Best Glamping near Whites City, NM

This RV spot is right in town on the Main Street. It is gated, has friendly staff, two cabins, tent spaces, a store, super clean and nice bathrooms/showers, laundry facility and pool.

This is not typical wooded or beautiful camping, it’s a place to park your RV or tent and that is just about right. If you are making a quick stop over or heading to Carlsbad Caverns then what more do you need?

We stayed in the cabin because we didn’t want to get all our camping stuff out for a quick overnight before we head to our destination (SW CO). It was only $15 more than tent camping so it made sense. It was also raining hard when we got here so we were double grateful. The cabins have a double bed and a bunk bed. It has a TV that we never turned on, a fridge, microwave and AC. The mattresses are like the ones you find at camp, wrapped in plastic but we just put our bedding and memory foam on top of it and it was just fine. I’d recommend it because it was just what we needed on our way and at a good price. Also the shower/ bathrooms are probably the nicest I’ve ever seen at a campground.

Let's start with the fact that there are few actually camping areas close to Carlsbad Caverns or Guadalupe National Park. Assuming travelers are coming to Carlsbad to see these great places, the location becomes a major player. Fine print: there is a small campground (absolutely no amenity campground) in Guadalupe National Park which is first-come, first-serve (aka: full), and there a campground in White's City--although having driven past it, I don't think I want to stay there.

Carlsbad RV Park is primarily an RV Park. In fact, while we were there, they were bulldozing their only tent sites and I'm not sure if they are upgrading them or replacing them with more RV sites. So the "tent" site status is tentative. As with most RV Parks, the RVs are crammed in, side by side, and really the place is like an RV parking lot with amenities and hook-ups--but they do appear to be mostly pull through and the staff will show the way to go to pull through without hiccups. These are not spacious by any means. We stayed in one of two cabins, which were very reasonably priced, esp. when comparing to Carlsbad KOA. They even came with a cable and a fridge.

The RV Park (like all of the RV Parks in Carlsbad) has overall become a residence for the oil field workers, so be prepared to try and sleep through the 4 a.m. traffic rush out of camp to oil field. However, the neighbors are pleasant and quiet to have, even if they must drive away before the roosters announce the coming of the sun.

The park has gated access and we felt very safe during our stay. There is a playground that was being bulldozed with the tent site; I am unsure if it is being upgraded or eliminated. There is a camp store, a pool, a game room, showers (which were ok), laundry, a dishwashing sink, picnic tables at the cabins, and universal fire pit. Please note that I am inherently biased against parking lot style RV parks--so 2 stars from me for an RV Park is quite a compliment.

Carlsbad RV Park and Carlsbad KOA direct comparison: we have stayed at both the Carlsbad KOA and the Carlsbad RV Park. The KOA is NOT actually in Carlsbad, and is over an hour away from Carlsbad Caverns and 30 minutes from town. On the other hand, the RV Park is at the southern end of town and only 30 minutes to the Caverns. While the KOA lots are more spacious, they offer no more and no fewer amenities than the RV Park…well the KOA sort-of offers meals but the RV Park is right in town, so delivery is an option. The basic, no frill KOA cabins cost double the RV Park charges. Additionally, the KOA staff was not as friendly or as helpful as the RV Park staff, imho.

While in Carlsbad check out Fiesta Drive-In for one of America's few remaining drive-in movie theaters.

When looking for a campground close to Carlsbad Caverns, the most recommended for proximity happens to be that of White's City RV and Campground also known as Carlsbad Campground. Only a short 7 miles from the visitors center and only a few hundred yards from the main entrance, the campsite offers over 200 camping zones for those coming to the area.

We arrived late afternoon to the site and noticed a large quantity of rv campers but very few tents on premise. In fact only a single tent camper was on site at the time of arrival. 

We searched for the check in and were a bit baffled as to where to stop as no clear registration was marked. Instead we stopped and asked someone on site in the RV area and they were very welcoming and informative.

For those camping, arrival check ins are at the local gift shop about a block away, the sleepy town closes by 6 p.m. however so if you arrive past this time you are forwarded to a local hotel for check in. 

After overcoming the confusion we were finally able to start unpacking. Due to it being early in season, we were able to pick our campsite and settle in without any issues.

Campsites are all equipped with a picnic table and fire ring area and a light shade cover. Water hook ups are on hand and the camp keeps a camping hose accessible to all for extinguishing camp fires at night.

We noticed upon our arrival and throughout the evening a plethora of native Bunnies grazing which made for a pleasant atmosphere of bringing nature to our camp.

The camping facilities were grassy and softer than many other sites we had visited along our journey. A nice shade tree made for a great block to the early morning rays. 

Our only areas which we noticed could be improved were in the bathrooms as we noted a lack of recent maintenance and lights needing to be changed to improve brightness in the mirror and sink area. Also the showers were a bit of a question mark for us as they closely resembled indoor beach showers and had no doors. 

During our stay we were the only ones using the facilities so we had plenty of privacy, however during busy season this shower could pose an issue for campers. We recommend the buddy system during busy season here so someone can either hold a towel for a make shift door or be a look out for additional guests coming in.

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Overall this campground gets 3 of 5 Bunnies, in major part because of the bathroom facilities. However we do also have to consider the confusion with check in. We suggest doing a call reservation with payment to avoid having to check multiple facilities just to check in!

Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 30 minutes from Carlsbad NM! Slaughter canyon trail is 20 minutes down the same road the campsite is on. This is a great spot off the highway. You can hear some noise throughout the night. Also, it can be noisy if neighbors are loud.

The area is a fenced-in level gravel lot with pit toilets, trash, picnic table sites, and tent sites. Each site has a grill and campfire area with a covered picnic table. Sites fill up quickly, but there are plenty of spots to park next to the fence. Easy to get here with any kind of camper (RV, trailer, ect). Views are great, and the area is maintained well.

The campground allows five consecutive nights of camping. Verizon service was good!

This place rocks. It’s perfectly placed between the Caverns NP and Guadalupe mountains NP. It’s free and has a clean vault toilet and trash cans. Right off the highway and tucked down a gravel road and very quiet at night. Sites are close together but everyone was respectful of quiet hours (7am-10pm) during my 2 night stay. There are five sites for you to pull through for larger rigs and then six camping sites. On the sign it states that you can’t stay unless you’re in an official site but others camped out along the rail which wasn’t an issue with me. Each site has a picnic cable that’s covered, grill and nice fire ring. Had good AT&T service and could work remotely. Definitely would recommend this place! I stayed Monday and Tuesday night and sites were filled both nights but people tend to filter out in the late morning so that’s the chance to snag a spot!