Best Glamping near Truth or Consequences, NM

This campground is not far from I-25, not far from Truth or Consequences, with easy access on paved roads. There is a dump and water fill station as well as sites with electric and water, fire pits, a grill, and a pavillion with half walls for shade and privacy. Dispersed camping is available down by the lake near the boat ramp. Cell coverage is iffy, at best. Comfort Stations are clean, toilets have running water. There is only cold water at sink, and sporadic warm but mostly cold water in showers. There are no surfaces to set things down on. Only very few hooks in shower and toilet stalls. Waking up with calls from the cranes across the lake made my day happy! You’ll enjoy the sounds of night creatures, although the noise from I-25, depending on the direction of the wind, can be deafening, especially if you are in a tent. Bring ear plugs! Sunsets are breathtaking! If it were warmer I’d love to go out on my paddle board. I’d come back to this campground again and again!

nice area, near Truth or Consequences. we camped with water and electric for a few days then parked down on the lake and primitive camped for a few more...fire pits, grills, covered picnic tables..clean bathrooms..

Situated on the edge of a sprawling reservoir along the Rio Grande river, this park is the perfect place to enjoy the vast landscape of the area. The nearby town of Truth or Consequences, NM is small, but has all the services you might need for food, gas, supplies, or soaking in hot springs. 

The campground is well spaced out, each spot has a picnic table with shade/rain structure (I’ll let you guess which purpose gets more use) and nearly all have electricity and water. That means NO generators! The bath house is clean and offers flush toilets, running sinks and warm showers. All sites are reservation only, but you can do that when you get there as there is plenty of LTE cell service.  We've never seen this place crowded in the winter months.  For what you get at this campground, it’s a bargain at twice the price. 

The campground is ideal for solar power, as is the New Mexico weather. We also had no problem connecting with Starlink.  Hiking, mountain biking, boating, fishing and all other sorts of desert recreation is available right from the campground.  Definitely worth the visit!

When we first arrived, we were surprised by the size of this park. The signage could be improved to help direct first timers, but once here you'll soon learn the layout of the park. We stayed on Lower Ridge Road, site 2. It was a nice sandy spot, with ample room to park our 34' travel trailer. All sites have a picnic table, shelter, and fire pit. Our site also had electric and water. The public restroom was conveniently located nearby. Full signal for Verizon. It's on our list to return! 

Be sure to visit Truth or Consequences, NM while here.

South Monticello Campground is part of Elephant Butte State Park. It is very quiet compared to Lions Beach and definitely the rowdy beach camping further South on the lake.

Unfortunately because the lake is so low the boat ramp is out of the water and only the Rio Grande River runs through there. Keeps the crowds down!

There’s a great trail that wonders from the campground 11 miles south. We rode our bicycles and most of the trail was well maintained but there can be spots where flooding cause sandy spots and can be difficult to ride through. Perfect for an adventure walking or running. Photo of the map on review.

We were there in October and many flocks of Sandhill cranes fly over and sometimes land in the valley below near the river.

The shelters are great with large smooth concrete bases and nice big tables. The sites are raked in a fun Fen Shui pattern by the Camphost.

The spaces are spread out along several loops along the edge of the mesas over looking the valley to the Rio and Elephant Butte lake. Water and electric hook ups!

It’s 9 miles to Elephant Butte for gas, a dollar store and several decent “eats”. A golf course in town that looks nice but we don’t golf so no review on that.

Another 5 to the town of Truth or Consequences for WalMart, Sonic, McDonalds, Denny’s, etc! T or C is know for its hots springs and Ted Turner owns Sierra Grande a motel and spa. I’ve heard some rooms have hot springs tubs in the room!

Would have loved to stay longer but the park has a 14 day limit!

General: There are many different camping options at this state park from dispersed (especially on the beach) to those with electric/water hookups. We stayed in the Lions Beach campground with the w/e hookups. 

Site Quality: Lions Beach is laid out much like an RV park with little to no separation between sites. Each site has a fire ring, and covered picnic table in addition to the hookups. The driveway was paved and level. 

Bath/Shower: Only vault toilets close to the Lions Beach campground. They are ADA accessible complete with a ramp but although clean, there was no hand sanitizer in any of them. The only restrooms with running water, flush toilets, and showers are located about a mile from Lions Beach and IMO, not adequate for the crowds this park attracts, especially on the weekends. The showers looked sketchy, and I decided not to use them. 

Activities: If you like to fish or have a boat, this is the place for you! There is a marina. Some hiking trails. We enjoyed Riverbed Hot Springs a few miles down the road in Truth or Consequences. We don’t have a boat or fish so although we stayed for two nights, we chose this campground because it was on our route. 

Because dispersed camping on the beach is allowed, it is very popular, especially on the weekends but be warned the sand is soft and deep – I’m not sure how vehicles without 4-wheel drive can navigate it without getting stuck. We were told there were wall-to-wall RVs on the beach on the weekend before our arrival (third weekend in April) so thankfully we were not there on a weekend! If we were to return, we would select the sites overlooking the lake on Ridge Road with no hookups but generally, not our preferred camping vibe but for others, it might be different.

This very popular state park, on the edge of the Elephant Butte reservoir, is a great wintertime get away. We spent the winter solstice here and woke up at sunrise to see the moon setting in the west and the sun rising in the east. Spectacular!

The campground offers many reservable spots, as well as first-come, first-served sites. Each site has water, electric, picnic table (with sunshade) and a fire ring. The bathrooms are either vault toilets or full service with showers. There are no trees for privacy, but the sites are nicely spaced apart so you don't feel like you are on top of your neighbors.

Now, we don’t normally get critical of other reviews on this site. But some were very negative about the bathrooms, and we simply cannot understand why. The bathrooms were heated, the toilets were clean, as were the showers. The water was warm! Yes, these showers are the push-button type which only gives you a minute or so of water before you push it again. However, the showers were free with the campsite, which only costs $14 (2018) and is in the desert! Water is a precious resource here, so you can’t get your nose out of joint over decisions made by management to limit water consumption when you’re only paying this little.

During the summer months when the reservoir is up to recreational levels, boating and fishing are the most popular activities. Judging by the size of the boat-launch parking lot, you’re going to have to get up early in the morning to grab a spot. There is a great hiking and mountain biking trail right out of the campground which winds between all the other park roads, picnic areas and amenities on the western side of the lake. The trail is relatively new and in most areas is graveled. However, rainstorms have washed a lot of sand across the trail in areas and it can be pretty soft. Further south along the trail we encountered many more arroyos which upped the challenge. The nice thing is that you can always hop back on the pavement to return to the campground.

The town of Elephant Butte is nearby which offers a few restaurants, a general store, and gas. But just 15 miles south is the larger town of Truth or Consequences (interesting story about the name). This town has everything you might need, grocery, gas, food and other lodging....and hot springs! Check out our blog for more details about the latter.

Convenient spot when driving south in New Mexico. Nice campground. The water level on the lake was pretty low. There is some good hiking nearby and also a bike trail that goes around the lake which is quite long. We were there early in the season so there was a lot of accessibility for campsites.

A little confusion at the park enterance sent us to the incorrect loop, discovered shortly after we were in place. But camp host made a few calls and as it worked out we were able to remain in location. The helpfulness of each person along the way made this an excellent spot. We used this as a base to explore south central New Mexico.

Nice area, and probably one of the best areas in central New Mexico. I however prefer the areas more to the north of the state. This campground is clean, cheap and right on the lake. The amount of people varies. Good place to chill or swim. There is a place to launch boats as well, but the lake itself isn't all that big. I've seen people dish there before, but never seen anyone catch anything. Isn't too much to do around the area, and basically would just make a nice weekend trip if you were in that area.

We stayed there for three nights. A very short drive to Elephant Butte State Park. Site was pretty level, very quiet and peaceful. Staff was very easy to get a hold of during business hours. Security patrols the park regularly.

We just picked a random spot next to the lake to camp and fish was a great time. Watch for snakes

The campsites and facilities were excellent. Wildlife: Qual, Dove, Lizards, Rabbits, Deer and more. The lake front was crowded with campers and people. Water was clear and cool with lots of carp. Didn’t get to do much other fishing.

We stayed here twice. Once in April, Loop C lot 88 and once in May, Lower ridge Lot 2. April was more pleasant due to the cooler weather. Lake has been low for a while, but it's still very pretty. It's hard to give NM State parks a bad review. They have some of the best and they're only $14 for water, electric, pavilion, firepit & wifi. Lot 88 we got better wifi and lot 2 was more secluded. We were there during a fire ban, which I think they have most of the time, but fires were not allowed. You could have a propane portable fire pit, but you have to be within 30 feet of water, which was not a problem with the RV sites. Bathrooms were clean. However the dump station and bathroom near lot 88 was closed. Dump station in Quail Run was open for use but that bathroom was a hike. This SP will always be our go to, when driving through NM.

Site is typical for state campground, well maintained, clean with water, electricity, RV dump, and showers (had hot water!). Sites are fairly level on asphalt pads. Childrens' playground on site. The lake is very low during my visit but still had some boating going on. Nice trails adjacent to campgrounds. Great reception for Mint. Internet is available for $8/day. Fair connection, I was able to watch movies and football without too much buffering.

I stayed at the Desert Cove campground. It was quiet and well maintained. Stayed a couple of nights on long trip to rest up. I would stay here a again. 

Note: Seems every park is going the way of private booking for reservations and NM is no different. Had to book on line or phone. Used both methods and was fairly easy.

Pretty lake but too busy. Went on a what we thought was a slow weekend and campers/tents were side by side at the shore line all the way around the lake. It's also surrounded by soft sand which a poop ton of people get stuck in if you don't have the right vehicle.

The lake is way down but the entire park is well maintained. Campsites are level and clean. Shower house at Lions loop is closed as is the dump station but the rr and dump at the cove area is very close

Great visit, excellent sites.

Pets are allowed, everyone is friendly. I work on the road, so internet is important to me. Great Verizon and AT&T coverage. I love walking on the beach here. One loop is getting a new bathroom, so doesn't have one right now