Best Glamping near Ute Park, NM

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.

This will be a lengthy review but I need people to know not to book, especially site 11. 

I’ll start by saying I don’t normally stay at developed camp sites so maybe all my issues are typical and I’m just ignorant. That being said, camp site 11 is an unfortunate little piece of land. It is unusably small (maybe 25sq ft of barely usable space)  and bordered by a mountain, the road, spot 10’s driveway, and trees. The picnic table and fire pit are centered in a way that left very little room for our 2 tents on rocky uneven ground. My tent was forced to be less than 3 feet from driveway 10. Our other tent had to be so close to the fire pit that it would have caught fire if the pit was used. It also is a waterway for all the road water and mountain side so a small river formed through our space (hitting both tents) when it rained. All this on top of the fact that every other spot around us was so plentiful (4 to 5 times our size) in space it almost made our spot seem like a cruel joke. It should cost 1/4 of the price of the rest and should be for small RV or day picnics only.

Now the camp area as a whole is well maintained and the vaulted toilets smelled surprising decent the entire 4 day stay. The mountains are beautiful as mountains tend to be. The hiking is great and there is an awesome stream that rolls through the campground in certain areas. There is constant highway noise so be aware of that, though the spots further in or near the stream probably don’t deal with it. A lot of the sites are packed close and  you can easily hear many conversations at normal talking volumes. 

The camp staff guy (Bill?) was friendly at first but that changed rapidly after the first night. There was a no wood fire restriction at the time of our stay despite days of rain and rain every day so we used only our propane stove the entire time. This didn’t stop Bill from calling the fire department on us the first night because he “thought we had a wood fire”. We didn’t. 

Now this second part I’ll admit was on us but was handled poorly. I didn't know there were curfews at that campsite. The bulletin board does show quiet hour times but it’s buried in a novel of information most of which was about a bear sighting so that may have distracted my attention when I first looked at the bulletin. Quiet time is 10-6 and I know that now. So we’re hanging out around the “campfire” and I decide to walk down to the restroom, it’s about 11pm. As I’m walking back, I pass Bill and say hi. He doesn’t acknowledge me (he wouldn’t talk or look my way the rest of our stay either). When I return to the campsite the 2 women and 2 children I was with told me Bill had just ran up on them and was standing over them in a very aggressive fashion pointing his finger in their face and reprimanding them for breaking the quiet hour rules. He left after getting directly in one of the females face and saying “don’t make me come back here” in a very threatening tone. They all, just remained silent throughout the ordeal. C’mon man. We messed up and felt horrible but it was an honest mistake and had he just told us respectfully we would have shut up just the same but instead he created this uneasy tension for three days. And to put a cherry on top, other campsites broke the rule every night and morning (music, laughter, generators) and were not reprimanded. I know because everyone was so close we could see what was going on. Also, we saw Bill greet every camp site every day multiple times a day except ours. We aren’t abrasive people, we try to be generally respectful, courteous, and aware of our actions so the treatment of our camp was unjust. I will say that had he not had it out for us for one reason or another I’m sure things would have been cool. We saw Bill constantly having friendly conversations with everyone so I’m sure he’s nice to most campers.

In short, I know there are better campsites out there. Go find them.

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.

We traveling through Northern New Mexico on our way back to Austin. The campsite was a bit of a disappointment after so many get camps in Colorado. Cimarron Canyon is still recovering from a major wildfire with large sections of the pine forest destroyed. As you travel up the canyon the damage is less so in the State Park. The highlight here is the trout stream that runs through the camp. We stayed at Tolby Campground. The park headquarters and park rangers are based here. So it’s resource for those looking to information or assistance. The campsite has a nice day use area with lots of parking excellent restrooms with for ADA. The camp host was very personable and welcomed each of the guests as they came in throughout the day. You had a mix of families and retirees at the camp enjoying the summer retreat. They firewood for sale as well. Our big grip was the lack of privacy and the size of the sites and campground itself. The sites are right next too each other and many of the huge 5th wheel RVs were running generators all day and night while others were lighting fires in the rain and smoking out the campground. It’s only $10 per night to camp here. So it may be an option for those looking to do some fishing and perhaps visiting in the week when the site isn’t completely full. The road is also very close and trucks can be heard all day long. I can’t recommend this place based on our experience, the condition of the sites,and the location.

I love this campsite. It is definitely one of my favorites on the Questa side of the Carson National forest. The views here are breathtaking and the sound of the river drowns out the noise from the road which is fairly close. The sites are are very nice and spacious with a grill pit and a huge circular fire pit.

The bathrooms are simple vault toilets and there is a small wash station. There are plenty of potable water spots and the rangers here are always helpful.

On one side you have the amazing views of the mountains and the other is just beautiful forest with the river running along side. There are a few trailheads towards the back of the campground with awesome trails. Plus this campground is in between the amazing Red River ski resort and Questa. Red River has some great restaurants including a local brewery that is my personal favorite. They also have a small market, or you could head into Questa or Taos for full size grocery stores.

The Raton KOA is conveniently located off I-25 in Raton, NM. The campground offers of a mixture of back-in and pull through sites that are a mix of mostly live gravel and dirt. Most sites have 20/30 amp service, water, and septic hookups, although less expensive sites with fewer amenities are also available.

The campground offers a fenced in dog park where the pups can run off leash. There is also a nice grassy walking path around the perimeter of the property with trash cans and dog waste stations positioned every 100 yards.

The campground owner, Grant, is great to work with. He helped us get setup with the park WiFi and was super responsive to any questions we had. Don’t forget to ask him for the WiFi access code when you check in!