Santa Fe National Forest is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Discover great camping spots near Santa Fe National Forest, reviewed by campers like you.
$71 - $91 / night
"Ratings for this category are based on: Value to cost: 4 Overall grounds: 4 Utility of sites (hookups, layout, accessibility): 4 Local Attraction Proximity: 5 Reservation Process/Ease of Getting a Site"
"Friendly staff, great campground setup. Very accomodating to travelers with dogs as they habe a dog walking path and dog park."
$20 / night
"When we got here, there was a QR code on the electrical box that took me to an online reservation site."
"This is a lovely paved lot with pull-through sites with electricity. Sure, you’ll need to level a bit, but it’s clean, safe, and easy to get into."
"Convenient bus service into a busy downtown Santa Fe was helpful as parking can be a problem. Restaurants are near-by and be sure to try Tortilla Flats."
"Laundry room and machines are excellent and CLEAN. Bathrooms too :) Bathrooms are really the most important. You absolutely must be here by 5pm as they close at 5:30pm. No kids."
"The sites long enough for big rigs. The owners are enhancing the sites with native plants. There is no bathhouse yet. The sunrise and sunsets were gorgeous!"
$43 - $65 / night
"The sites are reasonably level. Easy hook-ups. Verizon 5G service was okay but was enough for me to work remotely. Check in is super easy. The park is clean but a little overgrown in spots."
"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. "
$15 - $150 / night
"This small state park, located just 6 miles outside of downtown Santa Fe, might provide the least expensive lodging options for visiting this wonderful city."
"There are several loops in this park, in Ludington Black Canyon, the Main Park Loop, a couple Yurt loops, and the small loop we stayed on with RV electric hookups."
$40 / night
"Little RV Camp in town that has 16 full hookup back-in sites, most are already filled with long-term guests but there are a couple open for day of guests (at least when we were there)."
"This location is so prime for visiting all the sights in Taos, and there are many. The campground is compact but still, private."
"Much more vegetation than you would expect from a campground close to town. The staff are friendly. The facilities were clean. The park is older but in an charming New Mexico way."
$20 / night
"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!"
"Also very quiet and big beautiful views. Cell service wasn’t too bad either. We will definitely stay again. The power didn’t work in our site but we didn’t need it."
$42 - $75 / night
"It was easy to get around to the sites we had planned on visiting. The hosts were super nice and accomodating when we had a wifi issues, they got us up and running again quickly."
GuideRio Chama RV park in Chama, New Mexico, is at the intersection of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the upper Rio Chama. A nice place to stay May 1 thru mid October. The train passing by twice a day is an exciting event and it's a short walk to the train yard.
Pull through sites have great shade and full hookups with 30 or 50 amp electrical service. Spacious tent sites with full service restrooms nearby. Pet friendly with dog park and free wifi. A great place for fishing, train watching and relaxing.
LegendStopped by this KOA to see what it offered for possible future stays. It's a compact campground that provides pull through sites as well as back-in and tent sites. They offer everything from 50 amp electric to cable TV. Sites are clean and neat. There's a dog park for your pets. Bathrooms are clean with hot showers. They have cabins available as well.
Great location for exploring Sandra Fe, Bandelier, and other national monuments.
RangerWe stayed at the Buffalo Grove Site #66 for one night. If you have an RV/trailer, Buffalo Grove is the best loop as all have 30/50 Amp, city water hookup, covered table, lantern and paved sites. There are other loops in the campground that may have 50 amp and no water or 15/30 amp with water and gravel. The Juniper loop requires a 100ft hose for shared spigots.
Some sites in Buffalo Grove are drive through or back-in. Decent space between camps and some privacy but there’s not a lot of large shrubs, extremely scarce actually and no trees whatsoever making all sites at this campground super hot with full sun. We were praying for the rain to come. There are tent sites available but I can’t imagine withstanding this kind of heat in July. We hardly saw anyone hanging outside during the day.
According to their map, there should be a playground right behind our site but it is nonexistent and clearly has been for some time and they’ve never updated their maps for it. The check-in was quick and simple, they gave us a map to our site and they were very friendly! The bathroom and shower facility close to our campsite was very clean and showers are free. There’s working water fountains outside of the bathroom. There’s no sewer hookups but there are two dump stations with water near the campground host location just outside of the Buffalo grove loop. There are no stores or laundry facilities inside the campground however if you drive past this campground you’ll find a mini mart, gas station, and laundry place.
If you go down to the boat ramp there’s covered picnic tables right off the shoreline with a bathroom on the left and you can walk on the shoreline to the right and find several picnic tables with no shade. The fishing and swimming are down a different road and the swimming area is by far the most popular area. They don’t allow pets here (at swimming area, OK at campgrounds) and there was literally no one fishing (unless you’re on a boat)!
Alcohol is not permitted and currently there’s fire restrictions that are not allowing fires (wood or charcoal, but propane is fine) though there are no fire rings in the Buffalo Grove area, not sure if that’s the case for other loops.
Tent Rocks is about 5 minutes away but they are currently closed. The crest dam road is also currently closed at this time. Overall a great stay, we would come back - preferably in the spring!
GuideOld style city campground. Quaint adobe cabanas with picnic tables inside. Great location just off I25 corridor and less than 50 yard walk to a nice new brewery. There are a couple of long term residents, one of whom has completely packed the cabana with "stuff". Old restrooms, but adequate. Water and electric sites if you wish to pay for it. Dump station on site. Great view of Sandia peak and camp is situated right on the River. It even had water in it when we were there.
GuideWe stayed here for a week and a half in the middle of June 2019. We are a 30 ft travel trailer with a Ram 2500. I’d say between all three loops, there were probably 8-10 sites where we would fit. Some of those spots were taken when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, but we were able to snag spot#9 on the Abert’s Squirrel loop. It was one of the few pull through sites. Not the easiest site to navigate or level, but we made it work and had plenty of room to park the truck in front. The campground was a little tight for us so I’d think anything much bigger(40’ is probably pushing it) than us will have some trouble getting around. Some of sites were questionable as far as level as well. No hook-ups at any of the spots but there is a dump station near the entrance with potable water. There are also potable water spigots throughout the campground. Conveniently, there was a spigot right by us. Very easy to fill jugs. There are shower houses and toilets, but never went to see how nice they were. The campground was about half full most of the time we were there. Very quiet and everyone respected quiet hours. You pay for sites at a self-pay station with credit card only. We tried to book for 11 nights and it wouldn’t take it, so apparently the self-pay is only good for a charge less than$100. If you want to extend your stay, you can either wait until noon(some things said 11:00 so not sure which is correct) and pay at the kiosk(it must be completed after check-out) or you can write a note that you are extending and pay later. Sites are$12/night unless you have a national park senior or access pass then they are$6/night. It is$25 to enter the park(7-day pass), but we have the annual park pass. There is a camp host on Abert’s Squirrel loop, but we didn’t interact with them so can’t say how friendly they were. Our spot#9 was perfect for solar, no obstructions at all. Most of the other sites we saw at least had some potential for shade. The Coyote Loop seemed to have the most potential for shade; although, the other loops had shady spots as well. Even if you stay at the campground, Bandelier is only accessible by shuttle from 9am-3pm. However, there is a hiking trail that will take you from the campground to the ruins. We did that then hiked the trails down there. You can also hike back up to the campground, but we opted to take the shuttle instead. The last shuttle leaves the visitor center at 5pm. There are other things to do in the area as well. The towns, White Rock and Los Alamos, are nearby and both have services should you need them. The road up to the campground(Hwy 4) is bumpy! First paved road we have ever been on that was washboard. Nothing major, just annoying. The portion of the road to Los Alamos and Jemez Springs was nice. We figure the road damage is due to the shuttles. Weather is a bit unpredictable; rain clouds move in fast, but they move out fast too. We had several TV channels so were able to stay up to date with the weather. AT&T signal was not good with only 1 bar LTE without the booster and not much better with it. It was enough to WIFI call and do some light searching, but uploading photos was too slow. Verizon was good with about 2-3 4G LTE without the booster, and 4 bars with it. I was able to work remotely with the Verizon hotspot. Overall, it was a great place to stay and we would stay again.
RangerEnjoyed our stay in the campground in April of 2022. The campground has 52 sites in 3 loops-Abert's Squirrel and Black Bear are the first two and they're scattered about amongst Juniper and Pinyon Pines. The Coyote loop, where we stayed, is the last loop you'll encounter and it is forested by tall Ponderosa Pines.
While it has some sites that can accommodate them, it is generally not a campground for big rigs. The campground is a relatively short and steep drive from Frijoles Canyon where the Visitor Center and several trailheads are located. The Alcove House and the Upper Falls were some of our favorites.
The campground features potable water, flush toilets, cell service, a seasonal amphitheater, dump station, food lockers and is open year round.
RangerCamping in Santa Fe National Forest is great if you know what you're in for. There aren't a ton of amenities depending on where you camp and it's in high elevations so during winter months it can get FREEZING. We went in November and it got down to negative temperatures. Thankfully my wife's sleeping bag was rated for -20 but I was not that fortunate. So for sure if you're going in the winter then be prepared!
Other than this the views up in the mountains were amazing and each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and a location for a tent.
Definitely would recommend checking out!
LegendStopped on our way to Moab.
Needed an overnight stay and wanted hookups to dump and get some water.
Theresa’s worked for us. Theresa was really nice and we came in at dark.
$30 got us a pull through site with water sewer and 50 amp electric. 30 amp also available.
Spot was gravel/ground up asphalt, bit actually close to level.
It was chilly (low 30s) at night but water still turned on.
There is some highway noise but we got a good nights sleep.
LegendIf you have a big rig and need a place to stay while exploring Santa Fe and the many national monuments in the area, this is a great location! It's not much more than a gravel parking lot, but it can accommodate your large RV and extra vehicle. Try to get a spot as far from the highway as possible.
Owned by the pueblo, it provides large pull-through sites with 20/30/50A hookups, sewer and water, plus free wifi. There are shops and restaurants across the way.
Bandelier, Kasha-Katuwe, Pecos National Monuments are all nearby as is downtown Santa Fe.
RV camping near Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico offers a blend of scenic beauty and convenient amenities, making it an ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amenities are available at Santa Fe National Forest RV sites?
RV sites in Santa Fe National Forest typically offer basic amenities with few hookups. At Jemez Falls Campground, there are no hookup sites available and cellular connectivity is very limited (expect maybe one bar for texts). Most forest campgrounds provide picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets, but lack electrical, water, or sewer connections. For full-service options near the forest, Santa Fe KOA offers pull-through sites with 50-amp electric, cable TV, clean facilities, and a dog park. Theresa's RV Park provides affordable pull-through sites with water, sewer, and 30/50 amp electrical connections for $30.
Do I need reservations for RV camping in Santa Fe National Forest?
Reservations are highly recommended for RV camping in and around Santa Fe National Forest, especially during peak season (May through October). At Juniper Family Campground near Bandelier National Monument, RV-suitable sites are limited—only about 8-10 spots can accommodate 30-foot travel trailers, and these fill quickly, particularly on weekends. For more dependable access, Rio Chama Campground operates seasonally from May 1 through mid-October and requires reservations for its pull-through sites. Many forest campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-served basis, but arriving early is essential as suitable RV spots are limited due to size restrictions and lack of hookups.
Where are the best RV campgrounds in Santa Fe National Forest?
For RV camping in Santa Fe National Forest, Paliza Family Campground offers a serene experience in higher elevations, though prepare for limited amenities and potential cold temperatures in winter months. Just outside the forest, Cochiti Recreation Area is excellent for RVs, particularly the Buffalo Grove loop which features 30/50 amp electrical hookups, city water connections, covered tables, and paved sites. If you need full hookups while exploring the region, Roadrunner RV Park accommodates large rigs, though it's more of a well-located basecamp than a scenic destination.
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