Black Canyon Campground

To begin, the lots are far enough away from fellow campers that you're seldom disturbed by noise or movement. During the day, there will be plenty of new faces passing through to get to the Black Canyon Loop, which has its access point at the back of the camping property. There are, I believe, three pit toilets (possibly four, but I only recall seeing 3, one at the entrance, one on the right hand side up the pavement, and one before the trail access point). The trail is phenomenal. The incline is quite steep, but the loop is a reasonable length and I've seen families with young children and elderly folks successfully complete the loop. In the spring and early summer a small (VERY small) stream cuts through the trail from the snowmelt. You're likely to encounter wildlife in the evening if there aren't many campers, as bears are everywhere here. While HIKING at this location in the off season (site is closed for winter, but you can still access the trail) my wife and I encountered large mountain lion tracks. Parking at the lots is limited, with most spaces only fitting one car comfortably, and the space for tents varies but isn't enormous. Overall, a very cozy, shaded, quiet campground right off the main road making driving up or down the mountain for more trails during your stay very feasible. I personally have no cell service here, and use Mint Mobile, as a heads up. There is a functioning payphone near the entrance.

Loved this campground. Only 20 minutes from Santa Fe (and Trader Joes) but feels much more remote. They're not kidding when they warn about no cell service (there is a payphone if you need it, though!), but Starlink worked like a dream during the days when we needed to logon for work.

We stayed in one of the smaller campsites (site 8) but loved it. The site backed up to a creek that our dogs loved playing in and was relaxing to listen to. There are quite a few people that come up just to hike the Black Canyon trail and you'll see them walk by, but otherwise this was a quiet campground.

When we stayed, the water spigots on the campground were out of service, but we'd been warned about that and came prepared. But other than that, the campground is very well maintained and cared for. I took short videos of the campsites that were vacant the morning we left and am posting those. Would recommend site 12, if it's available. It is large, backs up to the creek, and is close to the vault toilets (which are as good as vault toilets can be!). Will definitely be back!

This Forest Service Campground is less than ten miles from the Santa Fe Plaza and is, thus, very popular and very busy. It should be noted that about half of this distance is on a somewhat steep, but very good road. Most of the sites are reservable, and are reserved well in advance, but there are some hard-to-get, first-come sites. The campground is smaller and the sites are fairly close together, but the vegetative undercover gives some visual separation, and, during our stay, it was fairly quiet except for the several generators that often make there presence known during the evenings. Generator hours, if there are any, seem to be very generous. It would certainly be nice to have generator-free zones. The campground has very nice tree cover and, because of the elevation, is cool even during mid summer. The campsites are well laid out with a picnic table and fire ring and well-designed tent sites. There are water spigots throughout but none were able to provide water during our stay. It is unclear whether there will be water available in the future, but, during our stay we had to haul in any water that we needed. There is no dump station in the campground, but next door, at the State Park, there is a dump station open at times, for a charge of$10 per use. The dump station has the gates closed, but can be accessed, after paying the fee at the park, by simply sliding open the latches on the gates. There are vault toilets, but you will want a mask to use them, not because of COVID, but because of the gag-producing odor. You will need a strong stomach to frequent these facilities. This is a real shame in an otherwise nice campground. It is not really that hard to keep toilets like these clean and decent smelling. There are camp hosts, but on a busy Friday night when we arrived, they were no where to be seen and were not much of a presence in the campground. They do provide a greeting of a really trashed-up campsite and a beware of dog sign. This is another indictment of the poor Forest Service management and rather sad since this could be such a very nice campground if well managed. There is no cell service with Verizon in the Campground. There is a nice two-mile loop hike that can be accessed directly from the campground and several other hikes that are available in the State Park next door. In addition, there are several nice hikes nearby in the National Forest. Even with the several criticisms noted above, this is a nice campground and well worth a visit. Just plan well in advance with reservations or get very lucky with a first-come site.

We stayed one night here in June, 2020. Just wanted to get out of hot Albuquerque and into the mountains for some cooler hiking and cooler air in general. Because of the ongoing pandemic, campgrounds at State Parks were still closed, so the National Forest campgrounds offered the only real option for something close to home. Black Canyon really fit the bill. It took us about 90 minutes to get to our site from our RV storage facility in Albuquerque. It's in the mountains, on the road to the ski area. Not quite as high as the State Park, but still out of the"pinion/juniper" mix you get in the hills of NM and up into Aspen and Pine territory. The sites here have no facilities. There are a couple of vault toilets, which smelled pretty bad when we walked by them. A couple of very primitive looking water areas; no idea if they actually work(I've seen earlier reviews that imply they don't). I never saw anyone using them. And they have non-traditional connects, so if you want to try your luck and get water for your rig here, you'll need a Water Bandit. The campground is well wooded. Campsites come in all shapes and sizes. Our rig is 29 feet, 3 inches, and we were in a spot that maxed out at 32 feet(per description on web site...Site 15). We barely fit. We saw very few sites that could have accommodate much more. I don't think any site would have been able to handle more than 35 feet. Our little Thor Hurricane 27B was the only Class A we saw on site, and the place was pretty packed. Lots of tent camping.(Our pad was narrow enough that back in took more than one try. And there was no space for bringing out the awning. The fire pit area and such were BEHIND the rig.) It was very nice though and in the evening, the temps were fantastic. It was actually chilly enough that my wife had to put on a small wrap while we ate dinner outside.

At the end of the campgrounds is the entrance to the Black Canyon Trail. It's only about 1.3 miles, but for about.4 miles of it, there is considerable steepness. I wouldn't call it a workout, but it's not a totally whimpy trail and it was lovely. We saw lots of plant life and grabbed many nice photos. We went late in the afternoon(around 5:30) and NO ONE else was on the trail. The next morning, we hiked the nearby West Circle Trail on the State Park site, and that's a MUCH tougher trail. You go up 1000' in one mile, and it's an often rocky trail, so careful plodding is recommended. It's a nice trail too! Black Canyon Campground was just what the doctor ordered. Unless, you want/need cell service or wifi. We had read there was no mobile service and they weren't kidding. Over the air TV doesn't come in either, and even radio stations were spotty at best. No problem for us.

(By the way, less than 20 yards from the entrance to the campground, the National Forest ends and the Hyde Memorial State Park begins. And another 50 yards up from there is the State Park RV dump station. Right now, IT IS CLOSED. Don't plan to dump there. In fact, finding a place to dump anywhere in Santa Fe is a tall order.)

With seasonal access this campground can get pretty crowded during peak season due to its close proximity to Santa Fe as well as the amazing outdoor spaces. Driving out of the city you leave the desolation and low laying vegetation and are transported into an oasis of tall growth trees and mountain living. It is hard to believe that less than 10 miles separates these two spaces because of the dramatic difference in appearance. This place really has the best of both worlds!

Driving into the camp, you have three options: Walk-In Camping, Camping With Parking Access & Limited Access.

The walk-in spaces are directly to your right across a small bridge with flowing stream below. Some of the spaces are close enough to the stream that you can hear the gentle trickle of water to put your to sleep at night. Parking for these sections is limited, so it is not recommended to take advantage of these if you are with a party bringing more than one vehicle.

The units with parking are well spaced. Pavement and landscaping create separation which allows each camper to have their own space without feeling cramped. Throughout this section are staggered water stations with potable water and toilets as well as trash cans which are weighted to keep animals away.

A trailhead can be accessed from the rear of this camping area so during busy season there are hikers which park in one of the two lots creating excessive foot traffic throughout the camp;. My suggestion would be to avoid site 24 or 26 which are the sites positioned on either side of the official trailhead.

Each site in the campground is equipped with a fire ring and grill top, a picnic table and a lantern hook. Though this campground has not showers the potable water is a nice touch for those visiting making it much more convenient than other area limited access camps.

Because the trailhead leaves from the campground, throughout the off season the first restroom, the one by the trailhead parking and the walk-in camping does remain open along with the water access to the potable/drinking water fountain at this point of entry.

TIPS:

• Check the Kiosk when you arrive, this are will provide any information you might need about the area including any potential dangers on trails, closures or maps.

• The pay box is located on the kiosk in the bricks. It is a weird place and isn't the most well marked so rather than looking around for a while and contemplating what to do when you see the broken pay box (previously used) just look down in the middle on the rocks.

• The camp host is available during open season and is located in the first space of the drive in loop, when in doubt always remember they are there to help you find information.