Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Cruces Basin Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 36.90900, -106.26720
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.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Cruces Basin Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,104 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cruces Basin 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 Cruces Basin Campground · Carson National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump17 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- @Mail17 mi
- EVEV fast charger17 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- MMechanic22 mi
- WWater37 mi
- OOutfitter44 mi
- AAir-up56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 37-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 18 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 — Cruces Basin Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
10,104 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
36.90900, -106.26720
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Cruces Basin Campground · Carson National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNorth Largo Tank (water) · nearby
- Nearest townToltec · ~5.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMustang Quik Stop · ~21.4 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~21.9 mi
- Dump station~17.1 mi
- GroceriesLowe's Market · ~17.7 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy · ~17.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicChama Dunham Memorial Clinic · ~17.3 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~17.7 mi
EV charging — from Cruces Basin Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger17.3 mi straight-line W — Chama · LOOP · CHAdeMO, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 20 within 50 · 81 within 100 · 178 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)44.4 mi — Alamosa, CO - Tesla Supercharger, Alamosa
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)44.3 mi — Hampton Inn - Alamosa (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, no confirmation date on the record · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast charger$1 activation fee; $0.59 per kWh (as listed by AFDC)
- 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 348900 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cruces Basin Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLagunitas · ~3.4 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRio De Los Pinos Cg · ~5.9 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMogote · ~11.0 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Glade · ~11.4 mi N · USFS
Open Cruces Basin Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cruces Basin Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cruces Basin Th~1.5 mi
- Lagunitas~3.4 mi
- Rio De Los Pinos Cg~5.9 mi
- Los Pinos~6.0 mi
The unit that manages Cruces Basin Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cruces Basin Campground are set by Carson National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is San Antonio Sink at 9,120 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 984 ft lower 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 — Cruces Basin 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)
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 Cruces Basin 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.
- 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 — Cruces Basin Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Finding water out here →Getting unstuck →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 →