Best Glamping near Mills, NM

I give this campground 2 stars - one because it is a lovely spot and two, because it is well-maintained considering its remoteness. The other 2-3 stars it may well have deserved were blacked out by the sheer numbers of outright rude and inconsiderate campers.

The drive into the canyon is, indeed, bumpy but doable in a high-clearance car or SUV. There is no cell service. The campground is near the river but does not have river access - it is possible to get to it but the stickers make it extremely uncomfortable, especially if your bring your pooches. There are some places to walk and see both the ruins of the Mills orchard homestead, as well as access the river, but walking was made very unpleasant by the numbers of trucks, ATVs, and motorcycles zooming by - very loud and lots of dirt in the eyes and mouth.

Not sure if it's the "COVID camping" phenomena but the campground was full to near-full the 3 days, 2 nights we camped there. During that time there were multiple very large groups (10-16 people) of people pulling in and out. One group from Texas brought along very loud 50cc motorcycles and large ATV/Side by sides for their kids, who would make rounds around the campground loop, sending plumes of fine dirt into all of the campgrounds around the loop, not to mention the noise. Another large group of trucks from Texas pulled into the campsite next to ours and literally drove 6 vehicles into the actual camping spot and proceeded to then set up tents all the way into my spot -- loud music, loud talking, loud wood chopping, 4:30 am trucks in and out (I suppose they were driving to the bathroom, which was about a 2 minute walk away). I was forced to sleep in my car, instead of my tent thanks to the noise and the fact that I was not comfortable sleeping with a bunch of strangers who didn't seem to care that I had already set up there. As I packed up the next day and was checking my campground for trash I noticed theirs was strewn with it - I considered cleaning it until I noticed it was mostly used toilet paper.

Camping in New Mexico is amazing and one of the reasons I live here. I don't understand why people need to come to the middle of nowhere to be obnoxious, ruin the experience for everyone else, and trash the place in the process.

Until the COVID camping phenomena ends, expect the worst.

We stayed here primarily because it was on our route to Northern New Mexico and Colorado. It was exactly as we expected and we enjoyed an overnight here in June. Fortunately we had electric power for AC and were comfortable. Enjoyed some short hikes right from our campsite. Very isolated location between Tucumcari and Las Vegas, New Mexico, but that was our intended route. Marginal highway, but almost no traffic.

We spent two nights and it only cost us $16. We were parked right on the lake, and being right after a holiday the lake was pretty much empty. They have several different campsites, with a website that makes it easy to reserve a spot. However, we called to ask, and ranger let us know we could come for first come first serve. They have signs that make finding your way around easy, also having stations that you can pay(cash only) for your campsite. The rangers were sweet and helpful as well as having a host, who was there all night in case of an emergencies. The restrooms/showers were clean and it looked to be recently remodeled. Also they had ramps going into the water for boats and a dock for fishing. Something else we learned about New Mexico, not being from here, April-May is a rainy and windy season. So be sure to check the weather before heading out

This is a nice campground, but if you can go to the bottom of the canyon please do! It's a relatively mild 2-mile road that any stock SUV, Subaru, Rav4 etc can do, and probably any sedan when it's dry.

If you look at other reviews or videos of this location some say that trailers are not allowed on the road to the bottom. Officially as of April 2018, they were not recommended. I was in a Expedition with an 8' pop up and it was no problem….just for reference.

The sites are nice and spaced out, nice pit toilet and a couple of horse paddocks if that is your thing.

Be aware there is NO WATER at all and no trash service, so pack it out!

See my review of the Mills Canyon Campground for more info!

Multiple camp sites for primitive camping with flat areas for tents, and each site has a fire pit, sturdy table, and space for parking. The campgrounds also have clean brick & mortar bathrooms without running water; all for free! This campground is first come first serve so reservations aren’t necessary. Pretty secluded area that is mostly vacant during the week days, and mostly visited by climbers. Both upper rim and lower canyon campsites are fairly close to some great boulders and there’s plenty of hiking to do.

This area is still pretty unknown to the mass public so crowds aren’t an issue, which is really nice, but the canyon is overflowing with awesome boulders for climbing so it’s only a matter of time until it starts to become more popular.

Free, pack-in pack-out site with vault toilets, picnic tables and fire pits. The Rim campground is perfectly nice, but if you can manage it roll on down the rocky, rough dirt road to the canyon campsite. We wanted to stay at the bottom, but decided not to risk getting stuck down there given that snow was coming in overnight (my 2wd is not snow-proficient, especially on steep roads).

Seemed to be mostly other climbers at the site, and lots of dog-friends. Really beautiful, quiet place, though beware you likely won't have cell service at the camp or anywhere near (including in the town of Roy).

Nice views of the lake and rocks from Bell Point campground. We stayed in site B19 and it was easy to back in to with our 20' camper. Electric was appreciated, but water was unavailable due to repairs, the dump station and showers were closed - making our stay shorter than expected. There were porta-potties available at the restrooms. The only place around to get water is in the town of Tecumcari, atleast a 30 min drive. If we're in the area and the water gets turned back on, we'd visit again. ATT signal is good and Starlink worked great here, no interruptions in school, work, streaming or gaming. Loved the views, did a bit of hiking around the lake area, saw a boat or two on the lake every now and then. We saw a roadrunner near our site which was really neat

This has to be my favorite lake in NM. Bathrooms with showers, restaurant and convenient store, and gas station. We always rent a boat slip and go night fishing!

We stayed at bell point campground and although it’s still a Rocky hike to the beach the views are breathtaking. Camp was quiet enough (depends on your neighbors). Deer cover the campground. Each camp site has a covered wind break area for eating lunch. No ATVs. Kids loved it and so did dogs. Friendly staff - the rangers gave the kiddos a coloring book and badge when we got here. All the sites are nice that I can tell but not all have water views

The area is nice, for desert lakes. There are trees and more opportunities for shade in the North and Bell point campgrounds. Cove campground is quite bare but almost every site has some kind of shade structure. We've stayed at both the "primitive" and established campsites with a 24' trailer. Its hot during the summer with storms that roll in almost every afternoon from June and start slowing down in August. Don't have anything that catches the wind up when they come. The lake is nice clear and warm. Great for bass and walleye. The weekends usually have a lot of people that disappear during the week. On the weekends the lake is full of fishermen and boaters and kayaks. The people in speedboats like to go by the kayakers and fishing boats as close and fast as they can to be big jerks in so little words, but thats just NM people in general. Anyways I will be coming back again.

I stayed at the North Campground in the park and it was great. The bath house was recently renovated and very clean. The only downside to the park was that the tent pads we rock and gravel making it very difficult to stake a tent. Each site had a covered picnic table and a charcoal grill. There was easy access to drinking water and there was an access road to the lake close by.