USFS Trailhead | Established Campground

April 13th, 2024 by keycuckoo20

Great spot. Nice and flat with decent bush-cover for privacy. Quiet except for a mule saying hello in the distance. Would definitely visit again

April 11th, 2024 by Fish and Kitty

Beautiful dispersed camping area surrounded by a sparse forest of juniper and cactus, close to Santa Fe, with numerous mostly level spaces suitable for any size rig 2wd or 4wd. Pit toilets available. Very good Verizon signal. Seems to be well known and well used by locals, but the area has plenty of room for well over a dozen rigs even when well spaced out. Some trash around, unfortunately, and no trash receptacles—please pack trash out. The road in is washboard, and likely problematic when wet.

December 9th, 2023 by nickczrwc

Great place to stay, easy with 2WD, and plenty of space. Awesome views of surrounding mountains. Really easy to get to from Santa Fe. I would absolutely stay again. Good T-Mobile also.

October 19th, 2023 by kirsty.saville

Great informal campsite, loads and sites and good privacy between sites. Pit toilets relatively clean, gravel road to access but super good condition.

August 4th, 2023 by omerbayrak723

Free campground. roads are not leveled but not difficult to drive. I campwd here with 21ft motorhome. Plenty of spots. Primitive campground. unfortunately people left some trashes around campsites.

May 9th, 2023 by varun_ram

Stayed two nights here. Great site. some rvs, trailers, and camper vans, but plenty of apace ro find your own spot. at&t 2 bars. weboost boosted it to 5. Highly recommend this spot! the benches and drop toilets are a great convenience.

April 17th, 2023 by makay0666

Great place to camp right outside of Santa Fe with nice views! It is a little busy but everyone is able to have their own space/privacy and is still overall very quiet & respectful. Stayed here for 3 nights, I recommend :)

December 7th, 2022 by cera.goodkarma.hawkins

Great 'wild' camp site with privacy. 599 and landfill traffic is noticeable. clean

November 5th, 2022 by atlsanman

Great area. 15-20 min to town for all you need. Good Tmobile service. Stayed a couple of times for 3-5 days. Occasional gunshots from distant range. Not too bumpy to find a nice campsite next to trees. Wear good boots, nothing open because the grasses have small prickly stickers. Hiking trails, nice sunsets

September 10th, 2022 by josephd61

Caja Del Rio dispersed camping. loved it. Easy to get to, private sites.

May 16th, 2022 by mccartylukea

We stayed here 4 nights, until the National Forest was closed due to the forest fires nearby. The camping was just as everyone else described. Really quite peaceful, besides the occasional gunshots from the nearby range. It's not sketchy at all.

Blazing fast speeds on Verizon, and decent with AT&T and T-Mobile as others have described.

May 3rd, 2022 by jurs.adam

Great spot. Pretty much a wasteland with toilets. Has a trail to check out. Lots of other campers all very far apart.

April 23rd, 2022 by erynann

There’s a ton more space beyond the first circular area of the “Santa Fe National Forest” where all the RV’s park. Bit crowded up front but if you come just over here or even keep going more down If you really like to be alone, you can park peacefully by yourself with plenty of space. Gun shots by day and night as I heard there’s a shooting range near by. Overall a peaceful night and sleep though. Will stay again.

April 20th, 2022 by dieselbeast.the.bus

Great spot close to Santa Fe. Trees allow for a little privacy. Lots of other rigs here. Easy access on a short dirt road with minimal washboarding. Sometimes dusty, but great views of the distant mountains.

April 7th, 2022 by NellieGoFar

Very dusty, a fine dust (moon-dust). Good for a night. Little in a way of litter😊. Remember, pack your trash Out! Forest Service has threatened to close this area.

April 7th, 2022 by steveandnoelle.com

Huge dispersed camping area. Half hour or so to downtown. We stayed here last year and saw a lot of trash. Seems to be a little better now! That’s awesome. We’re glad to see it cleaner so it doesn’t get shut down!

AT&T upload 2.75 Mbps
Download 59.2 Mbps
T-Mobile MeFi upload 5.9 Mbps
Download 46 Mbps

March 25th, 2022 by minihousebigliving

Verizon - download 58.9 mbps, upload 7.29 mbps

AT&T - download 31.6 mbps, upload 2.31 mbps

We were both able to be on webinars/video calls during the day.

Plenty of spots and space! We went to the left (as previous reviewers suggested) and it was fine.

20 minutes into the city… can’t beat it!

February 18th, 2022 by 4runnerwde

Nice flat spot with room for a sprinter van or 4x4 rig. Road was a bit muddy after some snow melt, would suggest 4wd if wet. During dry periods, 2wd would be fine. Some other folks in the area, but pretty quiet. Very good Verizon 4G LTE signal. Heard lots of coyotes in the not-very-far distance.

February 14th, 2022 by hughestm18

Really nice spot to spend the night, a lot of space, some others camping around. Would’ve spent a couple days if I wasn’t just passing through.

January 31st, 2022 by katiejeanedwardss

Bumpy dirt road. Quiet place to sleep. Cool views.

December 11th, 2021 by blankslateadventures

Perfect place to stay when visiting Santa Fe. We started to feel like this place was home. Easy access for two-wheel drive ProMaster, pit toilet, and two bars of good Verizon LTE. About 10 miles from downtown Santa Fe. We will stay here again when we visit next!

November 19th, 2021 by jjleehall

As previous check-ins report, lots of space for any size rig. Easy access. Good signal with Verizon. Some noise from shooting going on nearby and the space is also right next to a landfill. It's more charming than that makes it sound though. We did not see any trash around and would return.

IG: thegirlatlarge

November 13th, 2021 by cmkulak

lots of room big open space, enough room for a little privacy, good road no need for 4x4.

November 10th, 2021 by cloverman525

Stayed in this area for two nights. Plenty of spots if you can nestle yourself by some brush or just off the main road. Two pit toilets by pavilion. Shooting sometimes heard in the day. Would not recommend after a heavy rain. No trash area, be self sufficient.

Verizon 3 bars of 4G

Great peaceful spot at night.

November 4th, 2021 by @k8tskya

As described! Good T-Mobile service. Lots of flat spots. Easy to get to without 4wd. We could hear the cows mowing and making noise, but parked far enough away that it didn’t bother us. Beautiful sunset. I assume the same for sunrise, but I’m not a morning person.

November 3rd, 2021 by beebsandnugget

This was an excellent experience! There are plenty of places to park. There were quite a few people here but it didn't feel crowded at all. It sort of felt like everyone had their own little yard. There's lots of places to explore and we even found a tarantula! We stayed there for 10 nights.

October 22nd, 2021 by thedragonwagon.me

This National Forest is pretty close to the city. Maybe a 15 to 20 min drive. Although it looked pretty popular, we were able to find a relatively flat spot right away and it was very quiet. The road was easy to clear, but washboard bumpy. Great Verizon signal. Probably a good place for dogs, but we didn't have ours with us this time.

September 25th, 2021 by boondock plan

Area is crisscrossed with trails like a rabbit run or something. Usable TMO and Verizon.

Lots of weekend shooters, and locals leaving their rigs out here to save spots.

September 24th, 2021 by kkpsyop

Many dispersed campsites. most are far apart once you get in a ways.

September 24th, 2021 by kkpsyop

Very nice campsite with fire ring and a very nice view. A few other campsites are around 200 yards away but you really can't see them for the brush. Campsites abound all down these roads.

August 2nd, 2021 by tlcoleman1

Plenty of Boondocking spots just out of downtown. Good Verizon LTE

June 17th, 2021 by mickael.pham

As described. Keep the weather in mind, but otherwise the bushes are nice to create some privacy between campers. Good Verizon signal (3 out of 4 bars).

May 16th, 2021 by deboraha.glass

This is nice and quite and easy to find via gps.

April 22nd, 2021 by cwq

Beautiful. 2WD okay, big rig okay.
Bathrooms.
AT&T + Verizon pretty good.

March 28th, 2021 by clayclay

Quite a lot of people when I stayed, but the bushes helped give more privacy. Was very quiet at night, but there were some guns and ATV’s in the distance during the day. Nothing too bad tho. I found a spot next to the cattle pens that brought in 2-3 bars of T-Mobile 5G. Area is located 10 minutes outside of Santa Fe and about 80 from the Jemez mountains. Excellent views. There’s a fenced in dog run up the road.

March 12th, 2021 by meg.hartley

Lots of spots at the entrance of the Santa Fe NF. Windy in March. Felt safe. There are restrooms and a covered pavilion.

We were in a 2 rwd sprinter and had no problem on the road. Sunset was lovely

March 6th, 2021 by tmaloney71

Dispersed camping near Santa Fe. Lots of room, very quiet, with great views of the mountains.

March 4th, 2021 by sarahwbolton

Great site outside of Santa Fe. Suitable for all rigs. AT&T service is two/three out of four bars. Flat area with lots of bushes to provide privacy. Pit toilets. Some trash around but not bad. At the El Camino Real trailhead so a great place to get some exercise! A dirt road to get to the site but it’s in good shape. Lots of rigs of all types on a Thursday evening but it still feels private. Nice views of mountains in both sides.

March 1st, 2021 by asha-artnsoul.com

Beautiful views. Well kept. Came in a 2wd van. Quiet. Spacious. Be mindful not to get stuck if raining or recently rained. 🤞🏼

February 7th, 2021 by anarkiah.com

Wide and flat and free with a vault toilet. Lots of other campers widely scattered. Stayed a very quiet two nights while touring Santa Fe. Easy for a low clearance 2wd vehicle (though this probably would not be the case with recent rain) and plenty of AT&T service.

November 19th, 2020 by cali_van

Exactly what the description says. It’s great! Roads are good, even for larger rigs :-)

November 14th, 2020 by mattmargulies

I went further in and there didn’t seem to be marked sites, but I eventually pulled off the road and it was quiet and nice. Road is fine for 2WD and low clearance. If it rains, I can envision this road getting badly washed out.

October 23rd, 2020 by mosemancr

Many covid campers and trash everywhere. Really disgusting.

October 7th, 2020 by MyYOLO

Wild camping all over this road. Pretty quiet but really really a dump! Locals have taken into leaving couches and furniture and things they don’t want anymore. Also campers pack it in pack it out! These campsites are horrible people are even leaving bags full of feces

October 5th, 2020 by tonkinvan

BLM land at the end of the county road. Lots is space for many RVs and Vans while still felling like you are alone

September 30th, 2020 by MyYOLO

Dirt road in the national forest there is trash everywhere! People need to take better care of these campsites!

June 13th, 2020 by busienda

Nice quiet place to camp for free not far from downtown Santa Fe. There are fellow RV'ers nearby. No campfires. Recreation Park a few miles away with lots of bike trails. We saw rabbits, birds, squirrels, etc.

June 13th, 2020 by busienda

Nice quiet area outside of Santa Fe. Nice views of the mountains & some fellow RV's.

May 1st, 2020 by mosemancr

Been staying here a lot the past 2 months. It’s been progressively getting busier and busier. Lots of people roaming with nothing to do and nowhere to go. More and more trash. Often woken up to gunfire. If it’s wet, or expecting rain, there’s a great chance of being stuck.

March 26th, 2020 by kspenglermoore

We came here today during the Corona Virus pandemic for a one night stay away from I-25. Suggestion when coming here use the exit north of this of Veterans Memorial Hwy 599 to use the frontage road heading south to get here. The approach using Paseo Real and Paseo de River has a short steep uphill with not so good visability in it (google maps send us that way) especially for a 30ft+ rig. The place is right next to the dump, but from what we saw they are not working right next to the trailhead (where the vault restroom is). We found moving a bit away from the dump mount (not a mountain yet) gave us better cell reception - Verizon 4G/LTE 3 bars - we had no problems streaming through our hotspot and using our phones for data. If it is wet stay on the gravel near the vault toilet. If it is wet here this place can turn into a mud bath. The evidence is still visible - 24/62 has some ruts in it. The 3 1/2 stars is due to the dump next door, the vicinity to town, the short stretch (1.2 miles) and condition of the dirt road to get here, the cell signal and the condition of the place. Some people have mentioned lots of trash. We did not see any. There were plenty of other campers out here - anything from cars, vans, tents, class C, class B bumper pull trailers old and newer plus one shorter 5th wheel. I would guess there probably about 15-20 rigs in here tonight.

March 19th, 2020 by Mr.Packmas

Got there in the dark evening. Place was a bit muddy from the rain of the last days. There were some other Overlander. We just stayed beside the trail. Very calm, bit windy and cold. Not a lot of space to turn when it's muddy, because you will get stucked. Pit toilets were clean and with paper. Small shelter for having Picknick under it.

November 4th, 2019 by canserratsdream

Un lugar perfecto cerca de Santa Fe para pasar las noches. Cielo de estrellas y ruidos inexistentes, solo se oyen vacas, caballos y algun coyote. Eso sí, mucho polvo, estamos en el desierto.

October 1st, 2019 by bluejayway

definitely a nice spot for boondocking close to Santa Fe. close to the dump so you can hear all the heavy machinery during the day, but no smell. this spot is a bit trashed unfortunately. there's also some illegal shooting going on very nearby despite all the signs that say "no shooting." there's more flies here than anywhere I've stayed. that's everything I'd say you should be aware of going in. otherwise, I dig this spot and it's proximity to Santa Fe.

April 28th, 2019 by danielcriss

For a place so close to Santa Fe this place is great. We got here to see a lot of bigger motor homes near the main road which is great if you have a bigger rig. We took our Sprinter further up the road and found a nice off shoot pretty secluded as well. Nice view of the mountains only saw 2 cars drive by our spot all day.

April 8th, 2019 by lettinger829

This is a great spot! I was a bit unsure based on previous reviews but it’s very nice. The road does get very rutted after the sign for the trailhead but fine to drive on when dry. If you turn at the trailhead you can access the same spots just from the backside and avoided the rutted road. Some bits getting in are pretty serious washboard, fine driving slow in a low clearance promaster though. Tons and tons of space for rigs of all sizes and to have an area to yourself. No trash at all, must have been cleaned up recently. There is quite a bit of horse poop and straw in certain areas though, looks old and doesn’t smell. There are 2 very clean pit toilets at the trailhead. A few bullet holes in the door and on the trailhead sign. Can hike or bike 9 miles from here to Diablo Canyon. One nice paved pad with a cover and a large fire pit if you wanted to tent camp. Google maps did some weird stuff initially and tried to get me to turn into a river but I turned around and it rerouted.

March 6th, 2019 by ben

Road gets fairly rutted past the first group of spots but is dry at the moment so not a big deal. We took the first right and made it into a little loop with flat areas. RWD Sprinter made it in fine with some careful driving in the final stretch.

Overall felt sketchy, it’s right near the dump so more trash than normal.

February 7th, 2019 by kenandsarah.ca

Spent a quiet night here. There is a washroom building at trailhead.

January 25th, 2019 by mrenard37

We spent 2 nights there, beautiful and quiet. The road is a bit bumpy but we managed it with our 36ft rv.

January 1st, 2019 by fred.drolet

Nice location. Some locals go there to drive off roads with their 4x4 otherwise very quiet place. Short drive to downtown and grocery stores.

October 9th, 2018 by Tsavo Touring

Great stop if you’re passing through.

Sort of a flat area with scrub near the El Camino Real trailhead. There were about 10 groups camping when I arrived. A few motor homes, vehicles, and a trailer. Spots aren’t defined which is good just pull in and set up camp.

Very quiet and close to town and a golf course or two.

September 30th, 2018 by familybehindthecurve

Great place, there were several other vans and full time travelers sleeping there for few nights. Great base really near Santa Fe with cool temperatures

August 10th, 2018 by rowyss

Free camping in National Forest, but it is not really a forest, more like a flat plateau with some bushes, access via dirt road, but it is in very good condition. Lots of space, pit toilet, picnic shelter, fire rings. Good place to stay while visiting Santa Fe.
Good cell service (AT&T)