Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Lower Hondo Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 36.54880, -105.54750
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 Lower Hondo Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,856 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lower Hondo 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 Lower Hondo Campground · Carson National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail2 mi
- EVEV fast charger2 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- WWater10 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- RxPharmacy11 mi
- ShShower20 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Dump, 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 — Lower Hondo Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,856 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
36.54880, -105.54750
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Lower Hondo Campground · Carson National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRio Hondo (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townValdez · ~2.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.1 mi
- FuelSpeedway · ~6.9 mi
- Propane / LPGKit Carson Cruz Alta Road Filling Station · ~11.2 mi
- GroceriesSpeedway · ~6.9 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy · ~10.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicTaos-Picuris Indian Health Center · ~9.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~10.1 mi
EV charging — from Lower Hondo Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger2.5 mi straight-line SW — TAOS COUNTY EV NORTH DC 1, Arroyo Seco, 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 reach12 within 25 mi · 23 within 50 · 80 within 100 · 169 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)10.2 mi — Taos, NM - Tesla Supercharger, Taos
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.5 mi — TAOS COUNTY EV AC STATION S 2, Arroyo Seco, NM · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports 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 446968 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lower Hondo Campground · Carson National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLower Hondo · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCuchillo Del Medio · ~1.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCuchilla · ~2.1 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomTaos Ski Valley, Inc. · ~6.0 mi NE · USFS
Open Lower Hondo Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Lower Hondo Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cuchillo Del Medio Campground~1.2 mi
- Cuchilla Campground~2.1 mi
- Twining Campground~6.1 mi
- Twining~6.4 mi
The unit that manages Lower Hondo Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lower Hondo 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 Taos Powderhorn at 11,020 ft, about 6 miles away. It sits about 3,164 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 — Lower Hondo 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 Lower Hondo 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 — Lower Hondo Campground
When the high country opens →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →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 →