Sante Fe National Forest BLM-Road 62 Dispersed

I actually stayed here for a night -though inadvertently. When I drove in the next night to stay, I noticed that there was a sign up that said "no overnight camping". That being said, I did stay one night and didn't get approached by anyone.

Luckily, there is a large plot of land to the right that is also BLM land that you can stay on. Unfortunately though, several of those sites did have trash on them. And flies. And broken glass. Kinda sketchy. But there were several sites that were fine. Some parts of the road were questionable for cars to drive on, but there's enough road and pullouts where the roads were ok enough to drive on.

Area is open. There’s some trash right as you come in, but there’s plenty of clean spots not too much further in. Decent spot, though also popular.

I drove in and was immediately stopped by park rangers. They told me they were letting people know they will be shutting this location down do to people not being decent. If it is still open, you’ll see a lot of trash. Certain sites looked better than others. Flat land with not a lot to do.

Overall I really liked this spot. However no one seems to keep their dogs on a leash despite the law being 6 foot leash at all times. They let their dogs roam thru everyone's campsites.

There was a slight amount of trash at most sites. Sad!

Not a lot going on. Good place to stop to sleep for free. Other than that idk what you would do. If your in a tent, boring.

This is a large area with many campsites. Pretty much anywhere you can get your vehicle, you can camp. No services except for a vault toilet near the entrance. The roads are dirt. Main roads are good, side roads have a bit more ruts and divots.

When you come into the dispersed area, there are a lot more people camped near the front, but if you continue down the road you can easily find a secluded spot. The spot was quiet for the most part, just a few dogs barking at night.

it’s loud day and night due to being by airport and landfill. road is trash after getting to the second cattle guard. lots of shooting ranges, nearly unlimited campsites, dogs barking and trash scattered but still it’s very relaxing being in the forest

First off, I’m so disappointed with the state of the land. The trailhead was crowded and covered in trash. Complete filth no matter which direction you go, including abandoned RV’s. It’s right next to a landfill so the flies rule this land. ATV and gun activity all weekend.

We stayed at a site a mile from the trailhead, minimal trash and lots of room to spread out.

Advantages: 15 minutes to town, beautiful sunrise/sunset, relatively quiet during the week. Great views of the surrounding area.

Lost signal while driving down the road to the spot but found a spot with service. Picked a secluded spot surrounded by trees with a fire pit. While the sun was up I heard gunshots and people would drive by but it quieted down after sundown. Saw a cop drive around as well. There were a few cars when I drove in but didn’t see any people from where I parked. Very nice and quiet.

Great boondocking spot @15 mins from downtown Santa Fe.

Zero amenities but clean, huge open areas, and safe.

Your are behind a huge solid waste transfer station but you’d never know besides the huge hill. No smell or garbage anywhere.

Pros-

-HUGE open area -WIFI is great (pull in and go to the left down by the cattle coral) -Clean areas -Safe -Bathrooms (Didn’t Use) -Tons of hiking -15mins tops to downtown Santa Fe -Free

Cons-

-Windy -Dusty -No water -No Dump Station

We got water at the dog park up the road with our water bladder bag. Try to go during dusk as it is way less busy with fewer spectators watching and wondering what you’re doing, we had zero issues! 😊

It’s a great Free spot for a night or two weeks also surrounded by BLM land so you can’t really go wrong.

This area is well big enough for any size rig, just stay to the right on the gravel road pass the cattle guard where the road is gravel and smoother for sure!

Enjoy! 😊

This area truly makes you feel like you are in the wild west. Had a blast. The sunset was amazing. The only thing is some JERK pulled near me at 3am with his big loud engine running and his headlights pointed right at my tent...for about an hour. I was scared and angry. Nothing came of it, but seriously, some people have no decency.

Arrived around 7:00 on Saturday and lots of campers but lots of room. Everyone was quiet and almost everyone turned lights out so no light pollution from neighbors. No TP at restroom, so go prepared. Would stay here again.

Camped for one night and enjoyed some beautiful March weather (overnight low in the 50s).

Very nice area - a fair number of people had their vans parked here - maybe one or two other tents. Fairly windy area so I appreciated the little bit of tree shelter (though maybe that was just the night). Pretty clean but still reduced our footprint by picking up some trash others left - it all helps!

Wide open space to pick your spot next to a Juniper or two.

Hardly anyone here, just the coyotes howling. Appreciated access to a pit toilet.

My first time dispersed camping was a success! Enough space for people to spread out, little trees help with privacy. Freezing here at night but it is winter! Beautiful views and just enough service for t-mobile! Couldn’t ask for more really! Just remember Leave No Trace as I did see some litter, nothing crazy tho. Awesome spot.

Spacious sites, great cell reception and very close to town. Will definitely boondock here again!

Dispersed camping on the edge of Santa Fe. Easy access. Some former homeless camps and trash scattered around. Go further in for a more scenic vista on high ground.

Great views. Minutes outside of town. Someone else mentioned cel service slowing down at night. I experienced the same thing. Not a big deal if your not stuck inside but...

Great views. Minutes outside of town

Lots of room and privacy because of scrub. Good solar. But the wind and the passing vehicles blow up dust.

Nice and quiet! LOTS of area to park and be isolated. Easy drive to Santa Fe

Lots of nomads but plenty of spots midweek, feels safe, 15min from town.

Connectivity at night is slow, but faster during the day for some reason, even with our booster. Was able to get a signal on all major carriers.

This is a massive dispersed camping area. I’m not really sure how far in the camping spots go, but so far I’ve seen over 100, with about 1/4 of them taken right now. Many, but not all, are level spots. Roads vary depending on which spots your getting to. Great cell service. Great views. And minutes away from stores and gas stations.

Lots of options and always a fair amount of campers. Mostly big rigs and vans. Can be quite dusty, but overall it’s great. Just 5 miles to town.

There are a ton of campsites here, and even more options if you have a high clearance vehicle. 

If you have a low clearance RV I recommend taking the first road to the left after crossing the cattle guard. That road leads around most of the camping area and you can avoid the side roads with the steep entrances. 

It is right next to a landfill which is interesting but there were no flies or smells in October. 

For a free camping area right next to a city the area felt safe and was surprisingly clean.

Nice spot west of Santa Fe. Not very far from town. Warmer than staying in the mountains to the east for sure.

It's a great area with flat sites and close proximity to Santa Fe. The dirt road is not too long and not bad at all. There were a bunch of campers there but it didnt feel crowded. There was a pit toilet, clean and maintained (had fully stocked TP).

Driving along the access road, seems like there are also camping spots before the gate, but within the gate is the Forest Service grounds.

Stars are amazing at night. We saw nearby hiking and mtb trails, though we didnt get to try them. Santa Fe is also a great city to visit while here.

For Dispersed Camping this is good. We are a 45’ DP with 30’ trailer and found a place shortly after we came into the gates. I had rained the day before but had no issues as ground soaked it up. The area did a have several other campers all about a football field apart. Cell was 3-4 bars on ATT and Verizon. If you look on google maps you will see it is close to the landfill but we experienced no issues from that.