Tourism Guide for Travelers: Camping Regions in New Mexico

New Mexico, the 5th largest state, is located in the southwestern part of the United States. Many desert landscapes and heavily forested mountain ranges cover a significant portion of its lands.

Oklahoma and Texas lie on its northeastern border, then Arizona lies on its west, Texas and Mexico on its south, and Colorado and a small part of Utah on its north.

There are practically thousands of tourist sites to visit all over the state. And to serve as a camping guide on the more specific campground locations around New Mexico's 121,500 miles of total land area, here are the more specific regions of the state that travelers can check out:

North Central Region

The North Central Region has the most number of campgrounds around New Mexico. Some of the more popular ones are those found in the Bandelier National Monument, Carson National Forest, and the Jemez Mountains.

Juniper in the Bandelier National Monument is a very large campground near the trailheads for the Tyuonyi and Frey hikes. During winter, its campgrounds provide the advantage of experiencing a relatively warm morning sun.

Providing convenient hiking access to the wilderness and fishing access to the lake, the Cabresto Lake in the Carson National Forest is a heavily used campground and it has a wide parking area. The Columbine Canyon is a beautiful campground that is home to many hummingbirds and chipmunks. It also offers a trailhead to the Columbine Canyon hike. Other campgrounds around the Carson National Forest include the Elephant Rock, the Fawn Lakes, and Junebug. These three campgrounds are located along the spruce ponderosa forest of the Red River.

Campers can try the Jemez Mountains' Cochiti Lake, a large campground by the lakeside. Visitors can readily enjoy the many water sports easily accessible within the lake. Another water attraction around the area is the Jemez Falls. This site features a very popular campground situated around a ponderosa pine forest. Near the Jemez Falls is the Redondo, a ponderosa-forest campground that usually serves as a less crowded alternative to the Jemez Falls campground.

The Cebolla Mesa campground right on the edge of the Rio Grande Gorge allows campers to witness a spectacular sunset from the Taos Mountains.

Northeast Region

The Northeast region is home to the Sugarite Canyon State Park. It features the Lake Alice campground which is conveniently located near the road. The wild flower-filled Soda Pocket is another popular campground in the park. It offers areas where several species of birds are often seen. It also showcases an amphitheater with regular weekend events. This campground has trailheads for the following hikes: Ponderosa Ridge, Deer Run, Grade Vista, and Little Horse Mesa.

Northwest Region

The Northwest region of New Mexico offers campgrounds in the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. This world famous park is home to the Gallo Campground which has a trailhead for the Chaco Canyon Overlook Trail.

Central Region

New Mexico's central region features the following mountain areas: Magdalena Mountains, Manzano Mountains, and Sandia Mountains.

The Water Canyon in the Magdalena Mountains is a popular camping, hiking, and mountain biking spot. It also boasts of an interesting avian life. The Manzano Mountains' Red Canyon features a pair of campgrounds in a ponderosa pine forest location. The Gila National Forest also provides an undeveloped campground called Sapillo.

South Central Region

The South Central Region's Three Rivers BLM campground is a compact open campground at the trailhead of the Three Rivers Petroglyphs hike. Another campground near the Three Rivers Petroglyphs hike is the Three Rivers Lincoln National Forest campground known for its large trees that separate the various campsites. It also has splendid vistas of the Sierra Blanca and the Tularosa Basin.

The Aguirre Spring located at the base of the Organ Mountains showcases striking mountain vistas from the campground. The Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is filled with history and diverse desert plants and animals. It also features a great hike towards the Lincoln National Forest.

Southeast Region

New Mexico's Southeast region features campgrounds in White's City and Carlsbad. The Brantley Lake State Park has a pair of campgrounds available. Its Limestone campground is a more developed area complete with facilities like showers, a playground, and an RV dump station. The Rocky Bay campground is a primitive camping site.

Southwest Region

The Rockhound State Park in the Southwest region of New Mexico is often acknowledged as one of the nicest state campgrounds in the United States. Located at the base of the Florida Mountains, the campgrounds in this park feature many primitive sites, developed sites, and RV sites. It also features a playground for kids along with a short, but interesting trail nearby. The City of Rocks State Park is a unique campground surrounded by spectacularly unusual rock formations that rise up to 40 feet above the ground. These formations came from the volcanic ash flows from millions of years ago.

West Central Region

The West Central region is home to the Datil Mountains and Mount Taylor. Campers can try the Datil Well campground within the Piñon-Juniper forest. They can also hike in a nearby nature trail. The El Malpais National Monument has no developed campgrounds, but some backcountry camping locations are available.

The Gila National Forest features the Apache Creek campground situated around the ponderosa pines on the park's northwest side. The Mount Taylor's Coal Mine campground, also around a ponderosa pine forest, has a nearby stream and meadow. This campground is on the way up the trail towards the peak of Mount Taylor.

Region Near the Mexico Border

The southern part of New Mexico near the Mexico border has a park called the Pancho Villa State Park. It has some campgrounds available in the area. Near the site of Camp Furlong, this location also has a museum commemorating the raid fought by the U.S. Army.

"State and Federal Fishing Waters," Ruidoso, New Mexico.
"New Mexico Camping," Explore New Mexico.

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