Looking for the best Ponderosa dispersed camping? Find everything from dispersed backcountry camping to boondocking with The Dyrt. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the trees or wide open spaces, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect dispersed campsite.
Please access this dispersed location using Llano del Norte which is an unmaintained gravel road. The paved access is a private road. Palomino and Mustang Roads are private.
Please consult the Manzanita Mountains Trail System Map to find a dispersed site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd555098.pdf
Look for Motorized Dispersed Camping info in the bottom left portion of the map. **When looking for the Dispersed Camping Sites, look for small, rectangular boxes with a site number in it and a pointer that directs you to the site.
There are NO AMENITIES at these sites. Cell phone coverage is not guaranteed. It is the recreationist’s responsibility to use a map if you choose to explore the area. It is a multi-user area. Trail(s) that are associated with each dispersed site are open for the following uses: Hiking, Mountain Biking, 2 Wheel Motorized Vehicles and Horseback Riding.
Individual BLM Field Offices may have additional or supplemental special camping rules or guidelines. Please call our Field Offices or visit our individual recreation websites for this information.
BLM's overall policy is to allow dispersed camping on all the lands it administers with the following conditions and exceptions:
Dispersed camping is generally allowed on public lands in New Mexico for no more than a period of 14 days within any period of 28 consecutive days. The 14-day limit may be reached either through a number of separate visits or through 14 days of continuous overnight occupation during the 28-day period. After this time period, you must relocate to another site at least 25 miles away. The purpose of this is to prevent damage to sensitive resources caused by continual use of any particular areas.
Camping is prohibited within 900 feet of any developed water source such as a guzzler or watering trough so that the water is accessible to wildlife and livestock. Please do not park your vehicles near these waters or take any actions that would disturb wildlife or livestock from using these waters.
Campfires must be attended at all times. Campers must comply with all fire restrictions.
When using a motorized vehicle for camping access please park your vehicle near existing roads or existing undeveloped campsites.
Camping is permitted within all units of the National Wilderness Preservation System administered by the BLM in New Mexico. However, all motorized and mechanized vehicles and equipment are strictly prohibited in these areas. Campers must not dispose of refuse, hazardous materials, sewage, or gray water, in any manner that would pollute the surrounding area. Please pack it out, and dispose of those materials properly.
Guide
We came here planning on staying at Coyote Trailhead that was listed. Turns out you can't overnight park at the actual trailheads. And to get to the dispersed camping you have to have a jeep or similar rock climbing type vehicle & not towing anything. Crazy steep rock face in the middle of the road near the trailhead. So we turned around, saw this spot and no one was there. We spent the night, boondocking. No one bothered us.
Guide
This was a great campsite! Dispersed and secluded. Between Tijeras and Albuquerque. In the Cibola National Forest. When you turn into Juan Tomas (FS 542) Rd - be sure to go straight down nearly to the very end of the road. You’ll see signs marking campsites (refer to photos). Sites were large with fire rings. No showers or other amenities… however there are two vault toilets along the road (only one was usable). They are gross - so be prepared to do your business in nature. Cell phone tower nearby - so cell service was great. We saw a coyote and a snake and several beetles. If you love nature and want to be secluded - highly recommended!
TravelerThis dispersed camping is a great spot to stop. There are multiple site identified with lot signs and fire rings. Some of the spots are Easier to access than others. Be prepared for a road that in rough shape. I would not recommend accessing this if your in a small sedan or a large vehicle pulling something as if will be difficult to maneuver. You will likely need 4x4 and some ground clearance. My Rav 4 did just fine at the first few spot but I wouldn’t take it much further. It’s primitive camping no water no outhouse. It’s past the group camping site turn on the left. Great hiking in the area and it felt like a safe location. You can hear cars and dirt biking in the background but activities ended around 7 and made for a peaceful night. I liked it a lot and would come back again!
Traveler
When you first arrive to the end of the road and the beginning of the public land - you have the option to go left, straight, or right. The left turn has one semi level campsite with a homemade fire ring but not as much on that left side. The straight route has the most options I found. I drove around for 15 minutes looking for the best spot but didn't see too many pre-cleared "camping spots" from previous travelers. Plenty of places to pull over to camp with a great view.
Incredible scenery, overlooking the valley and mountains in the West, with great sunsets. My first morning I was surrounded by a group of 5 cows grazing. They ended up laying 30 feet from the trailer all morning. Saw one other camper about a mile away.
The gravel roads are really tight for my 27" trailer, manageable but did rub on a couple of trees and shrubs on the drive in. Don't necessarily need a 4WD unless there is bad weather, but a few spots where ground clearance of a regular truck or SUV is important. Pretty isolated from supplies, which is the charm, but come prepared.
Great Starlink location and pretty good cell service (3/4 bars)
ScoutTop of New Mexico" near Albuquerque is a fantastic camping spot if you love open spaces and beautiful desert views. The sunsets here are breathtaking, and you might even spot wild horses roaming around. There's plenty of space for tents or RVs, and it's quiet and well-maintained, making it a perfect place to relax and enjoy nature. It can get a little windy, but that just adds to the experience. The road to get there winds through some houses, but once you arrive, you're surrounded by pure nature. also the food is so good, there are many food brands like subway menu who offers quality fast food services.
GuideThis is a nice little area that has some challenging obstacle for off roading. There is a good amount of trash left behind by people so bring your trash bag. Most importantly we had a terrifying experience while camping here in October. We were tucked away in our spot asleep. Still visible from the road when about midnight a truck with a light bar came up to our camping spot. 5 guys got out of the truck and started heading toward us yelling, “is anybody alive, is anybody dead?” Scared the crap out of us, my partner got out and shouted back, no threatening but then the guys asked if we wanted to drink/get high with them. They left after that but we could not sleep. Who drives up to someone campsite like that in the middle of the night? Just know people come out her to “party” so make sure you are safe. Haven’t stayed the night again which is really sad because it is a nice area so close to our home. There was also an old cougar track near our campsite. So make note of that as well.
Traveler
Totally serviceable for a quick camping spot. You will need high clearance to get up 462. There’s a ranger station on the way in for info that closes at 4:30.
You’ll pass the Coyote trailhead where the toilets are. The road veers right and starts getting hairy.
You’ll have to park along some boulders blocking the path up to the site. There’s a nice fire ring in a circle of trees that do a solid job of blocking the wind.
Fair amount of trash at nearby areas. Definitely where teenagers go to drink. We heard coyotes howling here and there too.
Leave no trace!
TravelerBeautiful, secluded spots along this campsite. We were in a civic, and I only felt comfortable accessing one spot (the first)—but like others said, a higher clearance vehicle and you should be perfect; assuming it doesn’t rain!
TravelerWe have two kids and love to “Car camp” in our large SUV that has a car mattress and everything you need. We prefer dispersed campgrounds. Only downside: no toilets.
TravelerRoad was a little bumpy, but we were fine in a Crosstrek. No one else at the dispersed sites on a Thursday night. It rained all night so it was a little muddy, but not a problem. Overall quiet and peaceful spot!
GuideUnimproved dirt ring road with designated campsites. Good 2WD should be fine. Take the first left after the group campsite, and another left when you reach full dirt road. Ample sites, some not the most ideal for RV/Van.
ScoutSome of the roads are sussy with 6 inch clearance but was able to park and there are tons of campsites in the woods within eye sight of the car
GuideReally easy to get to, up this lil windy residential road, go slow, that opens up into a huge public land past an open gate. Lots of paths from cars, just follow anyone you'd like and then pull over beside any ol bush. Don't run over any cactus.
Stayed for two nights and the sunsets were awesome. During the day it was very very windy but not too hot. Saw some wild horses the first morning but when I got too close one of them starting running toward me and I said hell no. Classic dispersed desert camping but with good service and close to Albuquerque.
TravelerPulled in right before sunset and only saw 2 other cars in the area. Watched a rainbow form over the Sandia Mtns and a herd of wild horses ran right through our campsite! Best night of my life!!
GuideI had some trouble finding the entrance, you have to get in from the southeast side of the neighborhood, @ Llano el Norte street, but other than that I’ve spoiled myself with finding such a great campsite so early on in my trip. Definitely windy.
ScoutWhile there were other campers nearby, it was quiet and a peaceful stay. It was a full moon and the campsite had that perfect desert backdrop that you’d expect. There was a nearby cell tower so the cell service was really good too. It is definitely a place we plan to come back to camp.
ScoutThis campground offered amazing views of the Sandia mountains and the surrounding area. We found a fire ring and plenty of level areas to set up camp in addition to large bushes to take shelter behind. Also plenty of wild horses roaming around, though we didn't ever see any at near our campsite.
Scout
So the road getting here is a bit of a long dirt road, somewhat washboarded by the big trucks that drive along it. The area is big and has a selection of camp sites / flat areas to choose from. The shooting sounds were indeed there, but didnt bother us much. Cattle grazing in the area sometimes. Overall not a bad place to camp. Nearby are also some hiking and biking trails.
TravelerCan make it up to camp with 2 wheel drive low clearance. Maybe some minor scraping as you leave/arrive over a bit of a rough ramp lip. Turn left at top of main entrance ramp to avoid worst road section which goes up to peak. Enough site separation I didn’t really hear others except when they were walking by on the road. Road makes a nice hike to the peak. There are large camp sites short walks from the road too, probably awesome for families with big tents, wouldn’t even see the road where passers by walk from some of those sites.
TravelerA good place to stay either one night or more. No facilities. Dry camping only. The sights are not well defined but there's enough clearings between the trees to make do. Cell service is wonderful because it's basically right below a giant cell tower on the mountain top. The road is mostly good till you get to the actual camping area. About 2-3 mph should get most rigs and cars over the ruts and rocks. I don't recommend coming in past sunset. You really want to see the oopsies on the road! Overall a nice free place to set up camp.
LegendThis would be an awesome camping area if it were not for the non stop shooting. Great scenery but annoyingly loud. Shooting noise started at the crack of dawn until sunset and it sounded like it was coming from all directions along with the ricochets. Shooters have left tons of shells and all the garbage they shoot at which is unacceptable and sad.
There are free roaming cattle in the area that can get quite close at times. They were not the slightest phased by the shooting just yards from them.
The dirt road from highway 550 is all washboard for miles and miles. You go through Zia Reservation land to get to this area so pay attention to the signs. You'll pass a couple of bike trail parking areas for White Ridge Bike Trails along the way which you can stay at if there is space otherwise leave it for the bikers. There is a large dumpster near the bike area as well.
Google maps shows areas further up the road. The GPS location for this site is right off the main dirt road but further in there are some nice spots but not advisable for low clearance vehicles.
There is no water and cell reception is spotty. Decent=Verizon AT&T=poor
Traveler
I like it. A bit less traveled than other nearby campground. Road almost more accessible to this camp ground for low clearance. Might scrape a bit going up final ramp to Cedro peak one, but not terribly either. Some local traffic passes through regularly, including an Amazon delivery van a day. To be honest I didn’t make it all the way in to the pin shown on the dyrt, had no issues anyway. Not even a ranger visit.
GuideHave to drive up the forest service road off the pavement. A little rough but I have a lifted outback no issues! Highly recommended.
ScoutWe camped here recently .We followed the road to the end of FS 542 .The road is a little washed out once you get to the end of the paved road and make a left . I didn’t make it all the way to the “primitive “ canpsite as my car bottomed out but there was room for a car and a tent at the junction .
GuideWe stayed here with our pull behind trailer and I do not recommend doing what we did. It’s very hard to get up to the actual spots. We actually almost got a ticket parking at one of the next to the road spots on the way in. The ranger said if it doesn’t have a metal ring, it’s not a legit spot and you can get ticketed. So keep going down the road, there will be one large spot to the left and a right turn to the others. The road through where the others are is VERY tight. You definitely need something high-clearance with 4x4 as there are large ruts on either side, potholes, and large rocks.
Plan to arrive well before dark, as it’s very hard to find the rings in the dark. There are small brown numbered signs but the spots kind of blend together in the dark, so I definitely advise arriving during the day.
There are bears, wolves, coyotes, rabbits, and some rodents in the area. It was down to freezing at night when we stayed so we didn’t encounter anything major. It can get very windy as well so watch out closely with your fire if you have one.
Elevation is about 7500 feet so if you’re from sea level like us, give yourself some time to acclimate before you go venturing on one of the many trails or canyon hikes nearby.
TravelerBeautiful scenery and quiet and private and peaceful, the bathroom buildings are bolted shut
TravelerI managed to get my van to the peak. It’s a little sketchy driving past the camp with huge ruts in the road but still drivable if you have the guts!
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Ponderosa, New Mexico, where you can immerse yourself in nature without the constraints of traditional campgrounds. With stunning landscapes and a variety of outdoor activities, this area is perfect for those seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Ponderosa, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Ponderosa, NM is Dispersed Camping off FS 542 with a 4.3-star rating from 23 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Ponderosa, NM?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 dispersed camping locations near Ponderosa, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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