Santa Fe/Albuquerque Region Camping?

aztex · August 2, 2020

Hi,

I have to head to Santa Fe / Albuquerque region for business buying. 14 day quarantine means I'll have to find a good inexpensive park to camp at.

I still work and need power and it's hot so may as well be full hook ups now.... Looking at $50 a day sites all that fit the bill. Albuquerque parks get low marks on Campendium so working my way up north...both geographically and cost wise!

Any suggestions? A boondock spot would be cool for 2-3 days but I need to be near town or post office for almost daily shipments...

Thanks!

2gypsies · August 2, 2020

Cochiti Corp of Engineers is excellent right between the two cities. In your free time you can explore .... within a few miles of the park .... Kasha-Katuwe National Monument (Tent Rocks) - very unique formations.

https://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/nm/cochiti-recreation-area/

I see that the tentative opening date due to the virus was August 1 so check it out.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233461

Stagecoach Stop RV is just N of Albuquerque. RV parks in that area are pricey.

http://www.stagecoachstoprv.com/our-rates.html

Edited August 2, 2020 by 2gypsies

trailertraveler · August 2, 2020

According to the COE's Cochiti Lake Website, the area is closed until further notice. There is a campground at the Isleta Casino South of Albuquerque. There is Black Mesa campground at the casino in San Felipe. It is electric only, with water and dump available. Not sure if it is open, the website said the casino is closed. Turquoise Trail RV Park is a little East of Albuquerque. Coronado Campground is North of Albuquerque.

bigjim · August 3, 2020

4 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

According to the COE's Cochiti Lake Website, the area is closed until further notice. There is a campground at the Isleta Casino South of Albuquerque. There is Black Mesa campground at the casino in San Felipe. It is electric only, with water and dump available. Not sure if it is open, the website said the casino is closed. Turquoise Trail RV Park is a little East of Albuquerque. Coronado Campground is North of Albuquerque.

Turquoise trail is popular due to location. Not fancy but decent. At a higher altitude so cooler. Also a decent shot up to Santa Fe on Hwy 14. Also in this area called the east mountains is one called Liesure Mountain and HIdden Valley. All near to Albq. There are several Indian Casino with campground but you need to check with each one to see if it is open. Isleta is near the Rio Grande south of Albq. and not as convienent for some. West out I40 Rte 66 Casino has a pretty new campground. One commercial one to check on I think is called Enchanted Trails on the west mesa and there are 2 others in the same area on the south side of I40. There is at least one KOA in Albq. and one in the town of Bernalillo north of Albq. and not too far from StageCoach and Coronado Campground which is operated by the town of Bernalillo the last I knew of.

Don't bother checking for spots on the Sandia Ranger Dist. For RV's it is very limited and better for small ones in general and no hook ups at all. About all you get is fire ring if you are lucky. I am Jim "the volunteer" and don't really recommend here even for tenting without checking the sites first and having a back up plan. If you get here and have questions and can catch up with me I volunteer on this district. We are getting more questions about camping on this district this year than we have gotten over 20 years it seems like.

Lots of competition for site in this area this year. There is a Wmart at I40 and Eubank that allows overnight but I would not use this one as it is usually a pretty full and busy parking area. There is one just north of I40 in Edgewood about 20 miles east of Albq. that works better for overnight. There is pretty decent size RV park in Edgewood but it seems to be staying pretty full this year. I think it is now called the Rte. 66 campground but used to be called Red Arrow I am pretty sure.

A couple that stopped at the Ranger Station and as about camping here and told them what was around this area. I told them about the KOA and he said they were asking $100. per night but I don't know if that was correct. This couple was towing what looked like a brand new Airstream about 30foot.

aztex · August 3, 2020

14 hours ago, bigjim said:

Turquoise trail is popular due to location. Not fancy but decent. At a higher altitude so cooler. Also a decent shot up to Santa Fe on Hwy 14. Also in this area called the east mountains is one called Liesure Mountain and HIdden Valley. All near to Albq. There are several Indian Casino with campground but you need to check with each one to see if it is open. Isleta is near the Rio Grande south of Albq. and not as convienent for some. West out I40 Rte 66 Casino has a pretty new campground. One commercial one to check on I think is called Enchanted Trails on the west mesa and there are 2 others in the same area on the south side of I40. There is at least one KOA in Albq. and one in the town of Bernalillo north of Albq. and not too far from StageCoach and Coronado Campground which is operated by the town of Bernalillo the last I knew of.

Don't bother checking for spots on the Sandia Ranger Dist. For RV's it is very limited and better for small ones in general and no hook ups at all. About all you get is fire ring if you are lucky. I am Jim "the volunteer" and don't really recommend here even for tenting without checking the sites first and having a back up plan. If you get here and have questions and can catch up with me I volunteer on this district. We are getting more questions about camping on this district this year than we have gotten over 20 years it seems like.

Lots of competition for site in this area this year. There is a Wmart at I40 and Eubank that allows overnight but I would not use this one as it is usually a pretty full and busy parking area. There is one just north of I40 in Edgewood about 20 miles east of Albq. that works better for overnight. There is pretty decent size RV park in Edgewood but it seems to be staying pretty full this year. I think it is now called the Rte. 66 campground but used to be called Red Arrow I am pretty sure.

A couple that stopped at the Ranger Station and as about camping here and told them what was around this area. I told them about the KOA and he said they were asking $100. per night but I don't know if that was correct. This couple was towing what looked like a brand new Airstream about 30foot.

Thanks all!

Any thoughts on Santa Fe Skies RV Park as a place to wait out the 14 day quarantine?

I'll be in the region specifically for business purposes and absolutely essential for me!

Still can't figure out the exact nature of the quarantine. I can't not go and I can't shut my business down for 2 weeks either. Very conflicted! Have to get to post office several times a week....

Otherwise I'm set up as boondocking with no cause to hit a store or any facilities. I've been isolating for several weeks already and mask up and have yet to be closer than 10 feet to anyone. Quick store runs...

BTW IF quarantine is a solution why are NM C19 rates rising? Such a baffling disease.....

trailertraveler · August 3, 2020

36 minutes ago, aztex said:

Any thoughts on Santa Fe Skies RV Park as a place to wait out the 14 day quarantine?

It seems to be very popular judging from the reviews. Never stayed there. We have stayed at Rancheros de Santa Fe and the KOA that is North on I-25 towards Glorieta. Both were adequate. It has been a few years since we have been in the area, but the last time we were there, there was a small RV park in Pecos. North of Pecos on the road to Cowles, there were boondocking spots along the river, a wildlife management fishing access area with about 6 spots and two Forest Service Campgrounds (Field Tract and Holy Ghost, I think). Have seen some pretty good size 5th wheels going up and down the road to Holly Ghost campground.

Edited August 3, 2020 by trailertraveler

2gypsies · August 3, 2020

Santa Fe Skies is very nice but I didn't mention it because I thought you wanted something inbetween the two cities and something inexpensive.

bigjim · August 3, 2020

If Santa Fe Skies is where I think it is I believe it would be more convienent to Santa Fe. I just thought that there is a pretty good size one maybe 20 miles west of Santa Fe on Hwy 84 called Road Runner. It may be Indian operated. I have no experience with either of those. It is about 50 scenic miles up Hwy 14 from Turquoise Trail campground to Santa Fe and there are 3 smaller post offices very near. The best one is the Cedar Crest post office in my experience. That is where I get my mail forwarded to from Livingston. I think they have one In Madrid about halfway between Cedar Crest and Santa Fe but I suspect they may have more limited hours. Hwy 14 is almost all 2 lane.

trailertraveler · August 3, 2020

2 hours ago, bigjim said:

...Road Runner. It may be Indian operated...

It is. It is just across the highway from the Buffalo Thunder Casino. Last time we stayed there they had free limo service to the casino. Their truck stop had good fuel prices for the area also. The Casino website says the casino is closed. The Good Sam website says Road Runner is open for overnite stays call for more information. The link from the casino web page for the campground would not work for me.

Edited August 3, 2020 by trailertraveler