Best RV Parks & Resorts near Lincoln National Forest

This place is a hidden treasure. Located at about 6500 feet elevation on the eastern slope of the Sacramento Mountains this campground is a perfect launching pad for daytrips to many local attractions. The Rio Penasco River runs right through the park and offers the opportunity to catch a trout or 2. Local Mule deer and turkeys are no strangers here and visit frequently. The WiFi is good but cell signal is hard to come by. There is a nice Cafe in Mayhill, as well as a convenience store and gas station about 2 blocks from the campground. The campground is open year round and caters to hunters in the Fall. The campground is family friendly and offers live music at times during the summer months. The managers Bennie and Yolanda are top notch and always at your service. That being said my wife and I came here last November and have been here ever since as Camp Hosts. We just love it here.

Beautiful scenery with huge tall trees. Site was spacious with fire rings and picnic table. Lots of hiking trails. Dump station and potable water fill area, but not at site. Dry camping only. $5 showers. Didn’t take reservations, but do have overflow area that is a huge parking lot. It could take a lot of “overflow”. There was still snow on the ground in mid April. No AT&T coverage, but Sprint worked. There were some steep grades getting there with tight turns. Fine for our Class B, but a big rig would probably be sweating. Concrete and grass RV pad. We used site 21 and backed up to the woods. Very cool. Bear country too, but didn’t see any

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.

I messed up thinking I had booked this campground - I hadn’t. It was five minutes to seven pm and the staff called me back and got me a site for less than $50 for the night. It was a nice, level pull through site with water/sewer/cable/electric. I was pretty relieved that we would have somewhere to camp - no one else picked up their phones.

We didn’t arrive until nearly nine and the same staff person was still working - helping someone back into their site. She was very kind and welcoming.

The next morning I checked out the campground. The area was pretty industrial, but less than two minutes to the science museum and zoo. Individual spaces were generous (especially the tent sites - they would fit any tent size) and I liked the little patio we had. The playground was newish, the pool looked like it would be nice when filled, the laundry room looked great (but cash only - I prefer the card ones) and there was a lovely store and rec room. There were also showers and a small dog run.

This KOA had everything you could need - including excellent customer service.

20-25 minutes to White Sands National Monument.

I have seen mostly upper New Mexico and well when I found this area in comparison that or anything else near El Paso, I was more than a bit confused as to where I was. Yes, it is a forest, but still I wasn't ready for how forest-like and amazing it was.

Driving out you have no cell signal at all. The roads are winding and you see a lot of livestock, then out of no where deer, big deer and elk! It is like a different planet from everything else and the deeper into Cloudcroft you get the more and more it starts looking more like Colorado than anything you would assume would be New Mexico.

The campground is no different! Large shade trees standing tall above the site, the ground below looking like it was cut from a different cloth than anything from all the miles you travel in any direction from this location. The temperatures itself even is different, cooler by about 15 to 20 degrees.

The camp is small and while they have a posting for RVs I don't see how they could easily fit in the spaces I saw. There are minimal amenities such as drinking water and vault toilets but no dump stations or hook ups.

It was very quiet when we were there although there were other campers, the sounds of everything around seemed to muffle any noise they could be making.

TIPS:

• Don't plan on contacting anyone, staying here is a truly unplug and unwind experience.

• Explore some of the hiking in the area. Lincoln National Forest has nearly 50 trails so there is something for everyone from short day hikes to long treks for backcountry camping and hiking.

Dint judge a book by its cover… this is a well run place. John keeps everything clean and maintained. If you need a stopover to see white sands and everything else is booked, it is better than you expect at first sight.

A handful of sites are available for short term folks - all long pull through - option with/without sewer. The non sewer sites are along the pond and afford a bit more privacy (wish we’d done that - don’t make our mistake). It is mostly like long term stays and older rigs but don’t let that dismay you.

Sites go opposite directions and are snug - so you’ll be close to your drivers side neighbors and have a shared space with your door side neighbors if you go for a with sewer pull through.

What brings this up to a 3 is the meticulous care of the owner/manager John and the surprise amenities. A pond, a small play set (swings, slide) nice laundry room, some exercise equipment including a pretty modern bow flex! And a great book room that has a chalkboard some desks and a couch if you need a fresh space to work. He even has sleds to loan out for the dunes.

John’s a Vietnam vet and a great character. He runs a clean campground and will take care of you. It makes the grounds feel safe and well tended. Would definitely support this business if we came back through.