Camping Near Santa Fe | The Santa Fe National Forest - SantaFe.com
aspens in santa fe national forest

The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial launch of the summer recreation season on the 1.6-million-acre Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF). The SFNF offers a multitude of recreational opportunities to its visitors.  Developed sites for camping and picnicking are among the most popular, offering scenic vistas, access to fishing and hiking, and perhaps even a little peace and quiet.

Forest visitors are asked to follow campfire safety guidelines and adhere to the Leave No Trace principles of outdoor ethics. Maps are available at all SFNF offices and online that designate roads and trails that are open to motor vehicle traffic. Unless otherwise noted below, the Santa Fe National Forest’s campgrounds and picnic areas are open. Additional information on each site is available on the SFNF website’s Recreation page. Reservation sites may be booked at Recreation.gov.

Coyote Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest

Campgrounds

  • Resumidero – first come/first served; no fee
  • Rio Chama – first come/first served; no fee
  • Rio Chama Group – first come/first served; no fee
  • Rio Puerco – first come/first served; no fee

Cuba Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest

Campgrounds

  • Clear Creek – reservation and first come/first served; fee
  • Clear Creek Group – reservation and first come/first served; fee
  • Rio de Las Vacas – reservation; fee

Picnic Areas

  • Clear Creek

Española Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest

Campgrounds

  • Aspen Basin – first come/first served; no fee
  • Big Tesuque – first come/first served; no fee
  • Black Canyon – reservation; fee
  • Borrego Mesa – first come/first served; no fee; outhouse is temporarily closed due to vandalism
  • Caja Headquarters Well – first come/first served; no fee
  • Camp May – (Los Alamos County site next to Forest Service trails) reservations through Los Alamos County; fee

Picnic Areas

  • Aspen Basin
  • Aspen Vista
  • Big Tesuque
  • Camp May (Los Alamos County site next to Forest Service trails)
  • Little Tesuque

Jemez Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest

Campgrounds

  • Jemez Falls – first come/first served; fee
  • Paliza Family – first come/first served; fee
  • Paliza Group –reservation; fee
  • Redondo – first come/first served; fee
  • San Antonio – reservation; fee
  • Vista Linda – first come/first served; fee

Picnic Areas

  • Battleship – fee
  • Jemez Falls Group – reservation; fee
  • La Cueva
  • Las Conchas – fee
  • Seven Springs
  • Spanish Queen – fee

Pecos/Las Vegas RD, Santa Fe National Forest

Campgrounds

  • Cowles – first come/first served; fee
  • Dalton Canyon Area – dispersed camping area
  • Davis Willow – dispersed camping area
  • El Porvenir – first come/first served; fee; no potable water
  • E.V. Long Campground – opens May 27; first come/first served; fee; no potable water
  • Field Tract – first come/first served; fee
  • Holy Ghost – first come/first served; fee; no potable water
  • Holy Ghost Group – reservation; fee; no potable water
  • Iron Gate – first come/first served; fee
  • Jacks Creek – first come/first served; fee
  • Jacks Creek Equestrian –first come/first served; fee
  • Jacks Creek Group A & B – reservation; fee
  • Johnson Mesa – first come/first served; no fee
  • Panchuela – first come/first served; fee

Developed Day Use Sites

·        Dalton Fishing Site

·        Dalton Picnic (opens May 27)

·        Windy Bridge Picnic

·        Cowles Ponds Fishing Site

·        Big Pine Picnic/Fishing

·        Oak Flats Picnic/Fishing

·        Baker Flats Picnic/Fishing

·        Glorieta Picnic

This article was posted by Cheryl Fallstead

Please Share!

New Mexico’s National Parks
White Sands

New Mexico is a land of wide open spaces and we’re lucky many of them have been preserved in national parks, national monuments and national preserves. Below is a list of the federally preserved lands in New Mexico (not including BLM lands) and what you can expect to find at all of them. New Mexico National Monuments: Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztec, NM Pueblo people describe this site as part of their ancestral migrations. Today you can follow their age-old … Read More

New Mexico Road Trip | The Catwalk
Historic image of the Catwalk

The Catwalk National Recreation Area in the Gila National Forest serves as a testament to man’s ingenuity, tenacity, and engineering acumen. This recreation area provides today’s visitors to the Glenwood River District site with a glimpse into western New Mexico’s mining past of more than a century ago and the natural splendor of a slot river canyon. The Catwalk, as it is commonly known, derives its name from the original plank-board walkway placed atop a three-mile steel pipeline constructed in Whitewater … Read More

Dude Ranches In New Mexico
Dude Ranch Santa Fe New Mexico

This story originally appeared in Neighbors Magazine. Words and images are by Bud Russo This is New Mexico, where cowboys and cowgirls are as much a part of the culture as chile, with almost 9,000 working cattle ranches in the state. But I grew up — quite a few decades ago — back East. Saturdays my brother Barry and I headed for the local movie house and afterwards re-enacted whichever film had filled the silver screen that day. Folks my age … Read More

Featured Things To Do