Best Campgrounds near Placitas, NM

I found this campground on the Dyrt before visiting Los Alamos, NM. I checked out the website a little bit too, but didn’t see that reservations could be made ahead of time. Everything I read on the Dyrt said it was first come first serve. When we got here, there was a QR code on the electrical box that took me to an online reservation site. I called the parks department and the lady I talked to said they changed it about 6 months ago and it was no longer first come first served. Luckily she was able to tell me which two sites were available for the time I wanted to stay, and I was able to get it reserved online after that. There were several sites that were empty, and stayed that way overnight into the next day, even though they were “unavailable” online. Someone else kept changing their spot to try and have more room, so I’m guessing a lot of people still assume it’s first come. If you don’t want to risk it, make a reservation ahead of time.

The park (parking lot) is very basic with electrical hookups at each site. There is a dump station and a water station to fill tanks as well. The spaces are pretty narrow, so an awning can’t be fully extended. All spaces are pull-through and have plenty of room for long rigs and vehicles. Some spaces are decently level, but others need leveling blocks.

There’s a dog run area with artificial turf and a water pump and bowl. It was clean and well kept.

There is a shuttle area with bathrooms nearby, but the bathrooms were locked and there was no shuttle service when we were here.

Overall, this was a good short-term RV park for our quick visit. It had everything we needed.

We stayed here just after Memorial Day weekend in late May, and again in mid-June. Such a great campsite! Although at 8,000 feet of elevation, prepare for cold nights and intermittent rain, hail, and high winds, even during the "summer" season. We experienced day time temps of 70s - 80s and nighttime drops to the low 40s on both trips. There was a burn notice in effect in May, which was lifted for our June trip - probably because the significant afternoon hail storms on the first two days of our trip nicely saturated everything!  ;) Day time weather was usually clear until noon, and then intermittent afternoon storms would set in, usually clearing by 6 pm. Basically, typical New Mexican mountain weather! 

The sites are very well maintained, and the Camp Host was incredibly friendly and made regular rounds. FYI - there is NO cell signal at any of the tent sites, although we were able to get a signal (Verizon) within 50 feet of the ranger station if you need to check your phone.

A note about the various campsites. There are four main loops past the RV/electric hookup section. Loop 1 (sites 1 - 9), loop 2 (sites 10- 14), loop 3 (sites 16 -18), and loop 4 (sites 19 -30). Each of the four main areas have their pros/cons and would be ideal depending on personal preference. 

Loop 1 - this is where we stayed in both May and June. It's the easiest walk to the lake, but also has the oldest vault toilet. This toilet locked itself a couple times after people left, and we had to ask the camp host to open it back up. Ultimately, he taped the lock in the unlocked position which worked fine. Several of the toilets have been upgraded throughout the site, but this one is still on the list.  

Loop 2 - there's a playground next to site 14 and this is a GREAT loop for folks with kids. If you're not a kid person, you'd probably prefer a different loop.  

Loop 3 - this is a beautiful loop with a brand-new vault toilet. With only sites 16, 17, and 18 sharing this loop, it seemed a little quieter.  

Loop 4 - the final loop. Furthest away from the lake, you'll get less traffic from folks going up and down the road to their site. 

Honestly, all of the sites are beautiful and your favorite site will depend a lot on personal preference. The river runs along the south side of the campsite road and we saw folks fishing - and catching fish! - at those campsites that backed  up to the river.  

This is a beautiful campground and we will definitely be back!