Best Glamping near Lincoln National Forest, NM

Well managed KOA and short driving distance from White Sands National Park and Lincoln National Forest. This KOA is in the city so there is some traffic noise and there is a train that passes through at night. They have sleds to borrow for White Sands which saves you the hassle and cost of getting a sled at the White Sands park. Wifi was unreliable, but cellular internet worked fine on our phones.

This was a lovely campground near Cloudcroft, NM. It is located in the Lincoln National Forest. We really enjoyed our couple of days at this location. It is near several hiking trails and convenient located close to town in case you needed anything. This campground also has a special trail that was created for blind and deaf children, so it has signs with sensory additions. It was a really sweet spot. The sites themselves were spacious and very reasonably priced. If you want to be further away from people, pick one of the first sites you see, otherwise the sites are clustered in groups. We would definitely go there again.

Very beautiful hidden away RV and Raised Primitive State Park full of marked and unmarked foliage and a nice museum reflecting on the surrounding area of New Mexico. Everything above standards with wonderful staff. Was there with a friend and had an outstanding experience.

I was looking to get away from the heat in Albuquerque and maybe even do a little fishing. I picked a site next to the upper river (Rio Bonito). The water was clear and moving, but no sign of any fish. The river is more of a creek (expected for New Mexico), but still pretty. It was barely visible from my camp, but just a short hike away. No ATT or Verizon cell service at my site, but I did find a weak signal up near the office. The wifi was a struggle. It was barely adequate the first day, but absolutely miserable the second day. I could easily connect to their router, but constantly got an error of “no internet service” and had to log off and on several times. I had limited shade at my site, but thankfully the AC kept the trailer cool enough, as it was nearly 90 degrees outside. The hosts were very nice and the park is kept pretty clean. No tents allowed, though.

Campground Review:

Oliver Lee is an amazing place to stay in southern New Mexico. This park is located about 20 minutes south of Alamogordo and a half hour drive to White Sands National Monument. We spent two nights here and were blown away with the desert views that surround the site. They have both developed sites with access to electricity and water as well as some undeveloped sites. We went in the middle of June during a heat wave that was hitting the southwest United States, but was really able to enjoy the park and surrounding hiking during the morning and afternoons.

I was actually pretty surprised at the amount of other campers that were there, and available amenities. When I was beginning to look at camping here I thought it would be a pretty primitive site, but was blow away at the available bathrooms, showers, and hook ups. While we were here they were replacing much of the water hook ups in the park, which meant the water was shut off during most of the day, but really increased the availability of the water.

If we are ever back in southern NM we will definitely be sure to swing by and stay for a night.

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Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get products to test, and on this trip i was able to test the Klymit Insulated Static V Luxe sleeping pad.

I was excited to be able to test out this pad primarily for its claim of being comfortable for side sleepers.

With other pads that I've tried in the past I always run into the problem of whenever I try to sleep on my side I get spots what are always in contact with the ground and will eventually begin to hurt.

Not with this pad. Except for the times when I was changing my sleeping position, I never felt the ground.

I am truly in love with this pad! So far I've only been able to use pad in warm climates, so I can't attest to its insulative properties, but I can't wait to take it out this winter!

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Camping with the GO: DAY 1

During our road trip around the US, I was able to try out the GO camper from SylvanSport. This was the first night we stayed in the GO and were blown away. Our first impression of this camper is SPACIOUS!! There is so much room in this camper, it's almost unfair. Definitely, loved our first night!

If you like to rough it then this is perfect.

We visited pSleepy Grass in May 2021 and it was an amazing campground fairly close to the town of Cloudcroft, but secluded enough to feel like the middle of an alpine forest. One of the highlights was that we got to see a wild stallion (according to the very friendly campground host) grazing in the campground while we were there. It was chilly and breezy at night with temps dropping into the high 30’s in mid-May (campground elevation is about 9,000ft). There are several pull-through sites spaces fairly far apart along the one main road, we were there mid-week and chose Site 13 which was great.
Very close to great hiking in nearby Cloudcroft and also close enough to do a day trip to White Sands NP down the mountain. Overall a great experience, would highly recommend!

We stayed at this campground during our #9Parks12Days road trip, and this was the fourth campground of ten on our trip. We did not have advanced reservations and arrived around 4:00 PM to find many open sites (this was early June). The sites are private, separated by cement brick walls, with a level gravel pad for the RV. However, there was a four-inch cement "lip" that stepped up to a huge, all-stone picnic table that could be a HUGE issue for accessibility. We have a special needs preschooler who cannot see well, including differences on the ground that are the same color. Luckily, when he did trip and headed straight for the huge, cement picnic table, I was between him and it, and he only ended up with a skinned knee and not a head injury.

The pool was nice and clean, we swam well into the evening hours after arriving on a very hot day. The playground was quite... scary. The equipment looks to be from the 1970's and was mostly climbing bars, swings, and a merry-go-round. Only the swings were appropriate for our little guy, although our 9-year-old had a lot of fun climbing around. I noticed the playground is no longer mentioned or shown on their website, so maybe the equipment has been pulled out.

The rec room is great - it was our saving grace on this stay along with the pool. Plenty for the family to do, and the welcome center is very nicely kept. In the morning we filled up our coffee mugs with great brew and chatted with the managers, who were very friendly and helpful.

For a quick overnight, we would stay here again, because it is only 15 minutes away from White Sands National Monument, and several other attractions are only a day trip away. Would like to see more shade, more grass or other softer ground cover in the future (i.e. mulch) and for it to be more accessibility-friendly.