Best Dog-Friendly Camping near White Sands, NM

Good spot to camp near white sands. Very busy- but most people seem to stick to the large lot near the entrance. If you follow the road around to the west side of the lake there are additional spots that are a bit more secluded.

The Air Force does regular flyovers throughout the day on weekdays. Very loud.

Many great spots available and easily accessible by low clearance vehicles (we have a camper class B van). Very close (less than a mile?) to the state park, and about 30 minutes from white sands NM. Very quiet. Cell signal. Dog friendly.

Little more than 3 miles from White Sands Natl. Park easily found rough road. Quite, didn't find to m8ch trash

Super easy to find. Empty when we arrived around 7 PM. Clean and never had any visitors. Great location from White Sands NP.

30 minutes from White Sands, quiet and well maintained. Book ahead of time to reserve covered picnic table sites especially if going during the summer.

A big parking area For RV r's looking for a place to spend the night. No facilities at all. 3 miles from white sands National Park.

Nice area. 3mi from White Sands National Park. About 20 miles from Alamogordo NM. Weekend evenings get a little crowded with photographers but all in all it's a great place to stay. No services.

This site was very convenient and close to town and not far from white sands national park. There were plenty of spots to choose from and fire pits already available! We loved waking up to the Mountain View’s

Well managed KOA and short driving distance from White Sands National Park and Lincoln National Forest. This KOA is in the city so there is some traffic noise and there is a train that passes through at night. They have sleds to borrow for White Sands which saves you the hassle and cost of getting a sled at the White Sands park. Wifi was unreliable, but cellular internet worked fine on our phones.

We have been living in our airstream for the past month now and this has been my favorite place we have stayed. Nice cement pad and shaded picnic bench with the mountains in the background! It was so cheap too I think $15 a night you can’t beat it. 15 minutes from las cruces and 50 minutes from white sands np.

Big sites, had a tiny camper and tent. Plenty of room. Table and fire pit. Beautiful views! Showers, trails and a visitor center. Less than 30 min from white sands and Alamogordo. PRO-TIP go to Nenas ice cream and snack shop on Alamogordo and order mango creama with a scoop of ice cream. SUPER FRESH ingredients. Also Amigos Bakery has amazing baked goods and burritos.

The pull out is easy to find day or night with a number of spots for tents, RVs, trailers, and cars. As a tent and car camper I like to feel safe wherever I stay the night and this made me feel just that. There were plenty of other campers, not too far out of town yet still isolated! It’s a great area just outside of las cruces and about 40 minutes from White Sands!

Amazing little gem located half an hour from White Sands. Recommend reservations if looking for electric sites. Plenty to do and see. Close drive into town for just about anything you could need but far enough to get the high desert. Clean bathrooms and showers. We only used electric site. Used the air conditioner for the hot mid days and heat in the early mornings. One evening we could hear what we think to be artillery explosions from the White Sands missile range by the Air Force Base. Nothing alarming if you have heard artillery before. Short lived and did not interrupt our experience.

The campground is located in the Oliver Lee State Park, with access on paved roads. There is a dump and water fill station at the entrance. Many sites have electric and water. All have picnic tables, fire rings/grills, but no shade. The Comfort Station is well kept and clean, with running hot and cold water in showers and sinks. Toilets have running water. It’s very quiet in the night so you can enjoy the sound of night creatures. Sadly, although there is electricity at the sites, generators are run at times tearing up the silence and tranquility. Hiking trails are accessible from the campground, a strenuous treck into Dog Canyon and an easy Nature trail. The park is only twenty minutes from White Sands National Park. Great experience! I would come back here any time!

I thought this was a good little camp site for a day or two. The view is nice but the area is kind of a mess. You can’t swim in the water its sewage or something from the air force base and there are many signs saying no swimming. The best part about the site is it’s 5 minutes from white sands. The entrance is right off of us 70 you come in and cross a cattle gate and there is a bunch of signs saying no off road driving from the Air Force. Just go back there 100 yards. There is plenty of room and will most likely never fill up.

As other people have mentioned, there are some sites that have small shelters built over the picnic tables, but I couldn't figure out a pattern to them, so it would be difficult to reserve ahead. (Also, many of them were at the RV sites--which have water and electricity but no sewer connections--which seemed like a waste since RV's come with built-in shade. Luckily, we had brought an 8' square canopy which was a lifesaver. About 15 minutes from Alamogordo and 30 minutes from White Sands, so convenient, too. It seemed to be full on Friday night but only half-full on Saturday night. (The Trinity Site was open on Saturday, so my guess was that some people went there and then moved on.) Nice flush bathrooms with free showers, and there were additional spigots and vault toilets for backup. Didn't go on it but the Dog Canyon trail looks like a beast and started from the campground. Highlight was definitely the views, especially during sunrise and sunset. The sites across from us ($42 and #44) would have been even better for views (though neither had the prized picnic table shade!).

We stayed at this campground during our #9Parks12Days road trip, and this was the fourth campground of ten on our trip. We did not have advanced reservations and arrived around 4:00 PM to find many open sites (this was early June). The sites are private, separated by cement brick walls, with a level gravel pad for the RV. However, there was a four-inch cement "lip" that stepped up to a huge, all-stone picnic table that could be a HUGE issue for accessibility. We have a special needs preschooler who cannot see well, including differences on the ground that are the same color. Luckily, when he did trip and headed straight for the huge, cement picnic table, I was between him and it, and he only ended up with a skinned knee and not a head injury.

The pool was nice and clean, we swam well into the evening hours after arriving on a very hot day. The playground was quite... scary. The equipment looks to be from the 1970's and was mostly climbing bars, swings, and a merry-go-round. Only the swings were appropriate for our little guy, although our 9-year-old had a lot of fun climbing around. I noticed the playground is no longer mentioned or shown on their website, so maybe the equipment has been pulled out.

The rec room is great - it was our saving grace on this stay along with the pool. Plenty for the family to do, and the welcome center is very nicely kept. In the morning we filled up our coffee mugs with great brew and chatted with the managers, who were very friendly and helpful.

For a quick overnight, we would stay here again, because it is only 15 minutes away from White Sands National Monument, and several other attractions are only a day trip away. Would like to see more shade, more grass or other softer ground cover in the future (i.e. mulch) and for it to be more accessibility-friendly.

As of May 2021, through end of Sep 2021, camping is BY RESERVATION ONLY, via reserveamerica.com. 

The amenities of each campsite, as well as "driveway" length, are listed on that website.

All campsites have a picnic table and a fire ring with grill.  

Only some have shade shelters.

Hydrant water is potable (except from blue hydrant at dump station).

Pets on leash (6' or less) at all times;  lots of garbage cans to dispose of pet waste.

After recent rains, the park is strikingly green for being in the desert.  The Nature Trail is a bit challenging, not having been reconstructed after the 2019 flood, but still offers a short easy hike to where there is flowing water prior to requiring you to clamber over boulders either up or down the canyon.  The Dog Canyon Trail is steep -- bring lots of water!  The Visitor Center is open each morning except Monday, and staffed by knowledgeable volunteers.  Call the park phone # and listen to the recording to find if there are any changes.

At this time (through Sept 15) MASKS ARE REQUIRED in the VC and comfort station.

Volunteer camphosts keep the comfort station spotless.  They also sell firewood for the Friends of Dog Canyon (cash only), and if the VC is not open can sell you an annual pass (also cash only).  They will loan you a free sled/saucer for White Sands.

Glass containers are prohibited (outside your RV).

ATVs/OHVs are prohibited.

On way from Texas to Vegas this was a nice stop along the way. We took extra day to visit white sands and experience some New Mexico Mexican food at Andele Restaurant.

Weather was perfect in October.

Very nice day.