Best Glamping near Sapello, NM

My husband had the great idea of tent camping just the two of us. Up to this point our tent camping adventures were reserved for grandbaby time. But I said What the hey! Let's do it. I wanted somewhere cooler than home. The Santa Fe area had plenty to keep us busy for the week.

We did not get a tent spot but opted for a small trailer site with electric and water. Our spot was near the bathhouse but not too close. Each site has native trees and plants, so everyone has privacy. The site had a nice flat spot for the tent, picnic table, fire pit and grill. We had more than enough room to set up our awning for a dining area. We loved our little spot for the week.

The bathhouse was clean and very nice. New tile and fixtures. It was a little small for the size of the campground.

They have plenty of activities there for everyone and in the evening it is very quiet.

It's a bit challenging to get to this campground coming from the southeast because GPS instructed to turn down a dirt road. Just continue on through town of Villanueva and at the fork in the road turn right to the park. The drive in has a steep hill and the lanes felt narrow, but doable in my rig (25' class C). There were larger rigs than mine in the park when I was there. Also, if you need cell service, Verizon was nil at the campsite. I had to walk up to the bath house to get a signal.

The park is nestled between 2 sandstone canyon walls and along side the Pecos River. It's a gem! The site I had was right on the river. The kiddos from a few sites down were wading into the river from this site. Could put in a kayak from here too.

The park has pull thru and back in sites, some with electricity and water, others just water. Also a tent area, playground, pit toilets and a bath house. The awesome park attendant, Gilbert, said that they will be upgrading all sites to electric soon. Fairly level sites. There's a dump on site, but it was closed during my stay.

Big old cottonwood trees provide shade and lots of birds visit the area. Hummingbirds galore!

Make sure to do the vista trail hike. It's moderate to challenging and the views are a treat! Also the river trail is an easy walk along the Pecos. 

Last but not least, check out the little village of Villanueva at the top of the "hill". Charming! The general store in town sells a delicious spice blend that is made with New Mexican hatch peppers. Try their nacho pie and enjoy!

The National Forest Service campground is located on highway 64 between Angel Fire and Taos New Mexico. The site is just a few feet off the highway next to a small creek. They have about a dozen small campsites along the creek with privacy between the sites. The sites are very basic and come equipped with fire pits and picnic tables. The location had availability during the summer peak season. The site is self serve pay and does not have a camp host. The location may be a good option for those looking to visit Taos which is about 30 minutes away. I gave this a low rating due to the condition of the sites which needed basic maintenance and cleanup. The site was also far to close to the highway to enjoy a good camping experience. I think this is the type of place you use as a last resort while in transit to Taos or Eagles nest.

We were very excited on our first night to settle into our campsite after a long day of adventuring. Just a short drive to the outskirts of Santa Fe in mountain country we found our campground, Rancheros de Santa Fe.

Upon entry the staff was very friendly and welcoming and we felt like this would be a great place to call home away from home.

The campsites were laid out well with room between campers and because it was the end of a weekend, they were not entirely at capacity which made for a pleasant sense of space in the great outdoors.

Our campsite was positioned in the "high road" tent site area which is a primitive campsite without additional amenities. Each campsite has a fire ring and also a picnic table for campers to utilize and a pad site for tents slightly raises from ground level.

It made for a beautiful night sleep under the chilly New Mexico skies.

By morning we ventured up to the public showers and restrooms which were clean and had amazon water pressure and hot water to set the morning in motion perfectly.

The facility also offers a pool and theater room during summer months so while we didn't get to take advantage we were excited to know upon return we would have these features available.

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Overall we give this campground a 4 of 5 Bunniea! The only things we noticed which kept it from a 5 were the lack of wifi reach in the back sections of the campground, wouldn't have been a big deal but cell service in the off grid location was also patchy so the wifi would have been handy. And the pad site was not designed for a tent quite our size. Our tent is a 12x8 and had a little side hang on on the 12 foot end.

We arrived on a Friday in late April around 5 pm without reservations hoping we could secure a site. The office closed at 3 pm but there were instructions on how to register after hours. We chose Site 19 (water and electric) but unfortunately, we could not take advantage of the electricity as our cord would not reach (had we not been instructed to drive in/back out, it might have worked). Had we known we could not access the electric, we would have selected the less expensive dry site. The roads in the RV park are gravel and some driveways are gravel while some have concrete pads. Our 18-foot campervan fit in Site 19 but there was not a lot of room left over. There was a picnic table and BBQ grill on a concrete pad to complete the site. There is some foliage to separate the sites but as would be expected in an RV park, the sites are close together. 

The restrooms/showers were clean, and the shower was nice and hot with a good spray. There is a separate code for the men’s and women’s restrooms, however, since we registered after hours, we had to search through all the materials to find the code. 

There is a somewhat dated playground and a dump station. This RV Park is located near the main highway but not directly on it; there was some road noise but not too much. We were within walking distance to Guadalajara Grill which had been recommended to us and we were not disappointed. It was a very quiet stay for us even as the park was about ¾ full.