Winter Camping in New Mexico? (Las Cruces, Carlsbad: live, safe, move to)

[yukon]

I've searched the forums and the internet and I'm still stumped.

What area of the state is good for winter camping?

Since it's two females and two big dogs, we'd prefer

a) pet friendly park
b) park with bathrooms, showers and electrical hookups
c) a popular winter camping area - we'd prefer to have people around.

Any suggestions? We've already figured we need to go south. We're considering camping for Thanksgiving, so the dogs won't have to be boarded.

Thanks!

[ABQConvict]

To me 'winter camping' means strapping on snowshoes, digging a quinzee (a kind of snowshelter) and carrying a zero-degree bag. This you can do on any federal land in the state which is a vast area.

So I have no idea what you are getting at. Are you looking for a commercial/public campground that is open in winter?


ABQConvict

[caydriver]

You might like Elephant Butte or the rock hound park around Deming. As a lone female, I would feel safe at the Butte, in particular around the marina.

[HerpsofNM]

x2 Convict

yukon, not to sound condescending, but it sounds like you're describing RVing/5th-Wheeling; not camping. Winter camping to me is Mt. Withington in the San Mateos with snow on the ground, 15-20 mph winds with gusts to 40, a huge camp fire, a tent, and my 20° bag.

That said, Rock Hound State Park would be a start for what you're describing. Others that come to mind are Oliver Lee State Park, Leasburg Dam State Park (I think they have hookups), and I think a camp ground or 2 in the Chiricahua (both Rustler Park and Cave Creek) Mountains may have hookups.

EDIT: City of Rocks State Park, between Silver City and Deming, has electric, restrooms, and showers too. As do Bottomless Lakes, Brantley Lake, Caballo Lake, and Poncho Villa State Parks....

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/ParkTours.htm

[Hombre57]

Originally Posted by yukon

I've searched the forums and the internet and I'm still stumped.

What area of the state is good for winter camping?

Since it's two females and two big dogs, we'd prefer

a) pet friendly park
b) park with bathrooms, showers and electrical hookups
c) a popular winter camping area - we'd prefer to have people around.

Any suggestions? We've already figured we need to go south. We're considering camping for Thanksgiving, so the dogs won't have to be boarded.

Thanks!

I did a little homework for you yukon, I typed in snowbirds, camping, new mexico, and a few other keywords in the search, and came up with several threads about camping in the state.
here's a link to one where you might find some 411.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-m...sequences.html

[malamute]

Originally Posted by yukon

I've searched the forums and the internet and I'm still stumped.

What area of the state is good for winter camping?

Since it's two females and two big dogs, we'd prefer

a) pet friendly park
b) park with bathrooms, showers and electrical hookups
c) a popular winter camping area - we'd prefer to have people around.

Any suggestions? We've already figured we need to go south. We're considering camping for Thanksgiving, so the dogs won't have to be boarded.

Thanks!

It depends on what you want to do. Deming, Las Cruces, Carlsbad are good areas if you don't want it too cold but even those areas can get kind of cold at night, down to 30 or in the high 20's at night.

It's not just south you have to worry about as far as temperature, it's also altitude.

[jeffohray]

I think your best bet would be a state park. They are much better maintained.
I just returned from City of Rocks and it was nice. It doesn't seem to get the traffic that Rock Hound gets and the sites are unique.

[jaxart]

Originally Posted by malamute

It's not just south you have to worry about as far as temperature, it's also altitude.

Absolutely. People don't usually stop to realize that the lowest altitudes in New Mexico average around 4,000 ft. and that equates to frequent overnight freezes in even the most southerly parts of the state.

The highest point in the state is Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 ft (4,014 m); the lowest point, 2,842 ft (867 m), is at Red Bluff Reservoir.

I presume that's Red Bluff south of Carlsbad, which actually lies across the state line in Texas.

PS IF I were going to join the "Snowbird" crowd for winter RVing, I'd choose south Texas or the Mojave or Sonoran desert regions of AZ, CA or NV. And many Snowbirds like Puerto Penasco and other resorts south of the AZ state line in Mexico.

[GregW]

If i want to go winter camping I can walk out on my deck in January. I want to move to NM to avoid winter camping.

[ABQConvict]

You can go winter camping by walking out onto your deck in New Mexico, too. In the south and the Rio Grande Valley it may be more like late-fall camping though.


ABQConvict