The best camping near
Santa Fe National Forest, NEW MEXICO

The campground is open April 15-Oct 15

Spent 5 days at this RV park last fall. Parking area is all gravel. Got black ants in our 5th wheel. Did not discover them until we arrived at our next destination. Took several days to finally get rid of them. Will not return.

Spent 8 days in September 2019 in this nice campground. Clean and spacious. Sites are all asphalted. Fair AT&T cellular signal. Used this as a base to sightsee ABQ, SF, Tent Rocks, Bandalier etc. Very reasonably priced with Senior Pass.

To be honest, this isn't my style of camping, but if you're in an RV and looking for a base from which to explore the greater Albuquerque and Santa Fe area, you could do worse. Just off I-25 and located on a corner of the San Felipe Pueblo, there's not much here but the casino, gas station, restaurant, and travel shop! For $20 you get 20, 30 or 50A electric hookups with water and a dump station available. Clean bathroom facilities, including spacious showers, are available in the travel shop/gas station. Check in at the casino and they'll send someone out to meet you and get you set up. 

There are great places to explore in the vicinity, including Kasha Katuwe, Bandelier, and Pecos National Monuments to name just a few.

Small campground next to U.S. Highway 84. There are 9 campsites with 3 small pull-throughs. I have seen large RVs in the day use area, not sure if this is tolerated.  No services.  Great cell signal for me (t-Mobile) The views in all directions are amazing.  Very close to Ghost Ranch.  Usually very quiet and after dark barely any car traffic on 84.

This was a great location to explore the city and the staff was really nice.  The bathrooms are clean and the laundry facility is nice as well.  However, there really isn't anything super special about the park.  The sites are pretty close together, but this is to be expected if you want to stay close to a city.  If we were passing through we would definitely consider this park again for the convenience.  However, if you don't have errands or things you want to do in town I'm sure you could find more scenic spots outside of town.  Also, this isn't far from Meow Wolf - a super interesting experience!!

Campsites are small yet private due to the wonderful shrubbery and small trees. There is a great trail that winds through the back of the property. The bathrooms could use an upgrade, but after all, it is a campground. Pool in the summer and fire pits in the winter. I love this campground!

This is a great U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campground. Great level sites with water and 50amp power for RVs and water at tent sites. Clean restrooms with showers. No sewer hookups but dump stations. Stays are limited to14 days, RVspaces are $20 tent sites are $14, 50% discount if you have an Access pass. Fishing docks at the lake, boating (no wake) hiking trails and lots to see and do in the area.

This is a great U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campground. Great level sites with water and 50amp power for RVs and water at tent sites. Clean restrooms with showers. No sewer hookups but dump stations. Stays are limited to14 days, RVspaces are $20 tent sites are $14, 50% discount if you have an Access pass. Fishing docks at the lake, boating (no wake) hiking trails and lots to see and do in the area.

Campground Review: 

Imagine 1.25 Ma ago an eruption blew apart the landscape of Northern New Mexico that would rival the shear volume erupted by the world famous Yellowstone hotspot!  Jemez Falls and its namesake campground are the closest, largest, and most developed CG to the Valles Caldera proper and the entrance to the caldera's access roads.  The Jemez Falls CG is more developed than the nearby primitive (dispersed) sites that surround the flanks of the caldera proper, this CG offers 50 single sites and 2 double sites, $10 and $50 respectively.  Most of the sites can accommodate RVs and trailers up to 40' in length with good options for tent camping as well.  Each site has the usual metal fire ring, along with picnic tables and a paved driveway/parking area.  You can reserve sites from mid May through Mid September.

Even if you plan to stay here for a couple weeks (which is the limit) you'll have more than enough to keep you preoccupied!  If you want to drive around and hike or fish in the caldera proper then you will need to go to the Valles Caldera Visitors Center and buy a pass.  They typically cost $25 but when we visited during the International Balloon Fiesta the fee was waived.  If they are charging when you arrive, you can also use your National Parks Pass to get entrance.  Be sure to arrive early on the weekends as they restrict the # of permits they hand out.

Now with all this exposed rock you know there's going to be some amazing climbing!  All of the rock in the immediate area was created by the caldera and related volcanic and magmatic activity in the area in the past few million years.  This gives you the opportunity to climb on some "bulletproof" welded tuff (hardened volcanic ash) much like what exists at the world famous Smith Rock State Park in Oregon.  If you want to find out more about the interesting geology of the area you can look Here

Product Review:

Being a Ranger for the Dyrt allows us to test and review gear from time to time!  This time we got to test out the Men's Free Rein Jacket by Red Ledge.

Pros:

• First thing I want to say about this jacket is that it is super cheap for a rain jacket this rugged and with this many features!  It was only ~90$ after shipping and is comparable to some of my other jackets that were 2-3x as much! 
• I also really liked the mesh fabric on the inner portion of the breast pockets.  It added another dimension of breath ability to the jacket to prevent condensation from building up on the inside.  This was a nice addition to the gusseted armpits flaps to help air out.
• The last thing I really liked about this jacket was the amount of high-vis color options you had to choose from!  I went with the Hi-Vis Orange which is close to a hunters orange and came in very handy as there was active hunting while we were hiking in the Valles Caldera.

Cons:

• There were only a couple of things that we thought could have been improved.  The first was to have the armpit openings be meshed on the inside to prevent it from opening wide up.  We really liked that feature in the breast/side pockets and wished it had been incorporated into the armpits as well.
• The other thing was the inability to zip the jacket from the top or bottom, which would have allowed you to kind of blouse the bottom of the jacket.  

Score: 4/5

• While other jackets have more features, this is a great, durable rain jacket at a price point that is reasonable and affordable for most.  This was a great jacket to test and I anticipate using it for many more rainstorms and windy belays in the future.