Best Dispersed Camping near Whites City, NM

BLM land that is close to Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns. Great cell reception. A fenced in area of land, that has dumpsters, just of the highway. Some traffic noise, but not that bad. Free camping by two National Parks!

Quiet place away from others, which we like. We followed the GPS coordinates and found a spot away from the freeway. It had a firepit and we weren't super close to our neighbors. We could see them, but they were a ways off. Sunrises were beautiful and the weather in April pleasant. Occasional wind gusts, but not too bad. We stayed for 4 nights. 

10 minutes from the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Once you enter, you have a 15 minute drive to get to the Visitor's Center. And, this spot is only 25 minutes from Carlsbad, with Walmart, restaurants and gas stations. 

First we tried Carlsbad BLM Land Dispersed, but didn't want to stay in the lot right off the freeway. And we walked the road going further up and it was too rutted for our 36 ft travel trailer. We could have done it but wanted something not so hard on our camper. 

Next we tried Carlsbad Caverns Dispersed. We followed the coordinates here on Dyrt.com and it took us way out into a cow field (with very aggressive cows) and eventually a dead end. It was a bit tricky getting turned around. We never did see places off the side of the road to boondock. Right after the grates there is a dirt lot off to the left but was too close to freeway and others for us. If you do that one, just don't follow the GPS coordinates.

We needed to refill our water and use a dump station, so I called around. White City RV charges $15 for dump and refill (too much), and we found an Ice House America at the White City gas station the had water refills for $.25 a gallon (good for our drinking water bottles, but not good for filling our RV). Finally we called Greasewood RV. Neil, the owner, was super nice. He told us we could just pull up to any open spot at his park and fill our water tanks, dump our black tank and use the big trash bin. He also said he had spaces for us to stay if we wanted to. He offered $20 a night instead of his usual $30 a night which I thought was super nice of him. If we had known that, we may have stayed their instead since we calculated that it costs us $18-$20 a night to boondock. We like having electricity when possible because we have a full size fridge to keep cold. 

Anyway, we really enjoyed this spot. Our kids even found a sinkhole with what looked like a small cave near our campsite.

We tried this location. It looked like it could be just what we wanted. However, we followed the GPS coordinates here on Dyrt.com and though the road was smoother than the one across the street, it took us way out on a small dirt road that led to a cow field (with very aggressive cows) and eventually a dead end. It was a bit tricky getting turned around. We never did see places off to the side of the road to boondock. 

Just as we left the freeway, right by the grates there is a dirt lot off to the left but it was too close to the freeway and others for us. If you decide to try this spot, just don't follow the GPS coordinates.

We ended up staying 4 nights at Mile 10 - Dispersed Camping, and we really liked it.

This was our first boondocking experience and we loved it! This is absolutely an entry level boondocking spot, but that was perfect for us. There is a gravel parking lot that is pretty level and trash cans. There are no facilities other than that though. The big draw of this place is being right outside of Carlsbad Caverns NP. We also lucked out and were camping there when another couple we knew were(totally by chance!) and we met an additional couple while there. While we were here we also visited Guadalupe National Park. I highly recommend this spot! Make sure you come stocked up with supplies though because it is a bit of a drive to get to town!

Stayed: 10/11/2020- FREE

Site: Corner of entrance and 10 Mile Rd, on the right

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

“10 Mile Rd” runs parallel to the highway. It connects the 3 campgrounds in the area, this spot is the middle one.

Whichever direction you are coming from, watch for the Mile 10 highway marker, the entrance is between the two signs. If traveling south on 180, there IS a spot to turn, you just have to be looking for it. It’s a bit of a dip, but it saves you from making a u-ie.

We pulled in and turned right at the“No Camping Beyond This Point” sign and parked immediately to the left of 10 Mile.*See photo* It was flat and level, a great spot to pitch a tent.

The stars were amazing and we were about 20 mins from the Carlsbad National Park visitor center. The town of Whites City is maybe 5 minutes(The drive into Carlsbad NP is what takes so long).

We stayed on a Sunday and were the first ones there at about 7:45pm. Eventually, two others pitched tents as well.

It was extremely windy! We would have possibly stayed again if Pine Springs in Guadalupe Mountains NP was full. It’s about a 45 min drive to that park. We really enjoyed this spot!

AT&T and Sprint: 3 bars LTE

Chosa Campground is essentially a giant gravel parking lot. Pretty much a last ditch effort, free campsite near the caverns. Great for overlanders and the RV crowd as it’s nice and flat. There are no bathrooms, no electrical hook-ups, and no shade. Plan accordingly.

As others have said, it's a large gravel parking area. Trash bin was nice touch. Nice enough view. Verizon via Visible  rocked strong at 4, AT&T via Straight Talk bounced between  2-3. This was our 1st dry camp with the new set up, and was perfect for that purpose.  Easy in/out, any size rig fits and there was plenty of room to spread out. Even arriving  at 3pm on a Friday, there were only 5 others here, and we scored a spot on the rail with a view of the sunset. Saturday morning  there were 12 rigs here including us, and most pulled out by 11am, leaving only us & 3 others till nightfall. Some road noise, but nothing unbearable.  Did have some winds,, but again nothing unbearable.  Walmart, Albertsons, Lowes, Tractor Supply all just a short drive up in Carlsbad. Diesel prices are consistent  all over so we topped off at Marathon in White's City, rather than going back to town. All in all a good stop over. We stayed 4nts to do both parks & resupply. DH enjoyed it.... I may have made a believer out of him finally. 

2/18/22:   652 is a mess. While a shorter distance  than how our GPS  wanted to go, there were 5 areas where it was 1 lane & we had to wait for it to be our directions turn... while shorter, it took just as long. Luckily  it isn't  very traveled or it could have taken a lot longer.

What can I tell you that a hundred reviews hasn't already mentioned? It's a large, level, gravel parking lot a quarter mile off of Hwy 62/180 8 miles north of the Texas border in New Mexico. It's clean, mostly quiet, and close to both Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Perfect if that is where you are headed the next morning or if you are just passing through. Not some place I would visit just to camp. If you are doing any of the above, I recommend it. I would stay here again.

Our first NM BLM camp was here. Literally 6 miles north of the Texas border. We got there at 5pm in 90 degree weather. Luckily we had a swamp cooler to keep us cool. I highly recommend if you camp in Summer months to get there closer to sunset. It cools down quickly when the sun is down, and gets as cold at night as it gets hot in the day. We left around noon before it got too hot.