The high wall, needle-like spires of the Organ Mountains curve dramatically around a semicircle of Chihuahuan Desert habitat at the Aguirre Spring Campground. The campground, nestled at the base of spectacular cliffs, overlooks the Tularosa Basin and White Sands National Park. Alligator juniper, gray oak, mountain mahogany and sotol are a few of the abundant plant species here. Seasonal springs and streams occur in the canyon bottoms, with a few perennial springs that support riparian habitats. Entrance Gate Hours (change with Daylight Savings Time) Winter Hours (Nov - March): 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Summer Hours (March - Nov): 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. The campground has a total of 55 sites that are available at a first come, first served basis, and two group sites that can be reserved by calling 575-525-4300. Water is only available at the entrance of the recreation site by the Camp Host Site. RVs can camp in the campground but should be aware that the road up to the campground becomes narrow and winding. Due to safety precautions for vehicles, the recommended max length for RVs is 23 feet. All sites have a shade shelter, picnic table, grill and tent pad.

Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground

Most people do not plan a vacation stop just to check out a Military Base, in fact usually that isn't something that is an option, but when I found out that the base located nearby is actually the test site for many of the warheads used today and there was in fact a museum here, I had to at least try to see it.

I found that Aguirre Spring Campground was literally at the footprint of the road to the base so it was perfect.

When I arrived I had no idea that the mountains would be so breathtaking. It is strange how they jut up different than anything else in the area and for this perfect setting for watching the world around you. The view of the area itself was worth more than the $7 fee for camping here.

So what about the facility though? I mean what can you get for $7?

Well it is pretty basic, a pit toilet, picnic tables and fire rings. It is also pretty small but spaces seem to feel comfortable despite the size of the facility probably because you don't have a lot of neighbors.

While you can see the traffic for the Holloman Air Force Base it doesn't fully allow you to see the base itself and instead you have to take the drive down the road which makes you realize that while camping here you are in fact monitored well. They have lots of signs telling you to stay on roadways because of active sites and also that there are drones monitoring the area. So while this might seem remote you are in fact probably at one of the more supervised campsites in the nation and just don't realize it.

We took a risk in trying to go see the museum, not knowing what exactly that would entail and it wasn't to hard actually, that is if you don't mind having a DOD check at the gate which takes about 15 minutes on a good day. Of course not having anything to worry about on our records we quickly passed and were allowed a permit to the museum which is on base, you do have to carry your credentials with you as you walk around however. We did see someone get turned away while we were there so not everyone is allowed access.

TIPS:

*   If you are wanting to stay here and see the base make sure you have a valid license otherwise you will be immediately turned away from the base.
*   When camping here there is a strict nightly curfew for closure which has been implemented and they do close the gate so make sure you are set before 6 p.m. I am not fully sure why this exists but I am sure it has something to do with the base nearby.

Proximity to Base Is Outstanding

The Organ Mountains are breathtaking. The campground has basic amenities, but found some lack of maintenance on our last visit (overflowing trash bins, tons of litter). Also, there is a gate that is closed absurdly early, as our friends who were planning to meet us learned. They arrived at 6 PM to be turned away by the host, who didn't want to open the gate. I hope this situation has been resolved, because this is overall a nice place to camp.

Exceptional location

Campsite is decent, bathroom and water is available. Good place to stay to prepare if you plan to hike the organ needle such as we did. Gate to enter park closes at 6 and does not grant access in until 8 the next morning.

Aguirre spring 

Very affordable campground with beautiful views. Located close to White Sands and campground has beautiful trails. Plenty of sites available. They are first come first serve. Each site has a picnic table, awning, tent pad and fire pit. 


Spectacular views

The camp host was fantastic. I got here after hours (not knowing that they lock the gates at 9 pm) and she let me in and gave me a space to crash. I was only there for a few hours and it was easy to get in and out without waking everyone else up.

Beautiful Views

I had a short stay (one night) but the views were awesome. At night I could see so many stars, and in the morning I could see all the way across the Tularosa Basin to Lincoln National Forest, probably 80 miles away! The sunrise was awesome!  I could easily see White Sands National Monument in the distance.

A great one night stay.

Spent an August Saturday night at the campground. Drive-in, pit toilets (pretty clean) and ~50 sites. Low light pollution and amazing views of the Organ Mountains. Organ Needle, Rabbit Ears, Sugarloaf, and Baylor peaks are all visible from the campgrounds. Would have been perfect except for neighboring campers that were making noise until midnight. 

Amazing place. Wicked hike right at the campsite. 6 stars

Beautiful campground

Loved this spot! Campsites were a little closer than ideal, but still gave us privacy. Vault toilets were fairly clean, no running water available. Nice concrete pad with picnic table and shade, and plenty of hiking around the area! Definitely take the time to hike to the old Boyd’s Sanatorium nearby! Plenty of interesting history to learn. 

Practically in Las Cruces’ backyard!

I spent a night here while passing though, and while the campsite is very developed (facilities, lots of paved roads/areas), it’s in a beautiful location a good distance from populated areas. 

Developed Campsite / Beautiful Location

I had originally planned to stay at the Sierra Vista trailhead, but by the time I got there, all of the dispersed sites appeared taken. (It was well past nightfall on a Saturday night.) 

Luckily I saw this campground on the app and took the half hour drive over. Even though it was Saturday, there were plenty of sites available. 

The thing to know about this campground is that there are two loops, the second loop does not even show up on google maps, but it’s there and you’ll see the sign for it once you exit the first loop. The road in and out of the campground is one way, so it’s a big loop itself, so you cannot NOT see the sign for the second loop. 

That being said, because the road in and out is one way, if you see a site that might work for you, TAKE IT. Or else you will most likely have to go all the way down the mountain and back up to fully circle back around. The road up is only about five miles, but the switchbacks are short and tight, which can make for an annoying drive when you’ve been on the road all day and are exhausted already.

All of the sites seem to be situated a little differently. I stayed in site 47 in the second loop. There wasn’t a tent pad, but there was a nice worn down, level spot for a tent behind the picnic area, under a tree. The view of the valley below from this site was a beautiful sight in the mornings. 

This site was also right across from the bathroom and trash cans. I thought that might make for a lot of noisy foot traffic, but it did not and I was happy to have the convenience. The toilets are vault toilets and they were clean and well maintained.

I did not personally spot any wildlife while here, but had a nice talk with a birder, so if that’s your thing, it’s apparently a great place for birds. There are also a few trails accessible from the campground. White Sands National Park is about a 45 minute drive away and Las Cruces is about 20 minutes away. 

For $7 a night, this place is a steal! I would def stay here again!!



Great Find Last Minute!

One of the best places I’ve stayed in a long time. Day and night the view is amazing

Amazing place day and night 

It’s important to understand that upon arrival at the camp fee kiosk the natural traffic flow bears right where there’s a loop with about 20 campsites, but the bigger and more private sites are found by driving straight as if going back down the mountain. 

Also, the first fee kiosk is for day visitors only. Pass it and stop a few hundred yards further up the road at the camper fee kiosk. Lack of signage creates the confusion. 

There is a four mile hiking trail leading out of the campground, but no trail maps were available. 

Aguirre is a clean, well maintained campground offering spectacular views and great hiking. 

Spectacular Mountain Setting

First come first serve.  Not for a big Rv, we came w our 29ft and made it.  We got two spots which was so awesome!  (Paid for both of course).  It’s confusing w a lack of signage.  The loop down the hill ja the best.  Spot 29/30 are awesome w incredible views.  

Beautiful 

I've been on a nationwide roadtrip for a few months that now and I have tent camped alone in many sites from Florida to Arkansas to, now, New Mexico.
I chose Aguirra because of its close proximity to White Sands National Park.
It is a First Come First Serve site and you must pay in cash.
I was lucky to find a site in the afternoon. There are many sites. Over 40.
I lucked out with 43 because it is huge! It's a jilly Rocky site with no one around me and several stone fire pits, a BBQ grill, and animal proof garbage can. 
There are Porta John's in close proximity. I have not found any water yet. Not sure.
No RV hookups. But what do you expect for 7 bucks a night. 
I was here over Easter weekend so it got noisy with Fiesta music and someone throwing up across from my site at midnight! 
Whole families come here, jam their music etc. It's Easter so whatever. 
There is a covered picnic table and lots of tree cover to deal with the intense NM sun.
I love how this place is at the end of an ascending, remote, windy road though. 
It's large enough that no rangers come and bug you for trivialities. 


UNIQUE

First come first serve with clean pit toilets and trash bins. It has beautiful views and great hikes. I will be coming back! 

Great little spot

Beautiful campground near Las Cruces NM and White Sands National Park. Love that the camp site all have covered structures over the picnic tables. Definitely keeps the sun off. We stayed in site 25. Plenty of room. No large RVs because they can't get up the road. Lots of folks camping in vans. Could have done without the DJs blasting heavy metal music in the evening and again in the morning.

Lovely Campground

Nestled a few miles off the main road, this campground has incredible views. The sites are spacious. The sites are on a steep hill and some sites have a few steps up or down from your car. The facility is incredibly clean. 

You are very close to White Sands NP. 

Las Cruses is a few miles away. It’s convenient for supplies you may need.

Quiet spot with amazing views 

I'm not sure you can pick a bad spot here, but there are a few standout sites. I had 49, which had multiple places to put a tent, and some amazing views (see the sunrise pic from right outside my tent). Every site has a covered picnic table. And there's a fair bit of shade from trees as well.   
  
The hiking! Go any direction and make a path. You'll eventually come across an existing one, and just follow it. There's actual paths with names, but I never bothered to learn them. My dog and I picked a direction and went for it. Valley below, mountains behind you, and a ton of exploration options in between. Deer and quail criss-crossed our paths many times.  
  
The pit toilets are ok, but bring bug spray, because flies love the bathrooms.   
  
I'd love to see this place in other seasons as well. Midweek in May, we had our pick of spots. No immediate neighbors, but the sites are big enough to not feel cramped even if there were more folks.

Views. Nothing but views.

We arrived just before the gates closed for the night and set our tent up at dusk. After a comfortable night sleep we woke up to spectacular views from our tent. Nestled at the base of the Organ Mountains, this campground was well worth the $7 to camp.

Pit toilets located throughout the campground allowed for never needing to trek too far to use them.

Stunning Views

there's a nice hike near the campground, and a gorgeous view of the valley below. bathrooms available as well.

lot of trash left at our site but still worth it

Everything about the site was nice from the multiple tent set up spots to the shelter which came in handy since it was rainy when we went! The views are unbeatable! Would stay again in a heartbeat but make sure you get there early to get a spot! 

Amazing Views!

Arrived and only a handful of sites were taken. I took my time picking out a site that was private. All of the sites are different, so it’s helpful to get out of the car to check out what will work for you. The camp hosts called right back and answered my questions. Gorgeous views, especially sunrise! 
Only negative is that the pit toilets were infested with flies. 

Best kept secret! 

We happened to arrive on one of the rare rainiest days of the year. Almost every site was open except for 2-3 other campers. The road was well paved and clear, and there’s really not a poor spot on the loop. The rain stopped for about 3 hours in the evening giving us amazing sunset views. We were able to move the picnic table that’s under each awning to side so that we could set up our two person tent with more protection from the rain. Unbeatable views with very close access to bathrooms. Please note-no showers or sinks! 

Unbeatable views

Middle of nowhere, gorgeous little hideaway campground. Many sites with a sunset view, covered picnic tables, fire pits, and fantastic 360 views. Lots of sites too, had no issue finding a spot on a busy summer weekend. A little strange that they close the gates at 8pm..but other than that it was perfect for us! Highly recommended!

Beautiful and Easy!

Beautiful spot. More amenities than I expected. Prettier than most national park campgrounds. The road in is fully paved but it is winding… a sign out front warns that trailers &gt;23’ are not recommended. We had no trouble with our 19’ trailer. The site has fire ring, grill, trash can, covered picnic table, stone paving. Really nice. There are pull through and back in sites. We came mid August… there were only two other camping sites occupied. We enjoyed the sunset then rain set in for the entire night. It really is a gorgeous site. Way more amenities than you’d expect for boondocking. 


Gorgeous 360 degree views

Beautiful, picturesque campground with great hiking trails and wonderful, reasonably priced campsites except... after feeling sick and noticing what I (and the rangers thought) was campfire soot on the composite wood tables, I determined it was toxic black mold. It stuck to the back of my tablecloth; I had to toss that. I also left a week earlier than planned because I reacted so bad - got subsequent ear infection from my allergy. Of course I advised the rangers of the issue (April 2021) and I heard through the grapevine, that they attempted to treat the table tops with bleach but I was long gone. All the picnic tables are covered with a metal canopy for shade so can't dry out when wet. They might consider replacing those tables with metal ones. Narrow, winding road going in and out so only recommend very small RVs/TTs or tents. If in a tent during Spring/Fall, bring sturdy stakes and guy lines - it gets VERY windy up there! Sadly, I can't go back.

Stay away if you have mold allergy/sensitivity

It’s tucked away off the main road so it’s very quiet at night (assuming neighbors aren’t an issue). It’s felt far enough apart so you had privacy. Several vault toilets and trash cans around the campground. There’s 2 loops, 55 sites total. Each site has a grill and a covered picnic table. There’s 2 hiking trails in the area and beautiful sunsets. There’s no water at the campground but water at the front gate by the host (3 mi from campground). The winter hours are 8am-6pm so if you don’t arrive at the gate by 6, you’re locked out. $7/night and definitely recommend! 

Fabulous spot!

This BLM is tucked in the midst of God’s creation and is well worth the drive in alone, let alone the peaceful stay.

The host is very welcoming and nice, she is about 4 miles before the campgrounds and has water for fill ups! I have a small 3.5 water kit so I was able to carry my kit to the hookup, however, for larger rigs prepare to have a 50ft (or longer) hookup.

The 4 miles of witnessing a backdrop of heaven makes you want to go the speed limit or under, nice twisties and curves up to the pay station (cash or check only). 

I stayed at site 35, and although I did not completely setup my over-landing gear, I enjoyed my stay. This particular site has a slight incline but does have a small area that is leveled.

It was very quiet and peaceful here, has vault toilets, trash cans and picnic tables with shedding. 

I will definitely be back! And, you cannot beat the $7 nightly stay (especially for the amenities on BLM ; hell, I’d pay for the views)

4 Miles and $7 for the Win!

Great camping area with a variety of camp sites. All site are closely located to vault toilets that are kept clean. Each site has, pavilion, fire pit, charcoal grill, and bear proof trash cans. It does get busy, for best selection of spots arrive late morning to early afternoon.

Aguirre Springs

Beyond amazing campsite tucked up against an incredible expanse of towering mountains. Great hikes nearby. Clean out toilets. Sites are very well spaced—I felt like I was the only one around!

Pure Silence & Absolutely Beautiful

It really is beautiful here. Southeast New Mexico has mountains believe it or not. The camp is nestled up against one. It’s Memorial Day weekend and not too crowded. Highly recommend for the price (basically free). If you are tent camping and low maintenance this place rocks. If you have a huge rig I’m not even sure I would want to make the drive up the road to the camp site. Spots are small, so you would need to find the best spot if you have an RV or Trailer. 

Great spot to camp! Not the best for RVs or Trailers.

We tent camped at Aguirre Spring campground over Father’s Day weekend in June 2022. I don’t know. Maybe it was too hot or I was too tired, or a combination of both with a causal connection. I love the outdoors but I can’t really think of anything good or bad to write about this campground.

It seemed like a nice place and the vault toilet bathroom was clean and extremely stocked with TP. There is a great trail called pine tree loop from which you can actually see real pine trees on the mountainside above the barren desert basin. We fell victim to the one-way road that other campers bemoaned too. The camp host’s phone is 575-644-9143 (as announced on the BLM’s voicemail greeting) and he was helpful when I called ahead and told me the campground was open (as of 6/22/2022, the Dyrt has an alert that the campground is closed for the season), that there was plenty of space, and that there was a fire ban. 

We pitched our tent without the rain fly. Right when we layed down for the night, it started raining, so we scrambled to overlay the rain fly and then the rain stops. In the middle of a desert drought, if such a thing is a thing. The tent pad barely accommodated our 6-person tent and it seemed like all the sites suffered the same fate. We scouted the whole campground, mainly searching for shade and settled on a decent site with a giant boulder on the western side for some evening shade. The campground was maybe 1/3 full. Overall it was good to get outdoors for father’s day despite the fatigue. 

Outdoor ambivalence but still outdoors 

Beautiful camp grounds! There was plenty of space so we still got to have a fairly secluded experience. Some sites can be difficult to find a flat area for a tent. 

They seem to be operating summer hours now, so the gates actually close at 8pm!

Watch out for ant mounds, flies, and gnats when setting up though. 

Beautiful Mountain Site

Very windy road back to campground. Putable water at beginning of road. Get it if you need it before you go up. Pit toilets, just okay. Sites are awesome! Spread out. Nice fire pits and covered picnic tables. Tucked right under mountain. Great views!

Gorgeous 

This campground is good for tent and very small rv camping. The views of the Organ mountains were amazing with plenty of hiking trails. 

Small sites but great views 

Great campsite right outside of las cruces. Very pretty drive in but easy to fly by if you’re going too fast on the main highway. Good spot to stay if you want to hike any of the trails in the Organ mountains 