Villanueva State Park Campground

We went 2017 summer and it was one of the best campgrounds we have been to. We had lots of fun in the creek and hiking the trails.

Great campgrounds

A couple of good hiking trails, campsites right on the Pecos. I can imagine it gets a little busy, but it's an underrated park with nice, big sites, good fishing and hiking.

Good Hiking, Nice Sites

There are a few prime reservable sites by the river, otherwise it is first come, first served. Most sites can accommodate either tent or rv camping, and some both. The playground and hiking trails are fun for kids. The general store in town is fair, but be selective on buying firewood. Sometimes it is fairly green. It is a campground I go to annually, the night skies are wonderful.

Great place to visit

The park itself is tucked away into a canyon between two towering cliffs. There are shady campsites along the Pecos river, which was a little high when we visited in June, but otherwise might be nice to float down on a tube. In fact, some adventurous neighbors were floating--but I was one mom and had 6 kids with me (between my own and some friends). There are also some campsites higher up with a commanding view, but less shade.

There is fishing in the river, hiking up to the mesas with commanding views, geocaching, a playground, showers, relaxation, and it is only a short drive to Las Vegas, NM. The adobe picnic shelters were wonderful. No phone signals in the park, but hiking up to the mesa will catch you a decent number of bars (as joyfully discovered by my teen). The campsites are really spacious, and water is easily accessible. The group shelter and camping area was gorgeous. There is a small visitor center with really friendly and helpful park staff.

While this campsite is not particularly visited by bears, etc., please be advised to keep your food OUT OF your tent. The squirrels and chipmunks are particularly good at finding food and did cut a hole through our neighbors tent to get to it! Likewise, unattended food at the campsite will be carried away by our four legged critters with super fluffy tails.

Really pleasant park

We were road tripping cross country and realized we wouldn’t make it to the campsite we originally planned for. We found this campground and it was fantastic. A little off the beaten path but was worth it. Each campsite had a picnic area some even had shelters over them!  The lower campground was right next to the river (very high when we were there). The upper campground was open (where we stayed) the upper campground had pit toilets but they were well maintained. A short walk down the hill to the lower campground there were shower and restroom facilities. 
We stayed one night before hitting the road again only $10 for the non-hook up sites.

Loved it!

Me and my family were looking simply for a night to rest after a long drive. About 25 minutes off of 1-40, we drove through the quaint, pretty town to get to our campsite which is all easy to find and access. We were stunned in the morning by the scenic overlook we camped on and the air smelled and felt great. There is a pleasant hike that leads to a sort of fortification that was historically garrisoned by some Texan insurgents at some point during the Mexican American war. Check it out!

Gorgeous stop off of I-40

So, the campground hosts and the ranger Lawrence were very friendly. Bathrooms were cleaned often, and the showers were hot. Very secluded sites along the Pecos River, and a cute store for firewood etc nearby. There are hiking trails, and the one along the ridge was fun to hike.

A must see and stay! 

Spacious site with a very nice shelter. Creek and canyon were my backyard! Very cool trails, friendly staff. The nearby town of the same name has limited service offerings, but this park was a wonderfully pleasant experience on a meandering road trip from TN to UT.

Fantastic experience

This is an awesome campsite if you chose the right location. Every site is booked online and comes with an adobe-style pergola thing with a picnic table. All of the sites that you book online are pretty good. Although, what a lot of people don't know is that there are first come first serve free campgrounds up the hill that overlooks the reserved area of the park has very nice and new pergolas as well. These sites in our opinion are far better than the sites that you have to pay for at the bottom. We originally booked a site near the river at the bottom but the camp host showed us a free spot at the top of the hill and we immediately took it. They do not share the same toilets but it's an easy hundred-yard walk or so if you feel as though you need to use them. The reserved sites have access to nicer bathrooms, a playground for the kids, and some wifi if you are close enough to the information building across the road from the camp host site (who was extremely nice and informative). 

  

We did not have service from T-mobile while we were there but we were able to use the free wifi in the park. You can also hike to the top of the hill on the other side of the river to get a bar or two of service. 

  

The weather was nice for the one night that we stayed there in early July. About mid 60's at night and low 80's during the day. 

  

**If you'd like to go to the free area, here's how to get there.**

**\*We highly suggest campsite 36C**

*   Follow the road into the campsite.
*   You will reach the camp host site on the right and a small building on the left (that's where the wifi is)
*   Take a sharp left up the steep narrow road to the top of the hill.
*   All of the little pergolas are free sites. 

We saw a small fox around dusk while we were hiking but still decided to leave our cooler of food out at night and didn't have a problem. Although we didn't see any, we heard a few reports of snakes so be careful as you hike around the site and on the trails.

Far better than we expected

I stayed for two days at these campgrounds.  There are spots you can reserve online and then if you go up there hill there are free first come, first serve spots with shelters. It was relatively quiet, and there is a cutoff time for generators for the RVs. The creek and the hiking paths are pretty nice, and my dog enjoyed taking some cool dunks. There is no cell service, but there is WiFi at the welcome center.

What a beautiful place!

Hidden gem. Few campsites with electric. Water available. Dumpsite available. Tucked away in the mountains. On pecos river. Great area to hike. 

Cultural campground 

Beautiful, quiet location near the Pecos river. We did not have any Verizon/AT&amp;T data connection without our weboost. But with the cell booster on we both had 2-4MBPS.

Quiet Location

The beauty here really gives you an oasis feel. Also there are after hours spikes that keep the 3am drunkards out...that is worth its weight in gold...most of us have had that experience where people are being rowdy at an indecent hour...that won't happen here. There are quiet hours. I felt so safe and all the people were so good that I slept with my rain fly off and gazed at the stars. 

I felt safe

It's a bit challenging to get to this campground coming from the southeast because GPS instructed to turn down a dirt road. Just continue on through town of Villanueva and at the fork in the road turn right to the park. The drive in has a steep hill and the lanes felt narrow, but doable in my rig (25' class C). There were larger rigs than mine in the park when I was there. Also, if you need cell service, Verizon was nil at the campsite. I had to walk up to the bath house to get a signal.

The park is nestled between 2 sandstone canyon walls and along side the Pecos River. It's a gem! The site I had was right on the river. The kiddos from a few sites down were wading into the river from this site. Could put in a kayak from here too.

The park has pull thru and back in sites, some with electricity and water, others just water. Also a tent area, playground, pit toilets and a bath house. The awesome park attendant, Gilbert, said that they will be upgrading all sites to electric soon. Fairly level sites. There's a dump on site, but it was closed during my stay.

Big old cottonwood trees provide shade and lots of birds visit the area. Hummingbirds galore!

Make sure to do the vista trail hike. It's moderate to challenging and the views are a treat! Also the river trail is an easy walk along the Pecos. 

Last but not least, check out the little village of Villanueva at the top of the "hill". Charming! The general store in town sells a delicious spice blend that is made with New Mexican hatch peppers. Try their nacho pie and enjoy!

Beautiful riverside oasis

Beautiful location. Next to Pecos river. Cultural heritage and scenic area. Beautiful rocks/cliffs along river.

Great location 

It’s about the most affordable camp we have stayed. We didn’t get to explore the area much because of a winter storm, but everything we saw was neatly kept. I’d stay here again anytime - the only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is the site we were in was right against a parking lot and some of the other sites don’t have tons of privacy or shade. 

Do look at the other reviews that say don’t trust your GPS - if you end up on a dirt road, you aren’t in the right place.


Pretty perfect

First of all- DON’T TRAVEL RT 3 FROM I40! Travel on 84, it looks longer, but it’s not really and the road is way better! 
We enjoyed staying here, even though we didn’t have an actual camp site. 
The dirt is red but that’s normal for this area. Good hiking (some slight rock climbing) 
The sites are mostly 2 per site, back to back, but it’s not real close together. And the tables seem to be on the wrong side in several places.
When we called they said there were no sites available, but they’d make room for us. That was by the group shelter, and it wasn’t bad, but no where really private to set out chairs and no table, which we didn’t need anyway. 
It was a very quiet place and you can hear the river running. 
On through the camp, there are tent sites that are very nice.  The ranger were very kind and helpful.
Make time to visit in the city. One of the stores sells the best ever frito pie…with a cold Pepsi…wow! 
We were here in April and it was pretty warm, so I’d think it might be fairly hot in summer.
I’d like to come back some 

A Good Place to Rest

Perfect little camping spot, super cheap with showers &amp; toilets. Some locals told us that when the river is lower you can tube on it. Gorgeous area, the shelters were adorable. The park rangers hang out during the day and are super helpful. The only thing missing was a dumpster, there are plenty of smaller trash cans but if you need to throw out anything larger you’ll have to pack it out. There are water pumps scattered around but we’re not sure if it’s good to drink. Nothing said not to so we figured it was okay. Maybe bring a water filter if that’s something that worries you. Also, if you need any supplies get them early before you even get within an hour of the area. There is a very small convenience store close by but it doesn’t stock much, and the closest actual stores are in Las Vegas. Come prepared! 

Just awesome

First time stay while on a multi-state trip. Nice to have some trees and greenery in the desert. The covered picnic table was great with the hot sun, even in Spring. No cell coverage. Gates close at 7pm or 9pm depending on the season, so make sure to make it in before closing time. 

Quiet, out of the way oasis

Nice state park. Can get windy in the spring. No cell service but Starlink connection is fine.

Hidden gem

The drive to this park takes us back in time through the tiny town of Villanueva. Once through the gates I was amazed at the fast flowing Pecos River right next to the tree shaded sites. A gem. Good hiking trails too!