Join the fun near Montezuma. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. Find the best campgrounds near Montezuma, NM. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.
$45 - $75 / night
"It is off the highway but nice and secluded. Pretty location and outside of Las Vegas, NM. It isn’t a five star because the sites are pretty close together"
"4/5/2021 Right off the highway. One of the nicer KOA's we have stayed at in the Southwest."
$15 - $30 / night
"A little off the beaten path but was worth it. Each campsite had a picnic area some even had shelters over them! The lower campground was right next to the river (very high when we were there)."
"The drive to this park takes us back in time through the tiny town of Villanueva. Once through the gates I was amazed at the fast flowing Pecos River right next to the tree shaded sites. A gem."
"During rainy seasons, ruts form with deep mud on some spots driving up."
"It's a nice little place tucked away in the woods. The road to get there is a bit rough, hence the title. By no means, Not a road for a large trailer or 5th wheel. Wild life everywhere.."
"The sites on the outside of the loops are decently wooded, smaller and not well suited to RVs. The sites on the inside of the loops have longer, RV sized pull in and little trees."
"Great overnight spot to use as a "home base" with lots of trail access. Multiple units of corrals and plenty of parking and turnaround space for large trailers."
$100 / night
"Beautiful drive out, creeks on both sides. Nestled deep in the Pecos Wilderness. Camping overlooks the mountains. Beatty’s trail head is nearby. Made a fire and had electric to charge my phone"
$40 / night
"There is a trail head with 2 trails, one atv accessible and one hiking/horse that goes up to Indian Lake. Beautiful views and about 1200' elevation change."
"Tent camped at this location in the middle of September (a week before closing). Very beautiful place to watch the leaves change, trailheads close by and picnic tables at each site."
$22 - $70 / night
"Stay at Santa Barbara Campground in Northern New Mexico. Was a beautiful spot. Road to Campground was well taken care of Beautiful trails throughout area"
"The trails are absolutely wonderful and well worth taking a few hours to walk part of them. Hard core hikers will use the campground as a starting point for a lengthy hikes."
"About a 15min drive from the highway. Only 5 or 6 sites. Close to the Rio Mario Trail trailhead. Campsite is at elevation over 8,000ft so it can get chilly at night. Worked great for tent camping."
"Campground is a little off the beaten path, about 30m from the High Drive highway. Dirt roads were nothing to worry about, should be fine for any SUV or sedan."
$55 / night
"This is a very spacious private campground southwest of Santa Fe with access to public land. Located 20 minutes from downtown Santa Fe. There are probably 50 sites with restrooms and showers."
GuideStay at Santa Barbara Campground in Northern New Mexico. Was a beautiful spot. Road to Campground was well taken care of Beautiful trails throughout area
GuideWe stopped here for an overnighter and it was not the most aesthetic choice, but the town of Las Vegas is quite charming. The town has a great plaza and historic hotel where we had a pretty good meal. The sunsets and landscape in this part of New Mexico really take your breath away.
ScoutBased on the reviews I thought this place would be a cool oasis up in the trees. Alas, it's not. There's a loop with 14 total sites. Unfortunately, at least half the sites in the inner ring are unusable because of road runoff making it tough to get to them, and we have a Toyota Tacoma. As a result, they do not get used and are, therefore, overgrown with New Mexico ground cover, which is not comparable to soft grass. That immediately bumps it down to about 10 sites. When we arrived, there was one site available that we could access. It was behind the main trailhead parking area and completely shaded. All in all, not bad, just not our ideal choice since it's right there close to any and all foot traffic. Luckily, as we walked the rest of the loop to see if there was anything else, a couple was just finishing packing up so we were able to snag their spot (#13), which we felt was the best one. Score!
Now, let's talk the road to get there. Absolutely do not try to take a camper of any size to this campground unless it's a legit overland type tear or squaredrop, ideally with an articulating hitch. People are not kidding when they say that's not a good idea. We had our Tacoma in 4L and I'm honestly not sure how some 2WD vehicles make it. There are many spots where the incline is pretty good, a number of deep crevices as a result of water runoff, many sections that are absolutely one lane only, and at least 6 spots where there was a small pond of standing water to drive through. Were any of the ponds show stoppers, no, but the water in one dip came up past the bottom of our doors. All in all, the road is no joke. Yes, I get this is a forest road, but the road snakes through multiple pieces of residential property (albeit they are probably summer homes but we saw people at almost every house when we drove past), and there's a hiking trailhead at the campground, so I expected it to be not THAT bad. In my book, it's not officially 'offroading' but it's worse than other forest service roads we've been on. Oh, and the couple residents we passed driving in their vehicles (you can tell by looking at them they are not campers or hikers) made it abundantly clear they weren't happy with us being on their road. All in all, nice campground with great trailheads but there are too many other beautiful places to hike and camp in NM for us to want to go back.
GuideGood road all the way in. About a 15min drive from the highway. Only 5 or 6 sites. Close to the Rio Mario Trail trailhead. Campsite is at elevation over 8,000ft so it can get chilly at night. Worked great for tent camping. Sites have a small horse pen but you would need to make a gate on them. Not good for big LQ horse trailers.
LegendWe stayed at this site on the way back to Texas from our Colorado trip this summer. This is a great National Forest Campground south of Taos in the Carson Forest. The campground is just off the highway and situated in a beautiful mountain pine forest and next to a great trout stream. You have great shade during the hotter summer months. It’s far enough away from the highway that you don’t hear the traffic. It has a huge meadow and group camp site which look fantastic. The individual sites have some privacy between the sites and come equipped with fire pits and picnic tables. We made a reservation but the camp had a number of open sites in the peak summer season. The highlight here is the proximity of great hiking to nearby lakes and fishing in the trout stream. They had great facilities including clean pit toilets and some historic log cabins. They have a camp host and the sites accommodate tents and smaller vans and campers. I would give this another visit on our next trip to NM.
GuideThis is a very spacious private campground southwest of Santa Fe with access to public land. Located 20 minutes from downtown Santa Fe. There are probably 50 sites with restrooms and showers. I saw a few tent but this is really geared toward RVs. They have discounts if you stay 4 to 6 days it is 10% off and 7 to 14 days it is 15% off. There is really nothing to it but it is so spacious and quiet, great vibe and the staff is super nice and helpful. They offer overnight stabling for horses too.
TravelerThere is a trail head with 2 trails, one atv accessible and one hiking/horse that goes up to Indian Lake. Beautiful views and about 1200' elevation change.
Potable water available at camp host's location. It has sulfer but the smell cleared after half a day sitting in the sun. We brought our own to drink though.
Some campsites were more separated and others were close together if you were with a group. River runs along the camp for fishing, and they were catching fish.
GuideThis is a great campground if you like to take some hikes through some beautiful national forest with a picturesque river. The Santa Barbara Campground is relatively small and most of the sites can't accommodate large rv's. A small travel trailer or tent works well in most sites. None of the sites have hook ups so you will be boon docking. There are vault toilets and water available. Sign on the water spigot said not to connect a hose though so filling your rv or trailer is not what they were intended for. I guess it was good that I filled before I left home. There are lots of trees for shade and beauty. The trails are absolutely wonderful and well worth taking a few hours to walk part of them. Hard core hikers will use the campground as a starting point for a lengthy hikes. There were a few cows that got into the camping area. There can also be horses on the trails so be vigilant.The temperatures were quite moderate as the campsite is at 8900 feet. You can hear the Santa Barbara River as it is very close.
GuideThis campground has a PERFECT location, right on the border of the Pecos wilderness with fabulous hiking. There is also fantastic fishing there, which many guests took advantage of all weekend. However, this campground only has 15 single sites, but most were occupied by double the amount allowable.. There were huge parties at many of the campsites all weekend, with cards zooming around all day. IT was NOISY and CROWDED.
If the camp host (who didn't seem to care) controlled this, we would have given this campground 5 stars.
The hiking was AMAZING. Views AMAZING....
This campground has a huge backpacker parking lot and when we arrived on Friday it was overflowing out onto the main road. The reason is that this campground is the entry point to the NORTHERN end of Pecos wilderness with access to amazing backpacking, high mountain peaks, and literally dozens of groups of backpackers daily going up the trail or coming back out from their adventures.
Horse camping in New Mexico offers a unique blend of stunning landscapes and equestrian-friendly facilities, making it a perfect getaway for horse enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Montezuma, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Montezuma, NM is Las Vegas/New Mexico KOA Journey with a 4-star rating from 15 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Montezuma, NM?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 equestrian camping locations near Montezuma, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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