Round Rio Rancho

The Vista Linda Campground is one of the few campgrounds in the Santa Fe National Forest that is open year-round. Unlike some campgrounds this National Forest Service run facility is both located and equipped so just about any day you might arrive you’ll be able to enjoy your stay. The 6800 foot altitude will provide slightly cooler summer temps and more moderate winter temps as well. Although snow does fall at this elevation, it usually won’t stay around very long. During our January visit the high temps neared 55 and at night it dipped just below 20 degrees. The drinking water spigots are a non freezing type, and the vault toilets were clean and well ventilated. (An early morning visit would probably be rather invigorating.) This is a small campground, with just 13 tent or RV spaces for overnight use. The internal roads and pads are paved. There are fire pits and grills, but no water or electrical hookups. Some spaces are pull through, but most are back-in type. Some have room for 2 RVs with 2 picnic tables for small groups. Some picnic tables are in the open and some are covered. This campground is walk up only; no reservations can be made.

The Jemez River parallels the campground (in fact it was just 30 feet from our campsite). If you like to fish (and have a fishing license), we are told that it’s a great place to get your trout on. Gas, groceries and restaurants are just a few miles away. Pets are welcome, but keep them leashed and safe. ATV’s or other non street legal vehicles may not be used.
Directions: 5 miles South of Jemez Springs on NM State Highway 4.

Vista Linda – USFS Website

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.