Best Tent Camping near Lincoln, NM

We tent camped at Eagle Lake aka Eagle Creek campground on the Mescalero Apache Reservation over Memorial Day weekend 2022. The surrounding Lincoln National Forest was closed because of extreme fire risk, so there were very few places to camp in the Sacramento Mountains and escape the heat of El Paso. We used camp stoves because of a fire ban. We camped among the pine trees in the first tent area. There were clean porta-johns in that area. The showers and permanent bathroom were located up in the RV park about a 3-mile round trip walk on the road from the first tent area, so it’s more practical to drive to the showers. The permanent bathrooms and showers were clean.

Very pretty scenery, surrounded by mountain ridges and peaks and pine forest. There were two small lakes and a small creek flowing through the campground.

The campground format is kind of laissez faire because there aren’t assigned sites and it’s first come, first serve. The first tent area seemed about half full and we found a good site. We didn’t scout the second tent area because the host said there weren’t as many trees there. The first tent site was developed on a forested slope albeit they built flat rectangular-like terraces into the slope where you can pitch a tent(s) and park your vehicle(s).

Eagle Creek, near Ruidoso, had a similar feel to the Mescalero Nation’s Silver Lake campground near Cloudcroft, but Eagle Creek had a more quiet vibe. The main drawback was the 10:00 am checkout time, but we were still able to cook up some breakfast burritos as we broke camp. Good times.

Update 6/22/2022: At some point after my review, the Dyrt deleted the actual campground, which is where the road forks and moved my review to the nearby and similarly named RV resort, which is totally different. I love the Dyrt and I’m a pro ranger but sometimes c’mon man.

04/14/22 James Canyon, Lincoln National Forest, NM

Thursday night/Friday morning.

I arrived a little after 5 am and found a couple campsites that had parking pads. One pad was already occupied by a single vehicle so I took the last open spot. A car full of young adults pulled up about five minutes later and they just set up their tent right in the overflow parking area. They were packing up when I woke up a few hours later and the car camper was long gone.

There was an additional tent site with an open cabin shelter next to the first two spots and five additional spots across a footbridge that goes over a creek bed. All of the spots have nice level areas for tents, and picnic tables and fire rings. None of the area had cell coverage, however an occasional text would get through. There are bear proof trash cans at the entrance, along with an outhouse at the far edge of the parking lot. With easy access right off the main road. It’s a “dispersed” camp so there’s no fee.

A scenic bluff behind the sites provides a great backdrop, with rolling hills across the street. While the view is great, the camp is right next to a fairly busy road so there was a lot of noise from traffic during the day. It was calm and quiet when I arrived, but that quickly changed once the sun came up. It also became very windy the day I camped so I ended up using the open cabin as a wind shelter, as I was the only camper left in the morning.

Has one handicap accessible & next to bathroom). There is a group site that has three picnic tables under a shelter and two grills. 2 RV sites have covered picnic tables and grills and water and electric hookups. Five tent sites. One of the tent locations is at the handicap accessible site. CLEAN restrooms with flush toilets and drinking water are available. Pets are allowed in the campground(on leash), but are not allowed on the trails. Petroglyph trails are rocky, but not difficult (keep your eyes peeled, there are petroglyphs everywhere). Hosts were very nice. Campground has well-functioning electronic/pay check-in. Great BLM campground. Other places in area include Malpais lava flows. Sierra Blanca hovers to the east. Sunset was early in Nov. so if hiking trails in late afternoon take a flashlight. Nearby Carrizozo reportedly has a photo gallery or three that we were told were well worth checking out but we did not get chance to do so.

James Canyon, NM: This is right off the highway, so easy access. There are only two sides when you can accommodate an RV.. A couple folks parked in the parking lot overnight. Ad jacent highway noise is very noticeable, however, traffic is pretty light and very late at night time. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: For a stop over: 4.
Price 2024: Free Security: no Usage during visit: two RV sites filled up. Ted sites for him to. Room in the parking lot. Small Riggs only Site Privacy: no Site Spacing: good Pad surface: RV sites Reservations: no Campground Noise: no, no Outside Road Noise: noticeable Through Traffic in campground: no, except for stopping to use the bathrooms Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no, no Dump Station: no Potable Water Available: No Generators: allowed Bathroom: very clean pit toilets Showers: no Pull Throughs: both RV sites are back in. A little bit of extra work is required to back the trailer down to go to one of the two site. Cell Service (AT&T): no Setting: just off the highway Recent Weather: cool nights Solar: some Insects: none Host: no Rig Size: much over 22’ would be difficult

Coming from the stark heat near White Sands, it is pretty remarkable that just 40 minutes away you can find a cool, windy, shady oasis. I give this campsite good remarks due to the fact it’s the only one open in the area (all the others marked on this app nearby are closed), it is the only campground I’ve seen in the past 30 days on the road that has only ever other site opened to ensure social distancing, a clean vault toilet (and 3 toilets on site), beautiful sites full of shade equipped with picnic tables, ample space and parking, and fire rings. Perhaps this site is usually cheaper (I don’t know) and maybe it’s only this much due to COVID and lack of other options, but $23 seems remarkably high for the type of site it is. I’ve been through 8 states in the past month and stayed in much more “expensive” camping areas (i.e. primitive sites that know they can charge an arm and a leg due to being close to parks like the Tetons or Yellowstone or glacier) and I have not found any other sites expecting $23 for this type of space. If they were not doing every other site being open, you would be veryyyy close to your neighbors. That being said, it’s a great spot and if you can afford it, go for it.

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.