Mora Recreation Area — Pecos Canyon State Park

I camped here in July 2023 and I got the site I wanted for two nights. The river was less than 30 ft from my camp site which hide my snoring. I will be coming back every year!

Mora Campground is in the newly established Pecos Canyon State Park. The area was formerly managed by New Mexico Department of Wildlife. The campground itself is notability lacking in amenities, and is basically several parking spaces along the beautiful Mora River, which flows into the Pecos River very near the campground. There are pit toilets and trash receptacles, but nothing beyond that, even lacking picnic tables. There is no drinking water, nor dump station. In fact there is no fresh water nor dump anywhere nearby. The ranger gave us erroneous information that there was fresh water at Jack’s Creek NFS campground about five miles further up the canyon. As of this review, there is no fresh water there. There is no cell service at the campground. All of the sites are supposed to be reservation only. However, there is no camp host and we had some people come in next to us that did not have reservations and did not follow the rules, including paying for the site. When we were camping, there had been bear activity in the area and there was a trap set to capture the bear. The positive is that you are parked right next to the river with its rapidly flowing water. Overall, it was a pleasant camping experience but probably not more than a couple of nights as there are not a lot of activities at the campground, although there is hiking nearby. According to the ranger, there are plans to improve the campground, including paving the sites and adding amenities such as a dump station.

Drove up to Mora campground through Pecos off of I-25. Campground is small maybe 10 spots, no services and most back up to the river. Some spots very sunny and other lots of shade. Road up there at times is only one lane, I wouldn't recommend any trailer longer then 32 foot. I also drove to a boondocking area with plenty of places up in the hills nearby. There where a lot of fishing going on and one gentleman told me he has gotten three fish within his 1st hour. Spots are first come first served and I'm sure weekends are packed. I had no cell service.

My first backpacking adventure in Northern New Mexico took me from Iron Gate Campground to Mora Flats. BEAUTIFUL!

A quick 4-5 mile hike in, we crossed the Pecos River and found a nice, shady spot in valley. It was peaceful, quiet and surprisingly cool for late-July. It rained each afternoon, but we had everything we needed to stay dry and cozy.

The river provided plenty of trout for a nice rice and fish dinner. The sky provided plenty of stars for gazing.