As we left Albuquerque, in route to Santa Fe, finding free camping became a challenging task. We found Black Canyon Campground in the Santa Fe National Forest and decided to call it home for five days.

The campground costs $10/night ($5 for seniors) – but, only 8 miles from downtown Santa Fe, we thought it was a good value.

Here’s the Breakdown:

Location: Santa Fe, NM

GPS: 35.726, -105.837

Date / Temp: We camped here for five days in late June and the temps were mild to hot. Mid-day we saw highs in the high 80s, but mornings and evenings were beautiful ranging from 60s to 70s.

Amenities: This campground offers no hook ups. However, there are multiple water spigots and vault toilets throughout the grounds. Black Canyon also offers trash receptacles and larger dumpsters. The nearest dump station is located at the adjacent State Park.  

Wifi / Cell: There is absolutely no cell service at Black Canyon Campground – not even with our booster. We’ve unfortunately confirmed these results with T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.

Noise: This is one of the quietest campgrounds we’ve visited in a long time. Generator usage is allowed from 8am-10pm, but we hardly heard any in operation. Also, the sites are very spacious. Even with a full house, noise was never an issue.

Grocery / Errands: The heart of Santa Fe is only 8 miles away. This city offers all types of shopping – big box stores, locally owned shops and easy to access Post Offices and other Government Buildings.

Dog Friendly: Black Canyon is dog friendly. The rules are simple – pick up after your pup and keep them on a leash. River loved playing in our spacious site.

Entertainment: We really enjoyed exploring Historic Santa Fe. There is so much culture in this area. Entertainment isn’t at a shortage, but everything is slightly pricey. We walked around, read historic plaques and kept the shopping to a minimum.

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