Best Dispersed Camping near San Mateo, NM

This is a nice area with free dispersed camping. The road in is dirt and gravel and could easily get rutted out when rainy. There are several spots along the road the first being right after the cattle guard after the sign. There are more spots farther in when you get to the trees. Although the road does get worse the farther in you go. Near highway 40 but far enough away the noise doesn’t bother you.

Nice sites for an overnight stop over away from the noise and traffic of the interstate.

A little difficult to find but once we did we had a very peaceful night under a star filled sky. 

Keep free camping alive by keeping campsites litter free.

A little clean up goes along way.

We stopped here for the night and caught a nice sunset. The gate to dispersed camping is closed but we parked outside of the gate with no issues for the evening

The road is closed to 6 mile canyon and the dispersed camping there; I stayed outside the fence for the night and had no issues. You can hear the highway but its not a huge issue.

We just needed a place to spend the night and arrived late in the evening, so unfortunately we weren’t able to explore the area. We only drove about 1.5 miles passed the gates, but we saw several camp spots with fire rings. The road is grated and well maintained. We really weren’t sure what to expect, but this was such a beautiful spot we’re planing a trip back with friends so we can explore more.

Quick drive to this surprisingly secluded place to spend the night on our way through. Road situation is a little confusing—pin drops up to the left, but as we left in the morning we saw some folks who had taken the right side of the initial fork, so seems like both ways are an option. For the left side, the road to the dispersed sites is quite lopsided so I’d avoid it with a top heavy vehicle like our heavy ass van, Reggie. But otherwise great night spent here. The stars were bomb dot com.

We are doing a trip across the country, looking for cheap to free campsite and this one wast perfect. Right off the Interstate, the sign can be easily missed so keep an eye out. We drove 3 miles down a dirt road before picking our spot. You could easily park anywhere but they have some spots with fire-pits, there are no hook ups or water so be prepared.

We picked this free area for convenience (easy to get to from I40) and how it looked in photos.
What other reviews say about the start of the road being rough is correct. The wash areas are really poorly maintained. Once you get past this the road is pretty good.
We found a nice campsite and were able to get level in the pickup camper. Stayed two night and enjoyed the beauty.
Some complain about noise form I40, but if you come back into the area you can’t hear it.

While driving cross country, my friend and I were just looking for a place to camp for the night, relatively hassle free. We put “Six Mile rd” into our GPS and it took us to one of those dirt roads that runs right along the highway. We made the mistake of going in the dark, and we got lost and wound up in a residential neighborhood because we were convinced there was no way the campsites were out the highway rd. The road also said rd work, no access ahead, so we thought we couldn’t even get to it. When we made it, it was hard to tell if there were any campsites, as we didn’t see anyone else camping. We went up a steep hill and there was a huge washout and our car almost fell down nearly 10 feet. In the end, we just pulled off the road and parked for the night. The highway was visible and super loud all night long. My tip, DONT TRY TO FIND IT IN THE DARK!

The area is beautiful with a winding road that takes you farther if you want to go. I drove in about .25 mile and found a nice spot that others had used as a camp site.

The road getting to Six Mile Canyon is a little rough due to ruts, but we did fine in a Class C. Just went really slowly.

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.

Be careful taking the road past the parking lot! There is a deep mud pit on the right that looks just like normal dirt. When going in stay to the left, and when leaving stay right

GPS led me to the wrong location as I'm sure it did many - route yourself to Six Mile Canyon RD instead, it should take you to these coordinates:

Lat: 35.439524 Lon: -108.545567

You'll see the lot at first. I couldn't tell if there were campsites there or not (looked like they were at least walk ins, but it's so quiet I'm sure you could do whatever here).

I took the road back. I was skeptic because it looked real beat up and I'm driving a Kia Forte, but it took me back to a campsite when I took a right at the fork. It only took about 3 min to get there, no idea how far back you need to go if you take the left at the fork.

Overall they're quite sites tucked away. My site has a very primitive fire pit, not sure if it's like that at every site. It's also super buggy out here so make sure to bring spray!

Saw a lot of people saying it's right off the highway, it's maybe about 5/10 minutes back once you get the right exit, so not bad at all if you need a night to just crash.

This is just down the road from a pilot gas station so that aspect is nice.

Very rough road would suggest 4*4 or clearance for bad weather access. I had an awd car and made it but I didn't go more than a few miles past the actual start of camping areas for fear of being washed out. Not a lot of space from a spot to camp and the road. Also not a lot of spaces that have been " broken in". Has free roaming cows as well.

Again I would almost just stay at the gas station unless your vehicle is able to handle a rough road.

Also I have T-Mobile and had a hell of a time with reception you get it but not consistent or strong at all 1-2 bars.

This 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

Woke up by gunfire at 3am. We knew full well to expect some gunfire at dawn but 3am was a little too early. It was way to close to be comfortable. Additionally, the entire location was full of litter. It was quite shameful. Shotgun shells, bullet casings, beer bottles, cow feces... cows marched through our site at one point waking us up.

Went about 2 miles up the road to find the last good spot. Found a few sites off of the road before this but all occupied. We got a site for 2 RVs that protected us from an impending windstorm. Sites not very level but managed to get the RVs level enough. Thoroughly enjoyed the area. Biked 6 miles up the road. Had cell service (Verizon and T-mobile).

There were several spots. We did have to drive a couple miles to get away from other campers. Was perfectly fine after a day of cross country driving. Camped in a Jeep.

Nothing fancy. Close to I-40 but you can get far enough away to limit road noise. Road is good enough to drag a camper back. Sites are pretty decent sized. Good place to camp for the night of going climbing around Gallup.

Right off I-40, this little gem is tucked just to the side of the interstate. Gravel roads to get to the sites but we made it to a site with a little Honda Accord without issues. Open areas with a huge beautiful sky overhead.

I only stayed one night while passing through but it was very quiet. Some highway noise if you stay near the entrance but once you head back, it gets quiet. No services or amenities so pack in and pack out. There’s a gas station about 7 minutes away. Beautiful sunsets and plenty of coyotes howling in the early morning. Felt safe and would stay again!

We arrived after dark and didn’t have much trouble finding the site. The gate to the road was closed as others have said, but we just parked in front of the gate in the lot. The was one other van parked and we had no trouble in our 2WD minivan. It did look like you could follow the road up the hill to the left, but we didn’t. Noise from the highway was not a problem.

Great location close to flying J on the 40. Stopped for the night. 3 stars because the gate is closed and the wind. I would prefer to drive off into the yonder more. Photo of sign on other side of gate FYI. Other photo shows 40 in the distance. Two to three bars on Verizon.

Right off the 40. Gate was open and had a perfectly flat spot we pulled into at night so I didn’t unhitch my travel trailer. Stayed right next to the stable. Most of the area has swamp around it so watch where you’re going and watch the mosquitoes.

We tried to get down to it. Do not attempt after rain. People get stuck!!

Not able to access this site of ours trained in the last week. It's a 1 lane road to get to site. Just before the "T" there is an area when all the water goes thru. This is a sandy/dirt crossing and would be fine if no water. There had been some in the area and while it wasn't raining that day, there was 12"+ deep of mud to cross. Can't imagine the challenge of our was dry upon arriving and trained overnight! Take caution and watch the weather reports before attempting. We had to back up about 1/2 mile as there was no place to turn around.

Found a little spot right on the road on top of the hill. Great views but road noise. 4 bars lte on Verizon