Best Campgrounds near Raton, NM

There are reports of bears in the area (wildlife refuge). This is a great Boondocking spot, the ground is nice and level, there is a lake here but it appears to be fenced off. The view is breathtaking, the sounds of nature are all around you. I'll be coming back again for sure

Very peaceful, a little road noise during the day but not too bad. The owner really works to make you comfortable. We appreciated him.

We stayed overnight after hiking the Tolby Creek Loop nearby the campground.  Pleasant shady place with occasional highway noise.  No cell service.

We stayed at camp site #27, which was the biggest and spacesious site, 10/10 the weather was wonderful and if you camp during the week you can pick any spot you want! Caught plenty of trout and overall had a great time. Site #30 was probably the other best one as it was in the back and last camp site and right next to the water. Only downside to that one is father back to walk with camp gear.

Easy road in from I25. Basically a big level parking lot with sites on the outer loop that easily accommodate big rigs. One side has a view of the mountains. The other side has a view of the forest and creek. No power. No water hookups but there is a central spigot that can be used to refill. No black dump anywhere in the park. Good Verizon and T-Mobile signal. Cool weather even in July. Despite the negatives I loved the area. NOTE - most park trails are closed until the end of July due to calving season.

Easy easy in and easy out. Great spot to ride motorcycles out do not select sites near toilet.

We stayed here 1 night on our trip back to Texas from Colorado. 

Plenty of room for several rvs/vans  and tent campers.  Picnic tables and trash bins available.  No shade, no potable water, no electric, no sewer.  True boondocking site.  There are pit toilets at the entrance to the camping zone.   Roads are gravel and well maintained.  

Great site for a touch-n-go overnight stay while traveling.

Stayed: May 22, 2024 Cost: $18 Site: Lake Alice Loop - 01 Cell Service: None (AT&T and T-Mobile) Equipment: Tent

We stayed in the Lake Alice loop in Site 1. We tented, but it looks like they have it split between tents and RVs, and this was technically an RV site. It had water and electric, so that’s why we chose this site. Sites were nice and clean, with a fire ring and table. Close to neighbors.

Vault toilet in the loop and running water and showers located 1/2 mile from the Lake Alice loop. Showers were very nice for a campground. They were actual showers, not just concrete or dirty tile, and had plenty of room and hooks for clothing. Two showers per side for Men’s and Women’s.

No cell service for either of our carriers, and I don’t think for any, until about a mile beyond the shower house, prior to the entrance of the park.

Traveling from Denver to Southern New Mexico, this is a nice stopping point. Very easy to get to off I-25.

Pit toilets are very clean. Unfortunately the camper next to me had his generator running the whole time until 10 pm. Even when they left their camper for the day. Very annoying. Other than that it was a quiet campground. The campground is less than half full (Tuesday night). 

Note: The park office closed at 4. The sites are reservation only and there is no cell service. The sign at the gate states that you need to drive down the road to get cell service and make a reservation. Also the gate closes at dusk, so make sure you get there before then on your first night. After that you can get the combination to get in after dusk. 

The campground staff were very friendly and helpful.

Great location about half way between Albuquerque and Colorado Springs. I snuck in late one night and napped 2 hours near the pit toilets and left before daylight, so as not to disturb the campers with my brief stay. Pit toilets a plus of course. Can be frosty.

We booked a view site at this campground after reading about the incredible views but unfortunately, when we arrived, it was completely socked in, and we could not see a thing! Views the next morning were much better but although we had a view of the mountains, we also had a view of Highway 25 (and could hear highway noise). It was considered spring slow and there were only two other campers there besides us (and I believe one of them was the workamper), so it was quiet. In high season, however, there is no separation/privacy between sites. All sites are gravel, and each site has a picnic table. 

The office was closed (as was the café) but we received a text message the morning of our arrival confirming our stay (it was pre-paid) and giving us directions to the campground, the bathhouse code, and the WiFi code. The bath/shower house was very clean and there was laundry available for a very reasonable price of $1 for the washer and $ 1 for the dryer. The showers looked very clean as well but did not use them as it was below freezing during our stay (late April). 

Sorry to be the one to harsh the mellow of all the five-star reviews but for us, even though our stay was quiet and uneventful (and the amenities were clean), the proximity to the highway and closeness of the sites are generally not our preferred type of camping.

This place sits upon a mountain and overlooks such a beautiful view! The staff are wonderful and make you feel welcome. The only thing that would’ve made the stay better, is if the spots were further apart. It was very busy so everyone was parked right up against one another. It’s a small place so it makes sense why it had to be that way, but still a great spot to spend a night or two!

Clean bathrooms, coin operated showers, spots a little closer than I'd like but not close to full when we visited. Good easy hike/strolls in the area with views of the lake.

Camped in a small RV in site 13 which had a fairly level gravel pad. There was a tent site, but it looked to have been washed away. This site had great views of the mountain and lake. Enjoyed the short hike on Levsa - a one mile loop with up high views of Lake Trinidad. The Carpios trail was steep and rocky. Didn't have time for the 3 other trails. Showers and Laundry nice. Saw some deer and a wild hare. Somewhat nearby is Capulin Volcano National Monument. Highly recommended.

Multiple camping sites, RV, friendly, no hook ups, but easy to access. Fresh water from the reservoir. Excessive trails for hiking the mountain sheep love to hang around this reservoir.

Small campground near CO border. Perks would be lake at top of mountain, 5-7 min drive from CG and showers, at entrance to park. Downfall is you need to drive to everything unless you want to walk along trails on the other side of road. Trails in park were nice - t-mobile service did not work at all, zero bars. Bear boxes provided, deer walked through campground often. I did see bear tracks while hiking but host said they’ve never been a human issue.

Nice state park tucked into a valley. We were in the last part of Soda Pocket loop. Great views of area but it does catch the wind! Vault toilets were super clean and not smelly. Very dark at night so great for star viewing.

Capulin RV Park is a pretty nice private RV park across the highway from the Capulin Volcano National Monument entrance road. We stayed one night. Some of the sites are shady. The park streets and sites are crushed limestone. The park was clean and quiet. The sites are very close together; fortunately, it was not full and we had room. Restrooms and showers were clean (did not use shower). Amenities include: common fire ring with seating and view of volcano, swing with view of volcano.

Stayed in pull-thru campsite #25 which had evening shade and level. It was a crushed limestone site. There was barely enough parking for my 34 ft TT. Neighbors are VERY close. Utilities: 20/30/50A electric in middle of site. Water in middle of site, good pressure. Sewer in middle of site with 4-in screw-on fitting.

AT&T had two bars of LTE service. AT&T Speedtest: 36.6 Mbps down, 7.5 Mbps up. Free WiFi is available, but did not use it.

The town of Capulin, NM is very small. The closest restaurant is The Sierra Grande Restaurant in Des Moines, NM, which is open year round for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Other restaurants and fast food are available in Raton and Clayton.

Would stay here again.

Campground is very scenic and the river is directly behind us so you can hear that babbling brook sound - I love that! Our site is a bit small for our camper (25 ft) but we made it work. No hookups and no water but we have solar. It’s been 80s in the day and 50s at night which is amazing. I have one bar with T-mobile cell phone so I can text and get a little internet - enough to stay connected with the world. Great campsite!!

First off - we tent camped in this RV heavy campground. sites were a little too close for comfort. Coin-operated showers were nice but got dirty and gross quickly. Not far from town, and lake has lots of fun opportunities.

This State Park is beautiful, with hiking/fishing/historic walks galore. We arrived late on Friday, June 23 after a 10 hour drive from Arkansas. We were in Site #23 in the Soda Pocket Campground.  Every site had a covered picnic table and was relatively level.

Sites 20-23 have spectacular views of the canyon, but you trade that for some serious wind and neighbors as there is no natural shade.  Sites 1, 3, 14 and 16 have shade and a little more distance.  Bathrooms were in great shape, and there is a free shower near the park entrance which had good water pressure and was very clean.

The visitor center is small but with a lot of good exhibits, and adjacent to the hiking trails of the abandoned coal camp and mine.  The coal camp trails have lots of informative stands explaining what everything was, how the people lived, etc.  The two lakes (Lake Alice is more like a pond) have nice walking paths. There is another lake just across the Colorado border and you can drive to the parking area just a mile or so away.

There are numerous nature hikes, and I did the short (.5) miles Vista Grande Nature Trail which has a beautiful bench for a sunrise view.  Uphill some but not too strenuous and with lots of information.

A really beautiful hike is the Little Horse Mesa Trail which takes you to the top of the mesa you can see to the north of Soda Pocket Campground.  It meanders a bit but at some point the trail builder said "I've given you all the switchbacks I can, you'll just have to go straight up" and the last 50 yards are pretty much straight uphill.  When you get to the top though it's like another world.  It's a pasture like setting with trees, and beautiful views from a trail that follows the cliffs. You'll have to make your own way over to the Lake Maloya overlook but it's well worth it.  Highly recommend this.

The camp hosts and visitor center people were great, and the ranger came by one night and showed a group of kids a mountain lion pelt and a bear pelt. There was a report of bears on the road up to Soda Pocket Campground but we did not see any.  The road was a typical dirt road, and not in bad shape at all.

I'm not a fisherman, but could easily spend two full days here hiking alone, much less fishing or kayaking Lake Maloya.