Best Tent Camping near Socorro, NM

Recent Tent Reviews in Socorro

76 Reviews of 5 Socorro Campgrounds

• J

  Julie G.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 6, 2024

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  Quiet shady camp

  It was hot in the valley so we retreated to the nearest mountains. What a quiet little camp. No huge RV’s or anything. Our 6ft wide, 20ft long trailer seemed too big. Our spot accommodated us well. The trails are fabulous. There’s a Track Trail that just opened and a motorized track wheelchair making this park very accessible. Not very many electric sites but that was ok as the temps were cooler (60’s at night)

• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 6, 2024

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  Beautiful, Free, Quiet Camping near Bosque Del Apache

  Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is a bird nerd’s paradise during the winter.  Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes, and thousands of others congregate in this wetland wonderland. Here, the Rio Grande pauses on its long winding path to the Gulf of Mexico and allows these waterfowl and other migratory birds a place of rest and safety during their bi-annual migration. It’s an amazing place, but it does not allow camping within the park. 

  Just a few miles to the north of the visitor’s center, in the quaint hamlet of San Antonio, lies Riverine Park. Slightly difficult to find in the dark and with a steep entrance, the few campsite spots offer visitors a great place close to the National Wildlife Refuge for the night within striking distance of the dawn patrol show (when the flocks take off for the day). Dawn and dusk are something to behold, so get your cameras ready! 

  The campsites themselves are loosely defined, but a few actually have developed campfire pits and picnic tables. There are no toilets here, but there are lovely facilities in the park itself.  There’s not much room for a trailer longer than 20 feet, but feel free to give it a looksee before committing to the downhill entry point– which is short and steep.  With big cottonwood trees scattered throughout the area, we got some solar charging with our rooftop panels, but needed to move our portable solar panel around to collect a bit more.  Starlink worked well though!

  In addition to birdwatching there are numerous, unlabeled trails and access roads all along the river bank and the canal for walking, or biking. The opportunities can also be found within the wildlife refuge as well.  Nearby services can be found in San Antonio, Socorro, or Truth or Consequences, NM, with the latter being the biggest town within an hour’s drive.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 2, 2024

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  Free and easy

  We stayed here a few years ago and it was the same sad, uncared for park then as it is now. The grass is overgrown and the fire pits are broken, but it’s free, and right off the main road so it makes for a great place to stop for the night. Would definitely not recommend this place as a destination for a camping trip. 

  There are maybe 7 or 8 sites here, and a skoolie and a car camper were here when we arrived late afternoon, and a truck camper pulled in after us. The road down into the campground is steep and raggedy, but we did ok (i.e. didn’t scrape) in our 26ft class c. 

  Good cell service. You can hear road noise but it’s not too bad, it’s not too busy of a road. There are walking paths where you can walk to the river. Mosquitoes / other bugs not bad when we were there in early December. No trash bins and no bathrooms. Please pack out your waste! Park is pretty clean and free from trash, which is so nice to see.

• s

  stefani H.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 1, 2024

  Escondida Lake Park & Campground

  Nice little spot

  First night (Friday) was great. Quiet. Saturday was quiet as well. Not much to catch at the lake. 3pm someone rolls up next to us. Definitely in the wrong spot and he would have known that if he was aware of the “back in” policy. Gave the lake caretaker a call, no answer. No big deal they were quiet. Until 10pm. Loud music. Karaoke with children screaming into the mic with the already loud sound system. Tried calling the caretaker, no answer mailbox full. Didn’t want to bother the police department so decided to wait and see if one of the kids woke up and then I’d call, figuring then I’d be super late. The music stopped suddenly my guess is around 12-2am. I guessing someone called the police or got a hold of the caretaker. Will stay again, however the campsite needs to be checked on by the county imo. If this were to happen again, I’d call non-emergency PD to deal with it.

• M

  Moe F.

  Traveler

  

  May. 16, 2024

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  Beautiful!

  Remote, wooded, serene. Sites are gravel, but not very level. Each site has a picnic table, grill & fire pit. Some sites have power, but none have sewer or water hookups. There is a dump station & drinking water. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place.

• 

  Stuart O.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 23, 2024

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  Secluded and quiet

  Very nice campground, and only $18/night for water and electric.  Beautiful mountain setting with lots of pine trees and cool mornings.  Had hoped to do some road biking but the steep gravel proved intimidating for the less experienced in the group.

• L

  Lewis T.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 21, 2024

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  Very Easy Access from Paved Road

  Really a pretty cool spot that can be warmer than Albuquerque, and especially warmer than Santa Fe. 100% no fire, even smoking banned they claim. May help keep numbers low. Only person I saw appeared to be road construction exploring where the road went (think they were working on Rio grande bridge maybe). Lots and lots of space in the big trees by the river, but if you look in there at night with a flash light you may notice a lot of spider eyes shining back at you. I actually parked right by river, probably not exactly correct spot probably (would be very tight fit with trailer). No spider eyes. Plenty of room for car/truck to turn around. Probably stayed 3 nights total. The turn offs from the braised berm down to camp areas can be steep looking, just choose your angle wisely. The roads seem to loop back up to berm after winding through trees, some tighter areas to maneuver around for sure. I doubt anyone would give you trouble sleeping on the unpaved road itself opposite side of trees either. Very little traffic. Weekends may have some local traffic non overnight traffic too, fishing, skeet shooting, etc. Based on debris around river, and the most traffic I saw was on Sunday (2 -3 trucks at once rather than 1/48hours.

  I’d crash here again for the price.

• B

  Butch K.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 14, 2024

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  some of the sites are pretty cramped

  quiet. lots of trees, hard to find a spot for starlink

• A

  Agustin

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 11, 2024

  San Lorenzo Canyon

  San Lorenzo Canyon quiet

  I enjoy camping here very quiet and peaceful. No bathroom and water

• 

  Teresa T.

  Legend

  

  Nov. 4, 2023

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  Nice spots and very inexpensive

  We spent a Saturday night here in a spot without services and I suppose because it is late in the season, only a couple of other campers. Clean, well maintained, nice trails. I have good enough service I could stay and work for the week which is awesome.

• M

  Mary L.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 1, 2023

  Turner Inn & RV Park

  Friendly and nice

  Campsites are level full hook ups. Nice people they have Wi-Fi nice bathrooms there’s a really great grocery store downtown called the B St., Café. It was $36 if I paid cash and that was with a 10% discount

• 

  Dennis P.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 27, 2023

  Bear Trap Campground

  Burned!

  Th e area has been burned in the 2022 fires. The road was closed for a long time, and if it is open now, there will be floods in the burn scar. Check with the Forest Service for more info before you go. Mimbres Ranger District of the Gila National Forest.

• 

  Justin R.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 24, 2023

  Bianca Ranch Road - BLM dispersed

  Not great for camping

  Only did about 10 minutes of driving around. Several small spots a couple feet off the main road. Nothing that would support 30'+ trailers. It's open desert with low shrub. Seems to be a popular ATV road so expect lots of dust and noise. I would only camp here if I had an ATV with me.

• 

  Justin R.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 23, 2023

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  It's free

  Very tall weeds and lots of mosquitos. It is well protected from wind. It's free and a good place to crash overnight.

• 

  Jacob S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 11, 2023

  Red Canyon Campground

  Wildflowers and deer!

  We stayed in the camping area near the trailhead. Very green and lush with deer visiting our site at dusk!

• S

  Stevie S.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 10, 2023

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  High winds tough for tents

  Night one was decent, but the rest of the nights I had to hold the side of my tent up to keep it from collapsing despite multiple points staked to the ground. I’m happy I had strong stakes or the tent would’ve been gone. The wind comes in waves like hurricane bands. In one week we had the crazy wind every night, hail, and saw a dust twister at the base of the mountain. Lots of flies as well. At one point we had the back circle all to ourselves, but Friday large groups came out and were very loud until 1am. During the week everyone was quiet. The site layout was nice, private despite being close to the next site over. It’s pretty hot during the day and dips to the 40s at night. We liked the sound of the clicker bugs, they were pretty cool even though we never actually saw one. The trails are nice, vault toilet area is clean. The front office was closed our whole visit. I’d say it’s a cool place for a trailer or RV although the road is difficult in rain. Tents are fine, but be ready to move to the car for the wind or hail.

• C

  Carson

  Traveler

  

  May. 30, 2023

  Red Canyon Campground

  Come early

  I’ve been here a couple times. The site itself is in a really nice area with lots of pine trees and direct trail access. The only issue is it seems a lot of people who come here don’t know camp etiquette and leave the sites completely trashed. Fire pits buried and unusable, beer cans and trash everywhere. I’d recommend going before Memorial Day while the sites are still clean

• 

  Sam

  Scout

  

  May. 30, 2023

  Escondida Lake Park & Campground

  Harrassed and felt unsafe

  Stopped here as an in between on a road trip. We arrived just after dark and there was only one other truck with someone else tent canping on the other side of the camping area. We set up our tent and a little while later the people in the truck packed up and left. The site is near busy road and train tracks so it was pretty noisy but we went to sleep thinking everything was alright.

  Right around 3am a van with a search light came through revving its engine with a man (who sounded drunk) screaming security, to wake up and come out with our hands up. We stayed in the tent and after a few mins of this he drove away, although we could see him go to the other side of the park and could still hear him yelling. This freaked us out but we hoped it was just a one time thing and decided to stay until the sun rose. About an hour later a different truck, also with a search light, came through. This one just quietly circled around and promptly left but it was freaky nonetheless. We decided to pack up and leave even though it was 4am and while we were getting everything back in our vehicle another car came through and circled the lot as well. We got out as soon as we could because it felt very unsafe with the harassment and the amount of vehicles coming through for seemingly no reason.

  Aside from these occurrences the campground was okay. The bathrooms were gross with overflowing trash and the noisiness were not ideal.

  We stayed here because we didn't see any safe BLM camping nearby so we decided to spend a few dollars for an established area but were very disappointed by the harassment and fear we experienced. Would not recommend staying here

• 

  Greg R.

  Guide

  

  May. 27, 2023

  Manzano Mountains Camp

  Great spot to get away from the City

  This area is very wooded. Could get muddy when it rains. Lots of sites. Big rig friendly

• 

  Sara B.

  Ranger

  

  May. 13, 2023

  Manzano Mountains State Park Campground

  Quiet with big sites!

  Loved this campground! The drive in is beautiful and because it’s so remote, it is really quiet. The sites are pretty large and secluded. The trails around the campground are well maintained and easy enough for all levels. If we’re back in the area again, would definitely stay here.

• B

  Butch K.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 25, 2023

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  Not worth bringing an RV here

  Like the other two reviews noted, the maintenance has long been let go. One little dirt road runs on top of a long berm with the Rio Grande on the right to the east. There is another road that runs parallel and is at a lower level and right on the canal. The road by the canal has a sign that says the road is not maintained. The upper road doesn't have any signs because it's not maintained at all. There seem to be some clearings below the upper dirt road closer to the Rio Grande. I drove down 180 far enough to cross the Rio Grande. It looks like it was really full. This made me think the clearings on the riverbank could flood. Very disappointing so far but at least I haven't seen any other campers. I'll be gone in the morning

• 

  Kathryn R.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 3, 2023

  San Antonio Riverine Park

  Overgrown and alot of dead tree branches

  I would not recommend anyone with an rv or travel trailer to use this site. I was hopeful from the one picture that there would be some nice green trees which is hard to find in New Mexico. I arrived there's a steep decline to go into the park. There are a few big pot holes to be weary of. Most of the area looks to be overgrown and most of the trees look dead. I didn't see any budding in early spring and no signs of greenery. It was also very difficult to turn around. I ended up with a few scratches on the travel trailer.

• K

  Ken

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 28, 2023

  Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park

  Inexpensive full hook ups

  Campground has great  showers and restrooms. Very little shade. Great prices. Bird watchers area.

• J

  John R.

  Legend

  

  Mar. 4, 2023

  Kiva RV Park & Horse Motel

  Horse Motel

  Park is very nice. Spots are accessible and park is clean. Stables for horses with exercise area. A little bit noisy from interstate but not to bad.

• 

  Patrick B.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 16, 2022

  Water Canyon Campground

  Can't beat the price (for now)

  You don't often find free developed camping at the end of a paved road in New Mexico, but Water Canyon is one of those exceptions.  It seems to be one of those spots that people don't take the time to get off the highway to explore -- on a weekday in July there was only one other campsite occupied.

  There are about a dozen campsites, vault toilets, trash cans, a group campsite at the bottom of the hill and easy access to some great hiking trails, all about ten minutes outside of Socorro and an hour from Albuquerque.

  While the campground is free for now, I did see some notices posted about the Forest Service taking public comment on levying a $10 per night fee per site.

• 

  Berton M.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 11, 2022

  Escondida Lake Park & Campground

  Simple Campground Next to Train Tracks

  This is a basic campground located about a mile from I-25. The campground has the basics but that's it. It's a good place to stop while traveling thru New Mexico. There's a baseball field and a small lake adjacent to the campground. The trains do blow their whistle in this area. 

  Cell Coverage: Good

• 

  Greg R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 14, 2022

  Kiva RV Park & Horse Motel

  Hot weather, but great customer service.

  Nice area, clean, shade trees and the management works with you no matter what. Little noise from I25 but very pet friendly. Will be back.