Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park

Trout fishing and hiking opportunities draw campers to Tolby Campground, where the Cimarron River flows directly through the grounds. The campground sits alongside Highway 64 in Cimarron Canyon State Park, with retention ponds and river access creating multiple fishing spots within walking distance of most sites.

Sites cluster closely together, with many reviewers noting the lack of privacy between neighbors. Max M. explains that "some of the sites are immediately adjacent to the river," while others face the nearby mountain slopes. The campground operates as the park's main hub, housing the ranger station and information center where camp hosts provide area guidance and sell firewood.

Full hookups accommodate RVs up to 40 feet, though several campers report tight maneuvering in some spots. Flush toilets and potable water spigots serve the campground, but no shower facilities exist on-site. The Tolby Trailhead sits directly across Highway 64, providing access to backcountry hiking toward Tolby Meadow. Road noise from the adjacent highway affects some sites, particularly during daytime truck traffic.

Wildlife sightings include deer and turkey moving through the canyon, while trout populate both the river and stocked retention ponds. Cell coverage remains limited, with T-Mobile providing one bar of service for basic texting. The campground stays open year-round at $15 per night, though summer months see heavier use from families and fishing enthusiasts. Reservations help secure riverside sites during peak periods.

Campers seeking additional options in the region can explore campsites near Eagle Nest, located minutes away for supply runs and alternative accommodations.

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Warning 7 Alerts are In Effect

There are 7 alerts for this campground. Camp safely!

The use of off-highway motor vehicles (OHVs) is prohibited in New Mexico State Parks, as stipulated by the NM OHV Act and State Park Regulations (NMSA 66-3-1011, 16-2-33 19 NMAC Ch 5 Sec 2.16 A).

To ensure compliance with ADA regulations, vehicles parked at handicap campsites must visibly display a valid handicapped placard or possess a license plate indicating handicapped status; otherwise, relocation will be required.

Make it your goal to extinguish hot coals. If your campfire is too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave. Drown it with water, stir it with a shovel, and repeat until your campfire is out cold! Learn more from Smokey Bear.

Please bring proof of your reservation with you to your campsite.

Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, or wood stove is prohibited. The use of devices fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off is allowed. Such devices can only be used in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within three (3) feet of the device. Smoking is prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle or building.

Cimarron Canyon State Park will be closed from September 1st until further notice, due to campground renovations and facility system upgrades. If conditions allow, campgrounds will be open first come, first serve.

THE CUSTOMER MUST CONTACT THE PARK TO ADVISE THEM OF LATE ARRIVAL THE SITE WILL BE RELEASED FOR RESERVATIONS / FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED ON THE SECOND DAY AFTER 4:00 P.M.. NO REFUND WILL BE DUE.

RV Road Trip Guides

Location

Public Campground

Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park is located in New Mexico

Detail location of campground

Directions

FROM NORTHEAST: EXIT I-25 AT EXIT 446 SOUTH OF RATON AND TAKE US 64, 50 MILES TO PARK. FROM SOUTHEAST: EXIT I-25 AT EXIT 418, NORTH OF SPRINGER, AND TAKE HWY 56 TO CIMARRON, TURN LEFT AND TAKE US 64, 15 MILES TO PARK. FROM WEST: TAKE US 64 FROM TAOS, 35 MILES TO PARK. ALL CAMPGROUNDS OFF US 64, TOLBY CAMPGROUND IS JUST EAST OF MILEPOST 288; MAVERICK AND PONDEROSA CAMPGROUNDS ARE JUST EAST OF MILEPOST 295.

Address

PO BOX 185
Eagle Nest, NM 87718

Coordinates

36.53804946 N
105.2232644 W

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Connectivity

Presented byT-MobileT-Mobile is introducing T-Satellite to extend coverage in the outdoors
  • signal strength bars
    T-Mobile5G
    Good Coverage
  • signal strength bars
    VerizonLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 12 users
    Last on 5/2/26
  • signal strength bars
    AT&T
    No Coverage
    Verified by 8 users
    Last on 5/2/26

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Connectivity

Presented byT-MobileT-Mobile is introducing T-Satellite to extend coverage in the outdoors
  • signal strength bars
    T-Mobile5G
    Good Coverage
  • signal strength bars
    VerizonLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 12 users
    Last on 5/2/26
  • signal strength bars
    AT&T
    No Coverage
    Verified by 8 users
    Last on 5/2/26

Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Boat-In
    Sites accessible by watercraft.

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group
  • Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

  • Reservable
  • Electric Hookups
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sewer Hookups
  • Water Hookups
  • 30 Amp Hookups
  • 50 Amp Hookups
  • Big Rig Friendly

Drive Time


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Reviews

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3.5

out of 5

16 Reviews

Campers regularly cited the excellent fishing access and helpful hosts as standout features. Site conditions vary significantly, with some great riverside spots but others described as parking lot-style. Road noise and close site spacing are common concerns.

Reviewed Sep. 15, 2025

To close for comfort

This is a really nice camping ground. It has flush toilets and an electric plug in the bathroom also. There's drinkable water spigot all around. The bad thing about this place is that the sites are too close for comfort. That's why it's my title. Otherwise, it's pretty nice. Great view of a mountain right in front of you. The mountain is so close, you can count the trees. There's also the Cimarron River that runs through. Stay one night if you like it, stay longer. 🤷‍♂️

Site6
Month of VisitSeptember
Reviewed Jul. 8, 2023

Very pretty, relaxing with the river

Campground is very scenic and the river is directly behind us so you can hear that babbling brook sound - I love that! Our site is a bit small for our camper (25 ft) but we made it work. No hookups and no water but we have solar. It’s been 80s in the day and 50s at night which is amazing. I have one bar with T-mobile cell phone so I can text and get a little internet - enough to stay connected with the world. Great campsite!!

Site005
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tammy C., July 8, 2023
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tammy C., July 8, 2023
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tammy C., July 8, 2023
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Sep. 27, 2021

Three campgrounds

I enjoyed Tolby campground. It is on the creek and the majority of sites have trees and space. There are some exposed sites in the middle. It is busier now than I expected probably because Ponderosa campground is closed and Maverick has been reduced to one loop.

Site5
Month of VisitSeptember
Reviewed Jul. 23, 2021

Great campsite!

Recently stayed at the Tolby site at cimarron state park and we had a great time. Mike, our camp host was awesome and had some great information about the area. Clear creek hiking trail is a short drive away and was a beautiful and totally doable 3 mile trail for our 3 young girls. The fishing in the area was very popular and it seemed like everyone was catching fish. We will definitely come back!

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tony M., July 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tony M., July 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Tony M., July 23, 2021
Reviewed Jul. 13, 2021

Camp host great, specific site not

We arrived at site #14 to find that there was no good place to set up a tent. It was full of rocks. Since you had to reserve your spot online there was no other option to move sites so we could put up a tent. The camp host was understanding and helped us find a place to set up our tent, but we couldn’t change our reservation. If you are using a tent do not use #14.

Site14
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed May. 30, 2021

Nice camp area

Close to highway in a canyon. Can be noisy at times. Small river with trout. This is a state park with a camp host.

Site17
Month of VisitMay
Reviewed May. 16, 2021

High altitude campground

My GPS said 8000 feet. Little shade, close to highway and river. All spots reserve only. Flush toilets, water, and tables.

Month of VisitMay
Reviewed Jul. 31, 2020

Beautiful Cimarron Canyon

Cimarron Canton State Park is a wonderful place to stay, right on the Cimarron River. Bring your fishing gear and license for some relaxing fishing. Some of the sites are immediately adjacent to the river. My favorite campground is Tolby, the Westernmost. It has a Ranger/Information Station in the east end of the campground. It has flush toilets and sinks, but no shower. This is my favorite, because I love to hike and backpack. Just south across Highway 64 from the campground entrance is the Tolby Trailhead. The Tolby Trail takes you all the way back to Tolby Meadow on an excellent trail. A good spot for overnight tent camping. Tolby campground is also just minutes from Eagle Nest, NM and within easy range of Angel Fire, Red River, and a little less than an hour from Taos.

There are two other campgrounds for RVs, Maverick and Ponderosa, as well as one more for tent camping. Maverick sits right next to a pair of gravel pit lakes for added Fishing opportunities. Ponderosa is across the street from that, but is more like a parking lot with painted camping slots around its perimeter.

In the town of Cimarron I recommend dining at the Historic St. James hotel (very haunted) or lunch at the Creemee. Stop in at the headquarters of Philmont Scout Ranch for the National Scounting Museum and a Tour of the Villa Philimonte (Waite Phillips’ mansion). Also recommended is the Tooth of Time Traders at Philmont. It’s a camping/hiking store that is like an REI.

If you’re coming via Raton, the Colfax Tavern between Raton and Cimarron at Cold Beer New Mexico is a great place to stop for food and drinks.

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Max M., July 31, 2020
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2019

Ponderosa Campground

This was a glorified parking lot.  It literally is a parking lot with the lines drawn to allow for campers to park parallel on the outside and have a wide spot down the middle.  Zero trees.  If you are on the side with the river, the river is nice but then the road is right there.  If you are on the side of the hill you have more privacy but no barrier between you and your neighbor.  The bathrooms are nice and the host was very diligent.  However, someone got their generator stolen in the middle of the night.  It's only good if you are using it as a base camp to have a great time hiking and fishing or checking out the nearby towns.  Great canyon, we saw a lot of wildlife - deer and turkey.

SitePonderosa 87
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Aug. 23, 2019

Ponderosa Campground

Awesome 4 tent campsites tucked away at end of parking lot. A short jaunt from vehicle to campsites so does require carrying your gear. Pretty neat. Highly recommend.

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Joel H., August 23, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Joel H., August 23, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Joel H., August 23, 2019
Reviewed Jul. 30, 2019

Disappointed

We traveling through Northern New Mexico on our way back to Austin. The campsite was a bit of a disappointment after so many get camps in Colorado. Cimarron Canyon is still recovering from a major wildfire with large sections of the pine forest destroyed. As you travel up the canyon the damage is less so in the State Park. The highlight here is the trout stream that runs through the camp. We stayed at Tolby Campground. The park headquarters and park rangers are based here. So it’s resource for those looking to information or assistance. The campsite has a nice day use area with lots of parking excellent restrooms with for ADA. The camp host was very personable and welcomed each of the guests as they came in throughout the day. You had a mix of families and retirees at the camp enjoying the summer retreat. They firewood for sale as well. Our big grip was the lack of privacy and the size of the sites and campground itself. The sites are right next too each other and many of the huge 5th wheel RVs were running generators all day and night while others were lighting fires in the rain and smoking out the campground. It’s only $10 per night to camp here. So it may be an option for those looking to do some fishing and perhaps visiting in the week when the site isn’t completely full. The road is also very close and trucks can be heard all day long. I can’t recommend this place based on our experience, the condition of the sites,and the location.

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Steve & Ashley  G., July 30, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Steve & Ashley  G., July 30, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Steve & Ashley  G., July 30, 2019
  • (14) View All
Reviewed Jun. 14, 2019

One of my favorite spots

Great fishing opportunities, and wonderful hiking all around. Close by to two towns where you can pick up provisions. Campgrounds are great for tent camping, with many right by the river. Even though some sites are close to the road, the traffic is light so we didn’t notice.

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Grayson L., June 14, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Grayson L., June 14, 2019
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Grayson L., June 14, 2019
  • (5) View All
Reviewed May. 30, 2019

Pretty nice campground!

Cimarron Canyon State Park has numerous campgrounds along the way through the park. They all look fairly well maintained all either had vault toilets or restrooms (none had showers that I know of). We stayed at the Maverick campground which had a pond and the river was close by. Lots of good fishing spots!

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Christina S., May 30, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2018

Very well maintained campground.

We camped next to the retention ponds. There was plenty of peace and quiet. We were the only campers in the campground due to it being November. There was plenty of fire wood to gather. I don’t trout fish but there was tons of fish in the stream. Great hiking best of all it was relaxing. The ranger would come through every morning and make sure we were ok. They were some great people and very informative.

Month of VisitNovember
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Terry R., August 29, 2018
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Terry R., August 29, 2018
  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Terry R., August 29, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 20, 2016

Amazing!

I grew up going to this campsite almost every summer, so this review may be a little biased. The campsites are great, specially for tent camping. There are some big spots for RVs but those get pulled quickly. The campsites are a little close together, but I have never had any problems. The facilities are nice enough as well.

This campsite sits on the edge of a road next to two little ponds that are great for trout fishing. The river runs next to the ponds and you can find a few fish there too. I like to walk up and down the river to find some good spots that are a little quieter. The ponds fill up with quite a few people now.

You will need to bring everything you need. There are not any stores really close by, you will have to go to Cimarron ot Eagle Nest to stock on supplies if you are missing anything and they can be 30 minutes away. There are also no big box stores in these towns so things close down early.

  • Review photo of Tolby Campground — Cimarron Canyon State Park by Ricky B., June 20, 2016

Frequently Asked Questions

Are RVs allowed at Tolby Campground in Cimarron Canyon State Park?

Yes, RVs are allowed at Tolby Campground, though space can be limited. The campground has some larger spots specifically for RVs, but these tend to fill up quickly. Some areas of the campground are more suitable for RVs than others, with some sites described as parking lot-style setups. The campground sits at approximately 8,000 feet elevation. If planning an RV trip, consider making reservations well in advance to secure one of the more desirable spots.

What facilities are available at Tolby Campground in New Mexico?

Tolby Campground features flush toilets, water access, and picnic tables at each site. It's situated along the Cimarron River, offering immediate river access from many sites. The campground has a Ranger/Information Station in the area for visitor assistance. Some campsites are designed for tent camping with dedicated tent areas, while others accommodate both tents and RVs. All sites require reservations in advance, and a camp host is available on-site to assist campers with information and concerns.

What do visitors say about Cimarron Canyon State Park in their reviews?

Visitors appreciate Cimarron Canyon State Park for its scenic beauty and riverside camping. The park offers excellent fishing opportunities in the Cimarron River, which runs through the canyon. Campers enjoy the peaceful setting, though some note that sites close to the highway can experience traffic noise. The park features multiple campgrounds along the canyon with varying levels of amenities. Some areas show evidence of past wildfire damage. Many campers particularly enjoy the riverside sites, though site quality varies throughout the park. Overall, the natural beauty and fishing opportunities make it a destination worth visiting.

What hiking trails can I access from Cimarron Canyon State Park?

Clear Creek Trail is a popular option near Cimarron Canyon State Park, offering a manageable 3-mile hike that's family-friendly and suitable for children. The park and surrounding area provide various hiking opportunities with trails that showcase the canyon's natural beauty. While staying at Tolby Campground, visitors can gather information about additional hiking options from the Ranger Station or camp host. The area offers wonderful hiking experiences with scenic views of the canyon and forest, though some sections show recovery from past wildfires.