(Full disclosure: I am on the board of nonprofit Mobile Comunidad, which operates the Mountain View Lodge & Cafe)
The Mountain View is a great place to stay while visiting the Davis Mountains / Big Bend region, convenient to McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis National Historic Site, Marfa, Alpine, and further to Big Bend National Park. All proceeds from the lodge and cafe help fund programs such as free lunches for school kids, food pantry food distributions, a bookmobile and more. You will enjoy our hospitality and the cafe serves a great breakfast and the best burgers around.
Our staff will go out of their way to make your visit as enjoyable as possible. Check our reviews on other sites to see how folks like us. Happy trails!
Only three spaces, 1 up front closer to Hwy 180, 2 in the back. Clean pit toilet, fire rings and picnic tables, no fee. Dry wash along side that looks to carry water sometimes. We were the only ones there on a Friday in July. Fair amount of road traffic but mostly stopped after 10pm. Nothing special but a fine place to stay the night.
We didn’t drive too far in as there were a few decent dispersed pull outs within the first mile. Since all the established campgrounds and some of the forest service roads are still closed as of Apr 29 (why!?) there were several others looking for a spot. We snagged one that was reasonably level for our van. Had two people stop and ask if we were going to stay overnight as we were setting up. Very pleasant night, low 30s. No traffic until morning.
The four campgrounds in this area (Iron Creek, Railroad Canyon, Upper and Lower Gallinas) are all closed in December 2021. Perhaps just for the season. Contact NFS for status.
The four campgrounds in this area (Iron Creek, Railroad Canyon, Upper and Lower Gallinas) are all closed in December 2021. Perhaps just for the season. Contact NFS for status.
The four campgrounds in this area (Iron Creek, Railroad Canyon, Upper and Lower Gallinas) are all closed in December 2021. Perhaps just for the season. Contact NFS for status.
Easy to get to just outside of Santa Fe. It’s BLM dispersed so no facilities at all and a bit of a Nomadland vibe. Some folks were pistol shooting in an arroyo until dark. We were able to find a spot with adequate privacy but not isolated, although one could certainly go further in. A truck with just running lights came through during the night and a BLM LE officer came by in the morning. It was cold af in mid-Dec. I would stay here again.
Very pleasant spot for an overnight stop near I-25. Being mid-Dec there was only one other camper. It was a little confusing because all the spaces were marked “reserved” but it was pretty certain nobody else was coming. I called the number and the caretaker was super nice, said to take any site we wanted and to call the number on the sign to pay in the morning. I’ sure there are more folks in the warmer months but it was quiet and peaceful for us. Flush toilets & hot water (but no outlets) in the bathrooms. Electric available but we didn’t use it.
At the termination of the maintained road there is a boat launch and about half a dozen dispersed camp sites. Four were taken and we got one with some big cottonwoods and nice lake access. Lovely setting. Unfortunately previous campers left actual piles of trash, there was a lot of broken glass around the fire ring and many, many old nails. Can’t figure that one out. Maybe there was once a structure here. We cleaned the site up enough to use but not able to haul the trash out. There was cut firewood but a no fires sign, probably seasonal. Aside from the human abuse it was really nice, the moon on the water after dark was mesmerizing. Lots of birds in the trees. Sweet smells in the air.
Nice small campground, quiet at night, good spacing and foliage between sites. Camp host was very nice. Some sites first come, others reservable. Would stay again.