Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
El Rito Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 36.40170, -106.25360
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 El Rito Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,592 ft.
Fire & smoke — around El Rito 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 El Rito Campground · Carson National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- +Urgent care6 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- WWater15 mi
- GGrocery22 mi
- MMechanic27 mi
- LLaundry27 mi
- HHardware27 mi
- RxPharmacy29 mi
- OOutfitter38 mi
- DDump39 mi
- ShShower40 mi
- AAir-up53 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 14 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 — El Rito Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,592 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
36.40170, -106.25360
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around El Rito Campground · Carson National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCañada Piedra Amarilla (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townEl Rito · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelOliver's Gas Station · ~13.7 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~13.4 mi
- GroceriesEl Llano General Store · ~5.4 mi
- PharmacyWalmart Pharmacy · ~28.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicLas Clinicas Del Norte: Ojo Caliente · ~13.4 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~27.4 mi
EV charging — from El Rito Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger5.7 mi straight-line SE — El Rito DCFC (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 25 within 50 · 106 within 100 · 156 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)37.6 mi — TAOS COUNTY EV DC STATION 2, Taos
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.9 mi — JEMEZ ELECTRIC CPE250 #1, Hernandez
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)25.9 mi — JEMEZ ELECTRIC CPF50 #1, Hernandez, NM · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 347215 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around El Rito Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomEl Rito · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLower Canjilon Lakes Cg · ~11.4 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMiddle Canjilon Lakes Cg · ~11.5 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Canjilon Lakes Ps · ~12.0 mi N · USFS
Open El Rito Campground elsewhere
Other camps near El Rito Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Canjilon Creek~11.0 mi
- Lower Canjilon Lakes Cg~11.4 mi · fee
- Canjilon Lakes~11.5 mi
- Echo Amphitheater~15.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages El Rito Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at El Rito 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 Bateman at 9,230 ft, about 8 miles away. It sits about 1,638 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 — El Rito 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 El Rito 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 — El Rito Campground
When the high country opens →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →First-night troubleshooting →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 →