Sunset Reef Campground

This free site is only 7 minutes from the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns. We showed up around 6:30 and all the sites were taken so we set up along the edge of the campsite. There are shaded picnic tables, trash cans, and a clean enough vault toilet. The sun set and sunrise were amazing!

This spot is perfect if you’re visiting Carlsbad Caverns! It’s only 10 minutes to the entrance, and about 25 minutes to the visitor center.

Vault toilet bathroom was clean and well kept, rv sites had lovely shaded picnic tables (thank god it was really hot and the shade helped a lot), a fire pit and a grill.

We just parked along the edge the first night since it was pretty full, but early the next morning a few people rolled out and we got to swoop a legit spot for the second night. Turnover seems quick here since the caverns are usually a one and done attraction.

Sky views and sunsets were beautiful. Great free campsite, easy access to city of Carlsbad with a 30 minute drive. This would be a little far but a solid option for Guadalupe Mountain National Park as well, probably a 45 minute drive south. Thanks Sunset Reef!

Close to Carlsbad Caverns. Clean, room to make more sites, drive in was not bad at all, nice view, there are tent only sites and rv sites with fire rings and picnic tables, rv sites go fast we were not able to get a spot for our camper van but were able to park against the fence with a nice view.

Very clean and well-maintained campground with clean bathrooms. Sites are open and flat with no trees, so be prepared if it’s windy. Some road noise, but generally quiet. Each site has a fire pit, grill, and covered picnic table. Beautiful morning and evening views. Nice tent and camper sites. Pit toilet available. Great base camp for Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks

Probably would have found faster if had this app.  Nice clean campground with bathroom.  Very open & no trees.  Stayed here 3 nights in my vehicle mid-April 2025 while i visited the 2 National Parks in the area (Guadalupe & Carlsbad). I could be over-rating but hard not too since it was free & had a bathroom facilities.

Nice Quiet Clean campground. Beautiful views of the Guadalupe Range. Can see the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor center from the site. Free campground! Trash cans and clean well stocked pit toilet also has tent camping. Fire pit, grill, and covered picnic table. Beautiful sunrise.

Originally was going to stay somewhere else and then didn’t like it when we got there. We came across this place and loved it. Had a bathroom which was nice because we camped in a tent!

I didn’t get a photo of the sign with the rules, but you are able to stay here for five nights for free. There are five tent pads and five pull-ins for RVs, but there were also RVs just parked on the edge wherever they wanted to be. We came here because each site has a SHELTER that kept the sun off of us for a few hours (and a picnic table, fire ring, charcoal grill, and trash cans) AND there was a pit toilet. It did get a little noisy when a group of college students arrived and then some other rando had to show his dominance by blasting music out of his truck for two hours, but not a bad spot. Tent pad was a huge relief after a few nights of straight rocks.

There is quite a bit of space so we were able to spread out. Just outside of the official campground there’s plenty of blm land to camp on as well. The stars were stunning.

Worth noting: We came in late at night and missed the turn off for this campground a few times before finding it. Watch out for cacti as they can sneak up on you. It is also worth noting that it’s a byotp situation with the bathroom.

This was by far one of my favorite spots and it's free. Just like a National park site. Just a pit toilet. No water. Beautiful spot sunset, sunrise and stars. I stayed one night when going to Carlsbad Caverns NP. Then went to Guadalupe Mountains NP.

We stayed three nights for free while hiking and exploring Guadalupe Mountain NP and Carlsbad Caverns NP. Plenty of space and a room to let the dog explore. Close to both parks. Even in January the spots stayed full but there is lots of room around the parameter. We preferred those spots as it kept more distance from the other campers.

The road in is a bit rough to travel but it’s less than one mile off the paved road . The sites are well marked and each site has a canopy over a cement slab with a grill , trash can and a picnic table . Five outta five stars …. It very close to Carlsbad Park

Great free campsite between Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. Just a mile from the road but perfectly quiet. Not the most private sites but they are new and clean (including the pit toilet)

Easily accessible to either Carlsbad Caverns NP or Guadalupe MTN NP and FREE and very good 4 bar Verizon service. The .5 mile drive in was a bit bumpy/washboard but level and hard packed so I'd think any vehicle could manage it, as there were many car campers. Very nicely done with 11 sites (5 pull thru RV and 6 car/tent) which we're overfilled by 6 p.m., although several folks parked by the fences without the shelter/table and stayed overnight. Signs notify that there are cameras/s monitoring activity so it was very quiet and felt safe.

Nice camping spot only about 5 miles from Carlsbad Caverns. The sites are nice and the vault toilet was very clean. I camped here in February and there was plenty of room. I got here around 5:30 PM.

Sunset reef is small and does fill up quickly as there is limited spots but you can always park on the outskirts of the corral like fencing and there’s still plenty of space. Luckily we had found and open spot and there were one or two others but filled up almost immediately. Covered picnic tables and fire rings as well as a charcoal grill were available at each site. There was one vaulted toilet and trash cans scattered around. I highly recommend this site if you can get a spot

Stayed here one night. All the covered sites were taken. But there's plenty of parking around the perimeter. Restroom was very clean. Great night sky. Quiet.

This site was great. Super clean, free, has tent spots and also spots for vans/buses/rooftop tents, trailers. The sunset was BEAUTIFUL from the site. The stars were amazing as well. It is tucked back a little from the main road which was so nice. Nice and quiet.

Very small corral like campground. Fills up quickly even during off seasons. Plenty of people parking along the fence not at actual sites. One pit toilet.

We stayed there on a Friday night and there were 2-3 open spots with 3-4 campers that chose to stay around the edge. It’s a nice spot very close to Carlsbad caverns.

Good spot that’s close to Carlsbad caverns and Guadalupe National park. There’s a pit toilet and a few spots with picnic tables and sun shades. It does get busy on the weekend. The bad part, the campground is just a big dirt corral with no privacy.

Sunset Reef is great place to spend a night, or a few days exploring the area around Carlsbad. The 10 designated spots with canopies, picnic tables, grills, and fireplaces are top notched and the dry pit toilet is very clean. Additional parking places are available around the perimeter of the camp site, with room for another 10 or so campers if you don’t get there in time for a site with a canopy. There is almost no road noise from the adjacent highway. Hats off to the BLM Carlsbad Field Office for providing this great facility.

Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 30 minutes from Carlsbad NM! Slaughter canyon trail is 20 minutes down the same road the campsite is on. This is a great spot off the highway. You can hear some noise throughout the night. Also, it can be noisy if neighbors are loud.

The area is a fenced-in level gravel lot with pit toilets, trash, picnic table sites, and tent sites. Each site has a grill and campfire area with a covered picnic table. Sites fill up quickly, but there are plenty of spots to park next to the fence. Easy to get here with any kind of camper (RV, trailer, ect). Views are great, and the area is maintained well.

The campground allows five consecutive nights of camping. Verizon service was good!

This site/sites are along a dirt road just off 62/180 a few miles north of the turn off to Carlsbad Caverns. There are three sites that are reachable with most any car and then a little rough patch after the third site makes it a bit more challenging to get to the rest of the sites (although they are lovely further along the road). See photos for rough road. Could be ok with careful driving and high clearance even if no 4WD but we didn’t try in our Chevy van. We stayed at the second site on the left (not counting the first pull off as you come onto the dirt road. Was a bit unlevel but we made it work with our blocks. Not a ton of privacy and some road noise but not too bothersome to us. There were several others camping here both of the nights we stayed around NYE. Everyone was quiet and respectful. Lovely stay and super convenient to the caves! Around 45 mins to Guadalupe from here.

This was a great hidden (free!) campground right in between Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. There are few amentities, but it does have cabanas, picnic tables, grills, fire places, trash cans, and a toilet. Pro tip: there is water at the day use areas just further down the road. To find the campground, turn onto Washington Rd. and take your first right. There is no signage for the campground. In October, every site was filled by the end of the night.

The campground currently does not have any signage but if you turn down the road for the cottonwood day use area and make a right on the dirt road, you will find it. Each tent site has a covered table on a cement slab, charcoal grill, and fire ring. There are also pull through spaces for RVs. There is a bathroom that was clean except for all of the flies from the toilet seat and door being left open. A great space in the middle of the desert!

Stayed here 2 nights while exploring Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains. Was a very nice campground with shaded picnic tables, fire pits, and a fairly nice pit toilet with lots of toilet paper.

Easy access off of the highway. 6 designated RV sites. All were taken. We pulled up to the west edge and had fantastic views from Guadeloupe Peak to Carlsbad Caverns. 15 RVs spent the night while we were there.

Wow, what an unreal campground. The wife and I are on a road trip and this is our first time in NM, and thought this might be a good place to stop for a few days.

When you’re driving on NP Highway and see the big red sign on the side of the highway, then there. Then, take the next dirt road on the right and it’ll lead you to it.

It has about 10 spots with covered picnic tables and fire pits. It also has a vault toilet that is pretty nice all things considered (doesn’t smell).

The campground is behind a few hills so it’s out of sight from the highway and really quiet. It’s in view of both Guadalupe NP and Carlsbad NP. About 20-30 mins either way.

It got pretty windy at night for us, but it was unreal other than that.

HIGHLY recommend.

Stopped here in march planned on 1 night stayed for 5 great location