Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Jenna R.
Reviewed Jul. 15, 2021

Stargazing like never before!!!!

This was our first time visiting and it was absolutely amazing!!!! I will absolutely plan another trip back. The park Ranger (I can’t remember her name but I want to say it was Bev) was awesome. She was so kind and helpful and kept the park looking crisp and clean. We went the last week of February and stayed on a Sunday night. We were the only people in the park, including RVs and day-use. That creeped us out a bit since it’s so secluded and you don’t have cell service whatsoever, but the Ranger made us feel comfortable and like we had a friend there. I don’t know what it would be like during the busy season when it’s crowded because the campsites felt like they were on top of each other (like if you went camping with a group of people and you wanted to be close) but we didn’t have to worry about it since we were the only ones. My only complaint (and I didn’t dock a star on my review because it could’ve been that my fiancé and I just poorly planned and we also didn’t ask for help or clarification) was that the trails were not well marked. We hiked but we had no idea how far we went or what trail we were on, we just walked. That was frustrating because I wanted to keep going but I didn’t want to get lost, but the hiking was still gorgeous and enjoyable so I would still do it again.

The mountains are stunning but what keeps replaying over in my mind is the stargazing. I’m an amateur stargazer and I brought my telescope to check it out but unfortunately it was so cold and windy I couldn’t set it up long enough to use it. However, the stars were so bright and so vivid I couldn’t take my eyes off of the sky. And the moon came out over the mountains (which was almost a full moon) and it was like someone turned on a spot light on the campground. It was breathtaking.

We didn’t really get a pleasurable experience outside of that because it got so cold overnight (earlier that day the ranger warned us that it was supposed to be one of the coldest nights) and we weren’t really as prepared as we could’ve been so we ended up sleeping in the car with the heat on and leaving at first light but we are dying to go back again when it’s warmer. It also snowed incredibly heavily leaving the next day on our way out so the roads got pretty dangerous. Overall, still completely worth it!!!

If you go, at least take some binoculars for stargazing. You will absolutely not regret it!

Month of VisitMarch
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Dog Canyon Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park by Jenna R., July 15, 2021