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Room for Tent/RV - bathrooms are close by
Many people enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds and other campers. Dispersed camping is camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. It means no services; such as trash removal, and little or no facilities; such as tables, fire pits and toilets are provided.
There are extra responsibilities and skills that are necessary for dispersed camping. It is your responsibility to know these before you try this new experience. Camping rules and regulations apply to make your experience safe, and to keep the natural resources scenic and unspoiled for other campers.
**This road runs into Taos Pueblo land, please respect this and do not trespass on their land. **
The road is closed in the winter and is popular for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.
Summer and fall the road is open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, but is also open to vehicles. Expect to see motorized traffic. When it is closed for the winter it is a quiet place to cross-country ski or snowshoe.
The Orilla Verde Recreation Area is located within the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument and along the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. Nestled along the banks of the Rio Grande and within the steep-walled Rio Grande Gorge, the campgrounds in this area offer nearby access to the river. The elevation along the river is 6,100 feet and the steep canyon rises 800 feet from the river to the Gorge rim. Because of the dramatic changes in elevation and the diversity of plant life, Orilla Verde draws many species of animals, including raptors (such as eagles and hawks), songbirds, waterfowl, beaver, cougar, ringtail, mule deer, and more. The Rio Grande also has attracted humans since prehistoric times. Evidence of ancient peoples is found throughout the Recreation Area in the form of petroglyphs on the rocks and many other types of archaeological sites. The climate at Orilla Verde is semi-arid, with summer thunderstorms common in July and August, and snow possible from October through March. Summer temperatures range from 45 to 90 degrees, and winter temperatures range from -15 to 45 degrees
$5 - $15 / night
With two outstanding Wild and Scenic Rivers and three developed recreation areas, the BLM’s Taos Field Office is a great place to experience a whitewater rafting challenge; enjoy a breathtaking view of a river gorge; hike miles of developed trails; camp under the stars; view wildlife; or visit important prehistoric, historic, or active cultural sites. Come and explore over 594,000 acres of your public lands. The Field Office also administers over 4 million acres of Federal mineral estate.
Guide
There are so many campsites to choose from, all along the Hondo Rio. It's peaceful and quiet. We brought our four dogs and 13 year old. There's so much to do to keep them busy. The dogs love the river and to run through it. No one really bothers anyone. There are toilets at some of the sites. Very clean. We had storms while camping. At least six rock/mud slides on the road. I don't know who, but someone managed to clean it all up in record time. We've had a great time, even with the rain and hail. We will definitely come back.
Guide
Even with a couple and a new born up the hill I never heard them from our campervan! Serene surroundings and even and beautiful place to camp during a thunderstorm!
Traveler
I pull a small trailer and the road in was rough. I was concerned about being able to turn around. When I got to the spot where there are six or eight camping spots, finding one suitable for a trailer was difficult, but I did it. This is more suitable to car camping.
There is an open area that would be good for group camping. There are three or more RVs that appear to be permanent features. That was strange. Looked like fishing camps. I didn't want to drive the steep road down to this area.
Personally, I wish I had stopped a the forest service campsites up hill from this location, but if you are in a car and want to tent camp here, I don't see a problem,
Scout
The scenery was beautiful, but very windy at times. Also the person that stayed before me left a lot of trash in the fire pit, so we cleaned that up before the campfire. It’s also loud with the 18 wheelers driving down the main road. If you’re camping in a van or camper shell, it’s probably not a big deal. If you roof top tent camp or regular tent camping, it gets loud.
Traveler
Great site with shade and sun, water from creek, could possibly hold 3 med. Sized rv's. About 10 miles south of taos nm. And about 1 mile off pavement
Guide
We found this place randomly. Seen all the road exits of the Carson National Forest on our way to Taos we said “let’s give it a try!” And we found apparently a fairly popular place. It may be due to available internet connection (which we greatly enjoyed it after weeks!) or just a lower altitude spot that may help with physical activity and weather temps. At any rate, easy and short access to the camp sites via gravel sandy road, some with fire rings and camp tables, leveled grounds for trailers and lots of pine trees for privacy. There are signs for trailheads and pretty rock formations that will need to be explored next time. We stayed a night and enjoyed it to the fullest. Highly recommended, especially as nights get nice and chill (vs. hot day temps) for good sleep.
Guide
Tons of Boondocking spots.
Not ideal for long wheel base as it’s an out and back without turn around spots.
Best pull outs are to the left as the road forks after the cattle guard.
LegendClean washrooms. Cement picnic tables. About 4 nice camping sites around the lake. Quiet windy. The van is rocking around. Hold onto your car doors when you open them. Two bar LTE mobile service.
TravelerAs a dead end (there is the Taos ski resort up further, the best spots are before the ski resort) there wasn’t much traffic. One of the cleanest campsites off a road I’ve been to! Plenty of brush if you want to start a fire. There is no Verizon service.
TravelerI work seasonal(may-oct) jobs and found out about this site from freecampsites.net, i stayed here with a frequency (abiding to the rules but frequently). There are 4 places to park on the lower section and 3 on the upper section, most spots can fit multiple cars. A little stream is near by-- a little shallow and a little mucky on the bottom, but really refreshing. The stars are incredible, also some beautiful views of the mountains from the lower section. The road in is a bit sketchy at times, but as long as you are mindful of potholes you should be good-- my minivan made it with ease.
There are some family reunions which took place while i visited and they dont really follow the rules which sucks. One family had their stuff on the land for over a month i noticed, they had fires when not permitted, trash scattered, and they had atvs which would tear up the place a bit... other than that though this place is amazing and close enough to town if youre a seasonal worker and need a good home base. AT&T service was crap, i think one time i got 1 bar of service for a second but i bumped my phone and lost it.
Last thing i will say is be cognizant of fires and flooding, both can happen here! Happy camping folks :)
Scout
One thing is that you MUST approach from the west, you can’t get here coming from the east over John dun bridge. Dirt road but we did it with no problem with our 24ft trailer. Make sure you go all the way to the coordinates as there are a ton of great spots off to the left of the road, plenty of room to spread out and some solidly flat spots. Made a quick walk down to the springs in the evening and watched the stars come out. Awesome!!
Guide
There are a bunch of different roads you can turn off to camp on if you’re driving from Taos to Durango. We mapped Forest Road 578 and it took us to a dirt road with a lot of flat spots you can camp on. We spent the night there and it was very quiet and peaceful. If you keep going to Durango you’ll get to Carson National Forest, which is not too far from the coordinates on The Dyrt. That’s where more people are camping, you can pull off right before the 64H road marker. You’ll keep passing camping spots as you drive to Durango so you can really go almost anywhere!
Guide
Got there late so we just pulled into the first site we saw. Woke up to a little creek behind us. More people were camping on down the road. And had a few people show up in the morning to go on a walk.
TravelerRight off the road, literally. it hidden behind some trees so the barrier between the site and road makes for a little privacy. Great spot for a day or two right next to a creek so you fall asleep to the sound of it, not wasn’t a gentle creek, but lovely all the same. trees to put up a hammock. Fire pits but they were off limits do to fire season . Would definitely recommend .
Traveler
We stayed one night in Rio, bravo, Campground. This campground is not dispersed camping, because there is water and electric in some sites. There are a few sites where a 30 foot or larger rig will fit.
ScoutLed me to dirt, private road after 3 attempts! I don’t give up easily but 3 xxx you’re out! Bad gps guidance here and also another site as well! Will not continue with app, trial/pro or otherwise!
Guide
Highway 64 between Taos and Angel Fire > Turn onto Forest Rd 5 and go to end
Solid road, no issue with 25ft travel trailer.
There's a gravel cul-de-sac with a couple obvious places to camp. Also a couple two tracks roads continuing into the woods, but those weren't passable due to mud.
There's a few small ponds which appear to be the beginning of the Rio Fernando. I think there's some restoration work going on if I'm not mistaken.
I tried parking so that I was looking out at the clearing, but this made levelling my trailer pretty difficult. Probably would be easier to just keep in on the gravel.
I somehow had 5g reception here on Verizon, and Starlink also worked well.
RangerAs you can see in the pictures, camping is not allowed here. The icon of the tent with a red line going through it indicates that they would prefer if you do not camp in this place. The other signage indicates that this area is for launching your white water rafting craft if you have the necessary equipment and skills. This entry in the database was not vetted very carefully.
ScoutThe location on Dyrt maps is wrong, forest service is NW of 285 & 64. Beautiful dispersed camping spots plentiful. Park ranger Melissa was the top notch. Couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly. Definitely stay there again.
TravelerThis is a gorgeous campsite just north of Red River. While the drive up is laborious and on a rickety road, there were a dozen large RV’s waiting at the site which had no trouble getting in.
The site is stunning—verdant mountains, a babbling brook, unobstructed views of a lush valley. The trees are fantastic, and there are at least two excellent hiking trails.
Downside: when I camp, I want some degree of privacy and silence. This place feels like a tailgating party. At no point did I not hear a generator. Friendly people, but no different than a state park, save for fees and amenities.
TravelerA nice secluded little forest road. RVs will not make it, so it's nice and quiet.
AWD/4WD needed on the rutted rocky road.
Stayed one night and saw no one else.
Multiple pulloffs for unmarked campsites, but the one I picked was right off the road.
Cell service drops completely pretty soon after leaving the highway. I sporadically received some messages at my camp site but not reliably.
TravelerAll camping spots here are right off the roads where you can find one or two spots that are less close. Arroyo Seco is the town close to the camping, but you keep going straight from the coordinates to get to Cuchillo de Medio and Cuchillo. It’s not truly “dispersed” camping because there aren’t many sites and your pretty close to your neighbors. Cuchillo Del Medio does have some fire pits, picnic tables, and a bathroom. You do get to camp right on a clear river that is beautiful!
RangerA good dispersed campground with a few spots. Don’t drive to the John dun bridge from Taos use the longer route instead. The switch back road is blocked off now. If you make it up to the campsite it’s only a mile walk to the hot springs down below where the bridge is. You can go fishing over there as well as rock climbing.
ScoutMany open areas to camp right off the highway. The views of the mountains across the valley are best after the fork in the road. Please pick up extra trash if you use
RangerI tent-camped off of Carson NF Forest Service Road 578 in mid April 2022. FS 578 is south of Tres Piedras about 5 miles on the west side of Hwy 285. There are several dirt road turn offs but FS 578 is clearly marked with a brown NFS sign (see photo) and has no gate but there is a cattle guard/grate. Here is a NFS road use map that shows dispersed camping along FS 578 and many other NFS roads: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/mvum/Carson/CarsonTresPiedrasCanjilonElRito.pdf (see also screenshot). My Tacoma had no problem on the dirt road, which has ruts and might be tough for an RV. There were few clearings suitable for dispersed camping but I found a nice spot with a small fire circle in a small clearing on the south side of the road just past a fork in the road. I carried two black boulders over to serve as a table and chair. I didn’t see anyone else camping or driving by. The forest is a nice mix of sage, juniper, and pine trees. I saw two elk across a swath of sage. I could see the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the eastern horizon when I walked farther up the road. It got cold at night, like 27 F. It was a nice waypoint on my trip between Gunnison CO and El Paso TX but it didn’t look like many people camped there. I had intended to drive to Taos the next day on Hwy 64, but didn’t.
TravelerVan camped here for 2 nights. Showers still aren't working but otherwise it's a quiet spot next to the river with plenty of hiking nearby. Shout out to the friendly and helpful camp host
ScoutWe camped in Pilar CG with an RV. The RV sites are more private Than at Rio Bravo, but Rio Bravo is next to the river. We liked our location. The restrooms were immaculate and the camp host was very helpful. Great birding, stargazing and nice trails to hike. We enjoyed our stay.
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Ute Park, New Mexico, where nature lovers can find serene spots to unwind and explore. With a variety of locations offering unique experiences, campers can enjoy the great outdoors without the constraints of traditional campgrounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Ute Park, NM?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Ute Park, NM is Ponderosa Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 4 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 25 dispersed camping locations near Ute Park, NM, with real photos and reviews from campers.
