Located just 8 miles northeast of Santa Fe, in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Hyde Memorial State Park is mountain getaway surrounded by pine forests and high peaks. The park sits alongside Little Tesuque Creek, at an elevation of 8,500 feet. This makes the area a little cooler than the city in the valley below, despite their proximity. The big summer draw to the area is access to the Pecos Wilderness and the many miles of hiking trails that roam deep into the mountainous backcountry, as well as plentiful bird and wildlife watching. In winter, though the campground is closed, visitors flock to the park’s snowy trails for sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, or head a few more miles up the road to the slopes at the Ski Santa Fe resort. 

The campground at Hyde Memorial State Park offers 57 drive-in campsites for tent and RV campers. A few sites provide electrical hookups, and can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 50 feet. Campsites are equipped with picnic tables and fire rings. Water faucets and vault toilets are located throughout the park, and flush toilets are available at the visitor center; a dump station is located near the park entrance. The park also has three yurts to rent. Park visitors also have access to several picnic areas, a playground, volleyball court, and more than 4 miles of local hiking trails. Park naturalists also offer seasonal interpretive programs. Dogs are permitted, but must remain leashed. Most campsites are first-come, first-serve; rates are $10–$14/night

Hyde Memorial State Park Campground

Ok so for a person staying in a tent, this place ins't ideal year round. They receive snow and are a known New Mexico ski area. So if you are planning a visit during the "off prime season" you might want to check into one of the other options for stay in the park.

The park has 50 camping sites designed for tent or RV campers and a few scattered sites for larger RVs as well. While only a handful of locations actually have access to electricity for those wanting of a nice stay without all the extras this place is quite nice. Water stations are scattered throughout camp along with vault toilets.

Something which does set this park apart from others in the area is the Yurt accommodations for those wanting to try something new or wanting to get outdoors but not so much that they are renting an RV and dealing with maintenance or sleeping in a tent which might be a bit overwhelming.

When I visited, it was not yet prime season so many of the amenities were limited. The regular season runs from May 1 to October 31, at this time the Lodge and private picnic shelters are available for rental and from what I have seen the accommodation there is quite spectacular. The lodge plays host to a lot of beautiful weddings and retreats.

While in partial winter shut down mode however, the access to trails is still available and I found that the trails were pretty spectacular to see as you would find native vegetation poking through snow patches, beautiful fluffy snowflakes to play in and plenty of options for enjoying your version of winter activities.

I was a bit concerned about road conditions in the ongoing snow, but even the roads were taken care of with a certain level of detail which made this park enjoyable as a 4 season park.

My only real concern would be some of the campsites did have pretty close proximity to the roadway. I could see this becoming a bit concerning for road noise as even though on my visit it was a weekday and also during a slower time for tourism, it remained quite busy on the road near the camp.

Tip:

* Book in advance online, especially if you want one of the only 7 campsites with electricity.

* Try to snag a spot away from the main road to make your stay a bit more quiet.

* Bring layers year round, despite being less than 10 miles from Santa Fe where weather is often very warm, the elevation is much different and considerably cooler.

* Try the waterfall trail it is a short hike of less than 3/4 mile round trip with great pay off at the end

Pick Your Site Carefully

Beautiful spot for fall camping since the leaves are changing colors and temperatures are cooler. In winter, this area receives snow and can be difficult to get to without a reliable, 4-wheel drive vehicle. 

Tent sites have covered awnings and fire pits when open flame is allowed. There are two large yurts tucked away from the main road. Great hiking trails in and around the park.

On the way to Ski Santa Fe

A family trip with the RV and although we did enjoy our stay for the most part, there was a lot left to be desired. The larger RV spots we had to get were right next to the road and right next to other campers. The drive up is steep and our RV had a hard time; would not even think of staying up here in the winter. The dump station was closed for some reason when we were leaving. The kids enjoyed the steep hikes and the stream the runs along the other side of the camp sites where there are smaller campgrounds for tent camping. There was a fun playground my kids enjoyed and a nice area at the group shelter. Lots of fun painted rocks my kids round my the stream. Would visit again but not in an RV and not during winter when it would be snowing. 

Small spaces and steep drive up

We loved our stay here. Monsoon season- not an issue with the Adirondack shelters. Stayed in Site 13, which was FF, suggest talking to the host in the RV lot across the street if you find yourself there without a reservation. The waterfall trail was beautiful, the vault toilet was clean, the views were incredible. Very peaceful.

Perfect

The RV sites are well placed, the electricity worked well, and the asphalt pad was not level but made leveling easy.  The proximity to trails is amazing.  Group sites were closed and I worry that this area would be crowded if everything was open.  Road noise was significant.

Nearly perfect but for road noise

We stayed on site 24 with our small camper. We didn’t realize that site 24 basically shares a site with a FCFS site, but they were respectful neighbors.

The site was roomy and had a nice picnic table and shelter. My husband and I did notice a lot of road noise at night, as we tented and let our family sleep in the camper. 

Pit toilets were “cleanest I’ve ever seen”, per my picky mother in law.

Great hiking trails from the campground and the ranger at the entrance of the park was super helpful. We’ll be back!

Great park!

What a beautiful spot, close enough to Santa Fe to go in town if needed but remote enough to feel you’re alone. Great hiking, beautiful scenery, and friendly camp host. Our spot was a BIT tricky to get into so be aware if you’re not experienced backing uphill but our little teardrop is easy so no issues for us. Roomy campsite, private. Connects to hiking trail and stream. 

Amazing place!!!!!

3 people, tiny camper, tent, dog. It has a table, grill and fire pit. 2 Vault toilets nearby. Spaced far enough to enjoy the space. Occasional road noise that died as the night came from mountain traffic. Lots of access to the MTN and trails. 25-30 min to the bottom @ Santa Fe. Stayed Sept 30 and Oct 1