This is such a scenic place to camp. Mountains, sunrise, sunset, trails. Bathrooms are clean and good showers. Wow! I hope we can come here again.
Great campground with interesting history. Dog canyon trail is a must to get the whole experience. Tours to Oliver Lee ranch are available. Can be windy and lots of bugs during our visit. Only one trail.
Great location with beautiful sunrises, sunsets, AND moon rises over the Sacramento mountains.
Clean location, clean restroom/shower facilities. Campground was full the week we were present. A friendly campground host patrols periodically.
Absolutely stunning. I will definitely be coming here again. The sunrise, sunset and night sky were all breathtaking. I loved every bit of it. Va unity was so clean and bathrooms were also very clean.
This State Park is Amazing.
It has everything I would want in a campground and for only $10 a night.
The Fog Canyon Trail is great too
Beautiful view, very clean, water and 50 amp hookup
I stayed at A-30, and while there was no electric or water hookup, to me, it had the best view! Right behind me was the beautiful mountain and I was very close to the visitor center and Dog Canyon Trail.
Water was nearby and the restrooms/shower was a few hundred feet away.
Hosts were nice and helpful along my hiking trip and I can’t wait to come back when there are full hookup sites available (I see why they are reserved often).
What a great place to stay and what an amazing view each morning!
Great campground about 20 minutes south of Alamogordo. Nestled in the rocks. Alamogordo itself seemed a little sketchy but this campground is far enough away. Some sites have water and power. Some more level than others. The water and dump station is VERY conveniently located just outside the entrance.
Perfectly level, no trash, beautiful stars, sunset and sunrise over the mountains. A few other campers. No amenities but hoping no one leaves trash (as that rudeness has closed many other great BLM sites). Went to White Sands National Monument early (25 miles) to get spot to park RV.
The campground is located in the Oliver Lee State Park, with access on paved roads. There is a dump and water fill station at the entrance. Many sites have electric and water. All have picnic tables, fire rings/grills, but no shade. The Comfort Station is well kept and clean, with running hot and cold water in showers and sinks. Toilets have running water. It’s very quiet in the night so you can enjoy the sound of night creatures. Sadly, although there is electricity at the sites, generators are run at times tearing up the silence and tranquility. Hiking trails are accessible from the campground, a strenuous treck into Dog Canyon and an easy Nature trail. The park is only twenty minutes from White Sands National Park. Great experience! I would come back here any time!
Pretty secluded spots far enough from your neighbors to be comfy and felt safe as a female traveling alone. The only restrooms with sinks and showers were about a 5 minute walk from my campsite (which was at an RV site even though I car camped). there are more vault toilets without sinks but a little bit further towards the higher numbered spots (the ones that don’t take reservations, first come first serve). I got cell service with T-Mobile and you’re right next to dog canyon trailhead (very challenging) and also an easier nature trail. Gorgeous views too.
We are from Washington state where it's over $50 a night for a spot at a state park. The need to learn a lesson from this one. This park is very nice! I am sure it's very hot in the peak of the summer months. A few spots have shelters for shade. We came in early October. Really pleasant and quiet. Only water and electric hook up. And a dump station on the way out. $14 a night is a bargain! We would definitely come back if we are in the area. Kudos to the management team!!
As of May 2021, through end of Sep 2021, camping is BY RESERVATION ONLY, via reserveamerica.com.
The amenities of each campsite, as well as "driveway" length, are listed on that website.
All campsites have a picnic table and a fire ring with grill.
Only some have shade shelters.
Hydrant water is potable (except from blue hydrant at dump station).
Pets on leash (6' or less) at all times; lots of garbage cans to dispose of pet waste.
After recent rains, the park is strikingly green for being in the desert. The Nature Trail is a bit challenging, not having been reconstructed after the 2019 flood, but still offers a short easy hike to where there is flowing water prior to requiring you to clamber over boulders either up or down the canyon. The Dog Canyon Trail is steep -- bring lots of water! The Visitor Center is open each morning except Monday, and staffed by knowledgeable volunteers. Call the park phone # and listen to the recording to find if there are any changes.
At this time (through Sept 15) MASKS ARE REQUIRED in the VC and comfort station.
Volunteer camphosts keep the comfort station spotless. They also sell firewood for the Friends of Dog Canyon (cash only), and if the VC is not open can sell you an annual pass (also cash only). They will loan you a free sled/saucer for White Sands.
Glass containers are prohibited (outside your RV).
ATVs/OHVs are prohibited.
We tent-camped at Oliver Lee State Park on 8/14/2021. Overall good experience. We took a 2 mile hike down and around the riparian trail where there was water in the canyon that disappeared in the creek bed beyond the canyon. We didn’t attempt the steep trail to the ridge. Although we visited in August, it wasn’t too hot because of recent rains.
What a gem of a state park. Sites were private, spaced well apart and had mountain and city views. Each site had a picnic table (some have shelters over them) and a fire ring. We stayed in site 10 and really liked it. It had a path to the comfort station, which was clean and well equipped. This park is very convenient to visiting Alamogordo and White Sands (a must do), each are a short drive away. Night views from the park are as amazing as daytime. Highly recommend this.
We stayed on Site #9 for 3 nights. We wanted to stay longer. However, our site was extremely unlevel. We tried front tire blocks. Had to go buy more blocks and just could not get level enough. Pros: Absolutely breathtaking views! Spacious. AT&T and Verizon coverage.
Reservation camp ground about 15-20 min from Alamogordo. Great views, although a little windy at night since you're right up against the mountains. Bathrooms were clean and the pull in spots are nicely spaced out, so it's nice and chill. They also have quiet hours from 10p-7a daily. Office was closed when I was there (Monday) so I can't speak to the staff, but the campground looked pretty well maintained.
There are two trails if you want to hike. One is flat and goes through the canyon for about a mile and a half. The other is basically straight up for 5 miles - I didn't try that one :) - but I imagine the views are great if you can swing it.
The only complaint about this campground (which can't be fixed) is the flies. So. Many. Flies. They're everywhere and they are impossible to deter no matter how many times you swat them. It's insane. Maybe it was the time of year (late June) but it made tent camping pretty tough at times. If you're in an RV/camper I imagine it wouldn't be quite as bad for you.
Gorgeous campsite. Everyone is nicely spaced out. Amazing breeze in the morning and evening, beautiful stars, clean bathrooms, friendly people and hosts. Absolutely would recommend.
We were visiting White Sands and were just planning to camp on BLM. As night fell and the winds rose, we figured we’d be a bit better off closer to the mountain with hopes of some protection from the wind. It seemed less windy, but there were SO many bugs. They got through all our bug nets in to our van. Fortunately no bites but we spent a long time trying to kill them just to be sure.
Nearly all the sites were reserved and we were lucky to get maybe the last one. The website was not too clear about if you needed a reservation or not, but upon arrival we learned that nearly all sites are Reservation Sites. It was easy to book the last site available on the website.
Sites were spacious, bathrooms were nice.
Pretty campground, no shade most sites. 80 percent of sites require reservations. Good hosts.
Stayed for 2 nights in early May. A few spaces left available each night. Quiet, extremely well maintained and clean toilets. Beautiful views and sunsets. Great and strenuous hike up Dog Canyon from the campsite with beautiful views, about 5.5 miles but the recommendation is to allow 8 to 10 hours. We only did 3 miles as the temperature got to 85 degrees so take loads of water. White Sands Park about half an hour away. Campsite highly recommended.
Good, clean state park campground central to Alamogordo and White Sands.
Pros:
Cons:
This is a lovely park. Unfortunately, we had to bail on our reservation since previous reviews (and reviews on other sites) and the reservation system led us astray. We booked an electric only to arrive and find out it was a non-electric site. Talked to a great camp host who tried to help but ultimately didn’t have any options. Turns out this has been a problem many times so check your resy if you need power. Water and dump are available so that wasn’t a problem for a short stay.
On a weekend, it’d be a great spot but this was a midweek stay for us and we need power on all day to work remotely and use our various wifi/cell services.
Also of note, reviews I’d seen had said the service was passable but we discovered low to no service for both att and Verizon (<0.2 mbps) and it dropped frequently.
We loved this campground. Hosts greeted us immediately and shared information about the park and hikes since the visitor center was closed. Also lent us a sled to use at White Sands (saving $20 from buying a sled at the park).
Amazing view, especially for sunset. Perfect for hiking up into Dog Canyon.
Shower was still closed from covid which was a stinky bummer but not the end of the world.
Read a book in one sitting watching the sun set.
Very beautiful hidden away RV and Raised Primitive State Park full of marked and unmarked foliage and a nice museum reflecting on the surrounding area of New Mexico. Everything above standards with wonderful staff. Was there with a friend and had an outstanding experience.
Staying at this park. Very comfortable, great views, beautiful hike from the park and great people. We only plan to stay one day but ended up staying a couple because it was so nice. Close to Alamogordo so easy to get supplies or go out to do things. The space museum is nearby which was very fun. Would definitely go back again.
Able to bring RVs
Probably the nicest state camp group designed with full RV sites I’ve seen. We have just a pop up so mix it up between hook ups and primitive spots when we are traveling. The is a heavily occupied camp group with some reserved sites and some one night FCFS sites. End of April every site was full. Nice shower facilities, but u like KOA there are natural and manmade barriers very strategically placed. Good jumping off point to Lincoln forest day hikes and white sands area. Really beautifully landscaped. Our site backed up right to the mountains. Gorgeous at dusk/dawn.
Large sites, Good wifi with booster (Verizon and AT&T). Pets allowed. Fun things to do nearby. Quiet and peaceful. Wonderful view of the night sky
