Round Rio Rancho

New Mexico RV Campground Videos

As you drive the 21 miles northwest from Mimbres, New Mexico, to the Mesa Campground in the Gila National Forest, you might not be convinced that there’s really going to be a place to park your RV at the end of the well-paved, easy-driving two lane road. A few miles out during the right time of year, on both sides of the road there will be incredible fields of flowers as far as you can see. Next you’ll encounter a small dense forest of redwood trees. At any time, Robin Hood and his men could have pulled us over…. After the forest, you’re there!

The campground is flat and open, with low trees, fields of grass and flowers. Some of the campsites overlook Lake Roberts, but access is up the road a little ways. 12  RV sites have water and electrical hookups. A dozen more tent camping sites exist, some of which can still accommodate an RV if all the sites with hookups are in use. Each campsite has a fire ring and a picnic table. The restroom facilities have flush toilets but no showers. There is a dump station near the entrance. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a nicer RV camping facility than the Mesa Campground, a US Forest Service site.

Mesa Campground – USFS Website

NM RV Campground Videos

Boasting some of the most unusual rock formations in the state, City of Rocks State Park is kind of like Stonehenge in the middle of a grass prairie. The rocks appear to be regular rounded boulders, but they are actually fused volcanic ash from a nearby caldera.
The State Park is located 30 miles from Deming, NM and 33 miles from Silver City off US Highway 180 – a straight, flat 2 lane highway.
The RV Campground has 10 pull through or back in spaces with electric and water hookups. All spaces have a shelter over a picnic table, with a nearby public restroom and showers.
There are 42 more developed campsites, with most appropriate for tent camping, but some are adequate for parking an RV without hookups. You can make reservations for the camping and RV spaces, but be aware that as of this writing the reservation system only reserves 2 of the 10 RV spaces. The rest are first come first served. According to the staff, they are most often not full.

The Pumpkin Patch run to benefit the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch in Rio Rancho is like no other. You can buy a decent pumpkin at any grocery store, but when you step inside this wonderland of pumpkins you get a couple hours of child and family friendly entertainment to boot! In fact they call it a Harvest Festival! There are games, farm animals, tractor races, a corn pit (No, we had never seen one before either…), hay bale art, the mud pie cafe (one of our favorites) and so much more! If you haven’t already bought your pumpkins, or even if you have, visit this great event right behind the Santa Ana Star Center. They will be open daily through Halloween from 9am – 6:30 pm, weather permitting.

Oktoberfest (or Oktoberfestival) has been a long-standing tradition in Rio Rancho. For the last three years it has been picked up and revitalized by a new organizer, who has been able to generate more volunteer participation, more vendor participation, and who has attracted a world class Petanque competition to the event. Teams from 20 countries came to Rio Rancho to compete and to spend money locally at hotels and restaurants. The “Miss Oktoberfest” competition welcomed a half dozen young Fräuleins in hand made costumes to the beer garden as well.