Agency-listedUSFSFree
Bonito Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 33.46601, -105.79501
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bonito Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,720 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bonito CreekNIFC · 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 Bonito Creek · Lincoln National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- AAir-up14 mi
- MMechanic14 mi
- DDump17 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- +Urgent care21 mi
- LLaundry39 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 8 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Water, 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 — Bonito Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,720 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
33.46601, -105.79501
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bonito Creek · Lincoln National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBonito Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townBonito · ~5.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~29.1 mi
- GroceriesClub Gas · ~10.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicLincoln County Medical Center · ~13.7 mi
EV charging — from Bonito Creek · Lincoln National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.5 mi straight-line SE — Hotel Ruidoso · FCN · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach4 within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 29 within 100 · 107 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)40.2 mi — Alamogordo, NM - Tesla Supercharger, Alamogordo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.6 mi — Benlyn Construction, Ruidoso, NM (at a retail) · TURNONGREEN · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-12-12 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 373010 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bonito Creek · Lincoln National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletArgentina/Bonito · ~0.6 mi W · USFS
- Flush restroomSouth Fork · ~2.6 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSchoolhouse · ~4.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSkyline · ~4.8 mi SE · USFS
Open Bonito Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Bonito Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- South Fork~2.6 mi · fee
- Monjeau Campground~4.5 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — Lincoln County, NM~4.7 mi
- Skyline Campground~4.8 mi
The unit that manages Bonito Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bonito Creek are set by Lincoln National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Sierra Blanca at 10,250 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 2,530 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 — Bonito Creek
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Bonito Creek
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.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- 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 — Bonito Creek
When the high country opens →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Gear & rig loadout →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →