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Free Camping Collection

Dispersed Camping

Carlsbad BLM Land Dispersed

17 Reviews

About

Bureau of Land Management

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Location

Carlsbad BLM Land Dispersed is located in New Mexico

Coordinates

32.204219651043765 N
104.33528814277649 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Good
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Good

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

Phone Service
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Big Rig Friendly

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

PERMIT might be REQUIRED

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Contact

General Info

Bill C.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 13, 2024

Great place close to Carlsbad Caverns

Went on cavern tour which is highly recommended. Set up camp around 1600. Tent camping is interesting when you have 20 mph winds with gusts. Great location. A little road noise from highway. Almost no one else around. Would be ideal in overlander trailer or camper. Road past first parking area a little rough but 4WD made it seem easy. Some parts might not be optimal for low clearance vehicle.

Site3 rd site on left overlooking valley.

Month of VisitJune

S H.

Guide

Reviewed May. 6, 2024

dispersed desert hill camping

Really easy to find, just pull off from the national parks highway and you'll find a big clearing at the base of the hill. More campsites up the hill but it's pretty rocky and a little steep, go slow and 4wd. It was extremely windy, which was refreshing, but there was a fire watch. I didn't build a fire but there were pits for them. Overall great location for a night in the desert, must visit Carlsbad Caverns 20 minutes away it's mindblowing.

Site4th one up

Month of VisitJune

(7) View All

Chasity M.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 12, 2024

Holy Cows!!!🤣

Only stayed here for a night. Super easy to find. I took the first spot available and made camp. I awoke to cows near my tent. Unphased by me doing their on thing. There were plenty other spots available that were higher up that gave beautiful views

SiteCarlsbad Cavern BLM land

Month of VisitMay

Nick B.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 12, 2024

Great dispersed camping

Good dispersed spot with no amenities. Just drive through the open fence and pick a spot. Very quiet and wide open in March. Area is wide open with typical desert bushes, nothing other than twigs to collect for fire wood. Road up is kind of rough and likely requires some 4x4 depending on how far you take it.

Month of VisitApril

Mark G.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 20, 2024

Easy access to the canyons

First 3 spots are easily accessible. Last 4 spots require a little more patience and finesse to access and probably wouldnt be great for low clearance vehicles. We camped at spot 6, which gave great views. Spot 7 is semi adjacent to oil equipment, so not an optimal view. Fire pits at all locations, but bring your own wood. There is none to scavenge.

Site6

Month of VisitFebruary

(5) View All

Morgan H.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 6, 2023

Beautiful views, easy and convenient location

Pulled in around 5:30 and picked a spot closer to the road, loved the view. Had a little wind and rain but nothing major. Would definitely come back again!

Sitesomewhere in 1-3

Month of VisitJuly

Brandon C.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 26, 2023

Wow this was bad

People messing with each other just a bad experience

Month of VisitJune

Justin C.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 1, 2023

Great campground - high clearance needed after site 3

If you have high clearance (4wd not needed but high clearance is) the sites farther in are amazing! The first three sites were fine but nothing really special. But sites 5-7 were all super cool, quiet, private, and well set up

Site6

Month of VisitMay

Patricia L.

Scout

Reviewed Apr. 9, 2023

Solitude

Got here late afternoon. No thrills except the scenery. But that’s why we go camping

Christian H.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 28, 2023

Great location

Only 5 minutes from Carlsbad caverns, this dispersed OHV trail is accessible to anyone with a vehicle that can make it over potholes and speed bumps. Gorgeous views of southern New Mexico and the chihuahuan desert are worth it when you wake up

Site2nd lot in

Month of VisitApril

(4) View All

Noah E.

Legend

Reviewed Jan. 24, 2023

Dispersed sites near Carlsbad Caverns NP

Great spot right off the highway. Only 25 minutes from Carlsbad NM, and 20 minutes from the NP.

The road is a bit rough and may need a higher clearance the further you drive in. There are about 1-2 large spots right near the entrance if you don't want to jostle your way further up. If you go back far enough the hill blocks the highway. Sites are spaced well. Most of the sites are fairly level, may need to move some rocks if tent camping. Only noise throughout the night was the occasional car from the highway and some cows.

No services, so pack in pack out. Verizon service was good.

Month of VisitFebruary

(6) View All

Chris S.

Scout

Reviewed Oct. 1, 2022

Solitude, beautiful views!

Beautiful sunset, and gorgeous city views after dark. Great campfire ring, private and perfect! (Great breeze!)

Sitesecond one after entering

Month of VisitOctober

Jason K.

Scout

Reviewed May. 18, 2022

Great experience

Open land, elevated, great scenic view over the landscape. There are 10+ sites along the road, all private with firepits. Was windy for us during May and yes road is rough in some areas. But for everything else you get for free you can't beat it

Site3rd site up

Month of VisitJune

jack K.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 26, 2022

Great free spot

Easy to find but unless you have high clearance stick to first 3 sites. Road is very very rough beyond 3rd site. We were in ram 1500 with 12ft bumper pull and ran into trouble trying to get to fourth site. Hopefully fix road soon. Very pleasant Sherrif came by before sunset to make sure everyone was good. 3 campers last night.... us, a class a and a 4wd self contained unit.

Site2nd site up road.

Month of VisitMay

Mark S.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 25, 2022

4x4 highly recommend

Just arrived at this spot and I’ll tell ya, it’s secluded and beautiful!

I saw about 5 spots in the first half mile of the trip. If you’re a bold 2wd kind person, this may work for you. If you can make it to the top, stay left the entire route and there are some primo spots. My dog and I came in around 440 and it was quiet and BEAUTIFUL. We decided to stay a couple days.

The road was rough and full of good sized rocks in the road. I have a 2 inch lift on my little tacoma and we conquered this trail in no time. I have full service and can barely hear the road just a few miles away.

SiteTop, just passed the solar/ antenna set up.

Month of VisitApril

Ben

Guide

Reviewed Feb. 15, 2022

Amazing Views

The roads are a little rough, but you could definitely make it in 2WD. Amazing scenery and lots of privacy! There are tons of spots, but they are all very spread out. Each has their own fire pit.

SiteUnmarked

Month of VisitMarch

(7) View All

Nikki B.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 18, 2022

Close to the caverns

I stayed here because it was 15 minutes from Carlsbad cavern, and it did not disappoint. It was a really rough road past the first three spots, but my 2wd van made it. Very private and spread out with plenty of spaces. I had cell service at this location.

Month of VisitFebruary