Best Campgrounds near Prewitt, NM

Reading through earlier reviews a few concerns jumped out: the road in is a decent gravel road, but side roads often require 4x4 and may not be suitable for trailers.  

The rough drive is intentional, to keep out too much traffic for Navajo who live nearby.  Please do remember you're on another people's homeland, and treat all interactions with respect, like a polite guest should. 

Most park staff are local hires from the Navajo Reservation, which surrounds the park.  They'll be some bilagaana (white) rangers too, most likely LEOs and any archeology staff.  The astro-archeology park staff talks by the telescope are well worth it, and show how the ruins line up with canyon walls and celestial phenomenon.  

Chaco is a dark skies park, so night sky gazing is fantastic on clear nights when the moon isn't shining. 

There are ruins right in the campground and you can hike to other ruins directly from camp as well.  I've found a bicycle the perfect way to get around as the whole park loop is too far to easily walk and traffic slow, with parking sometimes limited at peak times. 

Chaco is one of the few archeological parks where one can easily access amazing monumental architecture: in nearby Mesa Verde most sites are off limits or require ranger guided tours.  

For those who are interested in learning about Ancestral Puebloan cultures, this is literally a sacred site.  Indigenous people, the descendants of Chaco's creators, still live nearby and make use of Chaco today for ceremonies.  The place deserves respect from all who visit. 

Fall is the best time to visit, combining the golden cottonwoods and bright yellow Aspen foliage with cool nights for easier sleep and no bugs.  Spring works too, but can be windy, with winters being sometimes frigid and summers often broiling. 

Off season makes scoring a spot easier as well, and even winter will have reasonable camping temperatures some weeks.

We were happy to end up at this RV park, when we needed a place to figure out what to do after our tow vehicle broke down. We have been here for 5 nights and have been grateful for their help. The staff and the person who runs it have been immensely friendly and helpful. Kevin, the owner, even drove my husband to get a U-Haul and waited for him at the post office to get a part we needed delivered. He wouldn't take any money for the ride. Other staff helped us research options and were always courteous and friendly. In terms of the park, it is well run and has a walking path through a lava flow in the park. It has excellent bathrooms and showers, which are set up in separate rooms. Their wireless connection and speed were the best! They have the normal KOA set up with long leveled gravel drive throughs with hookups, cabins, tent sites, and some sites have small trees. They have dog areas and a small playground. They also have a store with souvenirs, local pottery, and essentials, and a reasonably priced coin-operated laundry. They provide free breakfast with pancakes and you can order dinner to be delivered to your site. Their brisket and ribs were delicious! It is a high desert location, with the corresponding vegetation in the surrounding areas. The mesas and the volcanos in the background were beautiful at sunset, along with the distinct lava rocks. We are the forest-campground type, but appreciated the conveniences of this excellent RV park. The only downside was that the water didn't taste great. Even as it got hot during the day, it cooled nicely at dusk and in the evenings. Overall, we highly recommend it!