Best Tent Camping near Quemado, NM

There are 5 camping areas within this campground. We stayed in the 4th area and were the only campers. This area had two sites that could accommodate a travel trailer or motorhome. There are also two tent camping sites within this area. There is a toilet which was clean but not well stocked. Make sure to bring toilet paper. There is a dump and water station a mile away. 5.00 charge to dump. Quemado Lake is a short drive down the mountain. Several hiking trails in the area.

El Morro National Monument is located on an ancient east-west trail in western New Mexico. The main feature of this National Monument is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base.

We only hiked the Inscription Rock Loop but were impressed with the way the park integrated features like water channels into the land using natural elements. Everything was organized and impressive.

This campsite in Pie Town New Mexico is just on the south side of the Hwy near the volunteer fire department. There are plenty of spots. I did notice a bathroom and a place for water but personally didn't check them as I was in need of nothing. I would definitely recommend this location for a quick overnight stay. There was also a playground across the road that the kidos could use to burn of some energy. Good cell service.

Pulled into Quemado lake area around 730pm. Beautiful, peaceful, you could hear the birds from across the lake. Minutes later, myself and my dog were in the campground. Several spots to choose from. There was snow on the ground since it had snowed recently. We pulled into a pull thru spot. There were two other units camping in the area. It was peaceful, quiet, spacious, and an amazing trail that lead from the grounds to the lake. Highly recommend the area and look forward to coming back to this spot to kayak in the summer!!!

Love this site. We end up here a few times a year. This was a special occasion to celebrate life and enjoy family. It was spring break and we drove through a blizzard to find ourselves under clear skies at Quemado Lake. El Caso camp ground is a few miles into the canyon. The camp sites are spread out well, and the roads and trails are solid. The weather caught up to us and we had about four to five inches of snow fall on us overnight. It was beautiful. The slash-pit had plenty of wood to burn, and we were the only fools in the snow and on the lake. It was perfect.

El Morro National Monument features some amazing petroglyphs and the remains of a pueblo, offering fun hikes. Nearby is a free campground, first-come, first-served. There's water available except in winter (and then you can fill containers at the visitor's center) and vault toilets.

Sites offer picnic tables, fire rings, and tent pads. Some, because of their set-up, are better suited to tents than RVs, but because you can't reserve in advance, you'll get to choose what works best for you...assuming there's vacancy. In December it was cold and largely unoccupied, but in warmer months I'm guessing it fills quickly. Sit 5 is handicap accessible and located across from the bathroom.

This is just a picnic area, if you have a small tent you can make it work for just a night, one plus is you can hike the South Narrows trail!

Stayed here after visiting bandera volcano and ice caves... about an hour away. The campground was very clean and well maintained. Fire ring, pad for a tent and a picnic bench were at each site. Bathroom was very clean. Water was also available. Awesome night sky and very quiet. Small campground with 9 sites. I didn’t visit the monument but loved the area and campsite. I would definitely stay here again.

Camping here was free when we went, you just had to reserve a site using a little tag. We stayed for 2 nights. There were toilets and running water, so we filled up our 5 gallon jug. It was great to stay for free in the NP so we could spend the whole day at the park. There were picnic tables and tons of trees for shade and hammocks. There were also tent pads. When we were there (May) there were tons of open sites, I think we were 1 of 4 people staying there. Nice and quiet!

We stayed here in February on our drive from St. Louis to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful and FREE! It was also extremely cold in February, like my water bottle froze overnight. The campsites are nice and spacious and pretty flat. They each have a tent pad and picnic table. It was quiet at night and you could see a lot of stars. The vault toilets were clean and had TP. The next morning we did the hike around the monument and it was well worth it! There is a staffed visitor center/gift shop with good info.

We stopped here for a night on a week long NM road trip - probably not a destination in itself for us, but the campground had the amenities we were looking for and there was only one other group at the entire campground on a weeknight in late September. 

No views of the water or hookups here, but a variety of spots to pull or back into, clean restrooms, campfire rings, and a friendly host. There was trash service. Think it was around $12 a night.

We used this as a launching spot for some stand-up paddle boarding on the lake. We camped further up the road at El Caso (see my review!). Because we were camped further away this day use parking area was just what we needed and it served it's purpose well.

The site has good bathrooms and a paved path heading one direction and a dirt path the other - or you can head straight through the grass out to the water's edge - which is what we did. If we had it to do over again we would use the the actual boat launch because the swampy edge was tough on the little one (3 yr old).

TIP - if you are fishing it seems like the way to do it it is to park on the road between this spot and the boat launch area and head straight down to the water- that's what the locals were doing anyway.

Stayed here during 4th of July stayed in the group site . It’s a large area with water and a lot of parking. It has a large shade with several picnic tables and a fire ring. The down side it’s a ways from the lake at the top of the hill. Lots of things for kids to do here, this is a great area to take your family.

Quiet, only campers here on a Saturday. Tall trees, crisp fresh air. Would have stayed longer but needed to do research so need cell service. Got a little signal with a booster. If you need to disconnect this is the place.

Jackson Park is a free campground provided by Pie Town NM, just south of US 60. Elevation is 7,786'. I am here at the beginning of May and it's 80 degrees. No water, garbage or dumpsite available and a vault toilet has been trashed. Drive past the campground sign and you can find many places to camp. It's dusty and a little noise from the highway, other than that is private and quiet. Less than 5 minutes walking distance to eat pie. Pack it in and pack it out. Let's not lose this free campsite.

Pie Town is noted for pies. Check out the restaurants right on US 60.

Stayed here one night. Only saw one other person out here. It’s the middle of June, so I think all of the NOBO CDT hikers have come and gone. It’s close to the not-very-busy highway. Easily accessible when dry, almost certainly would require AWD/4WD if muddy.

Great free camping. No problems getting our 31 foot trailer in there. We took the road going in on the right. Plenty of places to set up. It was dry with soft sand. I used 4wheel drive just as a precaution.