Rio Costilla Park, near Costilla, New Mexico, is a fantastic spot for those looking to immerse themselves in nature. With its spacious sites nestled among beautiful aspens and ponderosa pines, you’ll feel like you’re in a serene wilderness, yet you still have the comforts of picnic tables and fire pits.

This campground is perfect for fishing and enjoying the sounds of nearby streams. Visitors rave about the peaceful atmosphere, with no fireworks or ATVs allowed, making it a great place to unwind. One camper noted, “There is NO FIREWORKS permitted and NO ATV's permitted. Thus, a pleasant and quiet camp trip.”

While there are no showers or running water, portable toilets are conveniently located near the sites. The area is also pet-friendly, so you can bring your furry friends along for the adventure. Just be mindful of the roaming cattle; they’re harmless but can be a surprise if you’re not expecting them!

For those who love hiking, the trails around Rio Costilla Park offer stunning views and a chance to spot some wildlife. Just remember to pack out what you bring, as there are no trash cans on-site. Whether you’re fishing, hiking, or just soaking in the scenery, Rio Costilla Park is a great choice for a camping getaway.

Rio Costilla ~ Pristine Wilderness is located in Northern Taos County, New Mexico.  Lush forests offer Spring & Summer Recreation through Labor Day Weekend and are a Hunter’s Paradise throughout the year. 

Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Bike Riding, Rock Hounding, and just plain Relaxing are among many activities to be enjoyed during warmer months of the year in Rio Costilla Park.

Rio Costilla Park

Join the fun near Red River. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Red River is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.

Red River

The Best Camping Near Red River, New Mexico

The Rio Costilla Park is definitely a hidden gem. Awesome hiking trails for avid fishermen and hikers alike. From the 9 Lakes or Latier lakes however you prefer to call them to the hidden Little Blue Lake. A must visit for nature enthusiasts!

God's hidden valley

Rio Costilla is an awesome place to camp. It’s a mountainous terrain with small lakes and streams running through the camgrounds. It’s beautiful! you can go fishing in all the lakes and is regularly stocked but also has native fish in the lakes too. This campground does get a little chilly in the night, even in summer, so bring a good sleeping bag. It will drizzle regularly and sometimes pours so prepare for that. There is no running water at this campground, so bring plenty. They have port-o-potties by every camping site and they keep them clean. They also have cattle that roam around the campground so keep your pups on a leash. The hikes they have at this place are great!! It’s really neat. If you’re lucky, you’ll see some deer on one of your hikes. The views you get as you hike farther up the mountain are breathtaking! But it is a hard hike and you can get lost so I’d recommend taking a seasoned hiker with you if you’re new. This place is awesome and my favorite camping grounds. There are no trash cans at the sights or while hiking so please pack out what you brought. There is a big dumpster on your way out that you can throw your trash there.

Amazing!!

Fishing is great and quality waters. It is fisherman’s fly fishing dream. Camping is great too as you can park next to the river. It’s pricey at 20.00 a night but worth it. 

Best camping by the river

The park is HUGE and just so beautiful. 10,000 acres of aspens and ponderosa pines only one hour away from the town of Taos. All sites offer a fire pits and some come with nice picnic tables under roofs by the clear river. Only $25 a day you can get to enjoy the nature. We didn’t take our TRD pro Taco coz we thought our All wheel super handling SUV would be good enough but definitely there are some off-roading you can enjoy. Be sure to bring your truck or Jeep to enjoy more.  No cell phone reception. There are no water available and porta potties were not ready yet. The lake was closed but we still had so much fun hiking and exploring the acres of wonderland. Will definitely go back there! 

Unbelievable beauty

This is the first campground I’ve found in New Mexico where I felt like I was camping in Colorado, it was so green and beautiful! The camp sites were nicely spaced, so we felt like we were primitive camping, but it was nice to have a picnic table, especially because we have a small child. Family friendly. We wish we would have brought our 4x4 vehicle because we had initially planned to camp at little blue lake, but my Subaru Impreza was not powerful enough/didn’t have high enough clearance to make it up the road that lead to the lake! We are definitely planning on camping back to check out the lakes. The only negative thing was that we found some trash at our site from the previous campers. Also, some cows woke us up early in the morning, which was cool, but also scared the shit out of us!

So spacious!

Camped here the last 2 nights and it was fantastic.  For $25/night it’s a good deal.  There’s not clearly marked camping areas, which is both kinda cool and a little disorienting.  Some of the camping areas have small, perfectly sized covered picnic table areas which are absolutely wonderful.  The campsites are nearly all along a babbling brook, stream, or river.  The roads to the entrance, to the campsites, and definitely up to the lakes are best suited if not exclusively suited for trucks and 4WD vehicles.  Currently there’s no restroom facilities unless you personally rent a porta-potty to be brought to your campsite.  We’ll be coming back.  A word for tent campers, at least during my stay the volume of RV’s virtually dominated the park.  

Great spot

My wife and I spent 3 days and 2 nights at Rio Costillo and really enjoyed our time.  We are typically dispersed campers, so paying to camp is a bit of a departure.  The fee to camp has increased to $30 per night, but we decided to give it try.  It was probably more about what we didn't experience that we enjoyed the most.  There is NO FIREWORKS permitted and NO ATV's permitted.  Thus, a pleasant and quiet camp trip.  There have been no recent fires in the area, so the views were beautiful!.  Not sure how many head of cattle roam the park, but they could care less about you and do not pose any threat.  The sites are spread apart so much that it feels like dispersed camping.  Portable toilets are close to all sites, but no running water.  The lakes were closed at the time of our visit (clearing the road of fallen trees we were told).  Most of the sites were close to running streams of water, though we only fished in the Rio Costilla outside the park entrance.  The fees are $30 per vehicle/night and $10 to fish per person per day.  No fee to fish in the river outside of the park, only a NM license or out of state permit.

Dispersed............ but not.   Worth the trip!

Stayed two nights and loved every minute. Took inner tubes and rode them down the stream!

Labor Day 

It is very well kept and managed. The care takers are nice. It's a little more expensive to stay per night than a state park but the views are well worth it.

Photos of Rio Costilla Park

Real photos from real campers