Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Rio Puerco Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 36.09985, -106.72452
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 Rio Puerco Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,150 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Rio Puerco 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 Rio Puerco Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- WWater8 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- HHardware14 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- MMechanic14 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- DDump33 mi
- ShShower49 mi
- AAir-up52 mi
- OOutfitter52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Rio Puerco Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,150 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
36.09985, -106.72452
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Rio Puerco Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRito Redondo (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townJarosa · ~4.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~8.5 mi
- FuelFuel · ~7.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesSpeedway · ~14.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicCoyote Medical Clinic · ~7.7 mi
EV charging — from Rio Puerco Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.4 mi straight-line SW — Mel's Drive Thru Chicken and BBQ, Cuba, NM · 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 reach2 within 25 mi · 13 within 50 · 108 within 100 · 154 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)50.9 mi — Santa Fe, NM - Cerrillos Road - Tesla Supercharger, Santa Fe
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)27.6 mi — PONDEROSA PINES STATION 01, Los Alamos, 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 371957 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Rio Puerco Campground · Santa Fe National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Portable toiletRio Puerco · at this camp · USFS
- Portable toiletResumidero · ~1.6 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomTea Kettle Rock · ~4.1 mi SE · USFS
- RestroomPalomas · ~5.5 mi SW · USFS
Open Rio Puerco Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Rio Puerco Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Resumidero Camping Area~1.6 mi
- Coyote Canyon Camping Area~5.6 mi
- Rio De Las Vacas~8.5 mi · fee
- Clear Creek Campground Group Area~9.1 mi
The unit that manages Rio Puerco Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Rio Puerco 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 Vacas Locas at 9,350 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 1,200 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 — Rio Puerco 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 Rio Puerco 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 — Rio Puerco Campground
When the high country opens →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Off-grid communication →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 →