseted armpits flaps to help air out.
• The last thing I really liked about this jacket was the amount of high-vis color options you had to choose from!  I went with the Hi-Vis Orange which is close to a hunters orange and came in very handy as there was active hunting while we were hiking in the Valles Caldera.

Cons:

• There were only a couple of things that we thought could have been improved.  The first was to have the armpit openings be meshed on the inside to prevent it from opening wide up.  We really liked that feature in the breast/side pockets and wished it had been incorporated into the armpits as well.
• The other thing was the inability to zip the jacket from the top or bottom, which would have allowed you to kind of blouse the bottom of the jacket.  

Score: 4/5

• While other jackets have more features, this is a great, durable rain jacket at a price point that is reasonable and affordable for most.  This was a great jacket to test and I anticipate using it for many more rainstorms and windy belays in the future.

My wife and I spent 3 days here in late May.  Because we planned out trip a little late, we actually stayed the first night in Spot 16 (no hookups) and then the last 2 at Spot 14 (electric and water).  Spot 16 was in the "Chama Loop" and I have to say, this loop is really not for our rig (a 30' Class A).  We had a pull in spot, and fit okay, but the spots here are all on the smaller side and we mostly saw tents and some truck campers and a couple of Class Bs.  We could NOT get level on our site without some serious efforts and more blocks than I really like.  We never got level enough to feel comfortable putting out our slides.  When we moved the next day to Spot 14 (in the Pedernal Loop, where the only electric/water sites are), it was much better.  Leveling was easy as can be.  The hookups were very conveniently located and we had no complaints here.  Very spacious lot.  Picnic tables under cover, a grill and a fire pit.  

Spaces between spots are fairly generous.  Not huge, but far better than most commercial sites.  We felt very much "alone" here.

Some great things:  the camp hosts Al and Cindy were INCREDIBLY helpful and friendly.  Best hosts we've ever had!  The playground is excellent (we don't have little kids, but we actually enjoyed the swings and such ourselves one evening!).  The views of the lake are very good (you can't get down to the lake from here, but the extra height made for great views), and the walking trail from the visitor center to the boat launch goes right through the park, so you can join it easily if you wish.  Dump station has two dump spots, which was nice.  There are lots of picnic areas, and the tent sites looked very nice too.  

Not the greatest:  other than the aforementioned levelness issues, I was amused to see how steep the road down to the little "front gate" is.  Not ideal for RVs!  You come down off a Mesa to the much lower campground on a fairly steep grade, and 2/3 of the way down, you have to stop to check in.  Just seemed weird.  The dump station has NO hose hookup for the non-potable water (just a weird contraption that sprays water everywhere), so no easy way to flush the black tank, which I don't love.

Connectivity:  no wi-fi.  And the cell signal is spotty.  We were able to use my iphone to create a Verizon hot spot, and actually, after a struggle, could watch some Netflix.  But then surfing sometimes went from slow but okay to non-existent.  My one word review would be:  inconsistent.  And now, we don't spent our time surfing the internet, but for doing research, checking email, etc., it was not ideal.  Workable, but not the best.

We'd stay here again in a second.  We've already talked about what we'll do next time we stay here.