Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirmRoad season: open (MVUM)
Big Tesuque Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 35.76917, -105.80861
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 101F (Big Tesuque), 170 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as asphalt surface and maintenance level 4 – moderate degree of user comfort.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 101F (Big Tesuque), 170 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles year-round.
MVUM record for FR 101F (Big Tesuque): “01/01-12/31” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Big Tesuque Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,703 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Big Tesuque CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- WWater2 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- AAir-up11 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- DDump26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 9 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Big Tesuque Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
9,703 ft
Ground slope
29.6% · steep
Nearest rail line
~9.7 mi · main line
Nearest highway
~7.2 mi · US Hwy 285
State
NM
Coordinates
35.76917, -105.80861
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNorth Fork Tesuque Creek · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Tesuque Creek North Fork (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townHoly Ghost · ~6.5 mi
- Nearest rail line~9.7 mi · main line
- Nearest highway~7.2 mi · US Hwy 285
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.9 mi
- FuelGalisteo Allsup's · ~9.3 mi
- Propane / LPGMatheson TriGas · ~11.3 mi
- Dump stationJuniper Campground Dump Station · ~26.5 mi
- GroceriesJohnny's Cash Store · ~9.0 mi
- PharmacyNambe Drugs · ~9.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicUltiMed · ~9.0 mi
- Hardware1610 Hardware · ~11.8 mi
EV charging — from Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.3 mi straight-line SW — NMSLO EV1 NMSLO EV1, Santa Fe, NM · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach26 within 25 mi · 45 within 50 · 98 within 100 · 147 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)15.6 mi — Santa Fe, NM - Cerrillos Road - Tesla Supercharger, Santa Fe
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.1 mi — BLHV EV CHARGER LODGE 2, Santa Fe, NM · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Tesuque Casino, Santa Fe, 7.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for customers only · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 319980 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBig Tesuque · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Vista · ~0.6 mi N · USFS
- RestroomVista Grande Overlook · ~1.2 mi N · USFS
- RestroomNorski Trailhead · ~1.4 mi N · USFS
Coming out here — Big Tesuque Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps North Fork Tesuque Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 29.6% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~9.7 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records commuter rail service on it. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- US Hwy 285 is mapped ~7.2 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Big Tesuque Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Big Tesuque Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Black Canyon Campground~3.3 mi
- Holy Ghost (Group Campground)~5.9 mi · fee
- Holy Ghost Campground~6.1 mi · fee
- Davis Willow Dispersed Camping Area~7.8 mi
The unit that manages Big Tesuque Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Big Tesuque Campground are set by Santa Fe National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Santa Fe at 11,480 ft, about a mile away. It sits about 1,777 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Big Tesuque Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Big Tesuque Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- Whether the site itself closes on its own schedule — only the road's season is on record
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Big Tesuque Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Finding water out here →Reading the aerial →All field notes →