Black Canyon
Black Canyon is a great campground in a Pine/Douglas-fir forest. It is near Santa Fe, but far enough away to be relaxing and a nice change of pace. It is the trailhead for the Black Canyon hike. This campground is close to the Hyde Memorial State Park campground. Hyde Park has more facilities, but Black Canyon is a delightfully peaceful and attractive campground that is one of our favorites. |  |
Campground data:
| Controlling agency: | Santa Fe National Forest; Española Ranger District; campground web site |
| Location in the state: | North-central; Sangre de Cristo Mountains |
| Waypoint(s): | BLKCYN |
| Elevation: | Unknown |
| Number of campsites: | 45. Six are outside of the gate. |
| When we visited it: | 2004-08-29. 08/11/02 |
| Cleanliness: | 8/10 |
| Fee: | $10.00. |
| Water: | Yes. Water is available May-September (weather permitting). |
| Garbage cans: | Yes. |
| Fire pits: | Yes. Many have grates for cooking. August 2002: the campground host had firewood for sale. August 2004: There was no campground host. |
| Cooking grills: | No. |
| Toilets: | Vault. 8/11/02: Guys seemed incapable of peeing in the pit toilet, making the men's restrooms messier than they should be. 8/28/04: The restrooms were cleaner, but still smelly. |
| Showers: | No. |
| Handicapped accessible: | Yes. The restrooms claim to be accessible, but I suspect that they may be difficult. |
| RV info: | No electrical hookups. No water hookups. No sewer hookups. |
| When to camp: | Apr--Oct. The outside six sites may be available at other times of the year without water and as pack out your own trash sites. |
| General comments: | According to the Forest Service web site, Black Canyon is closed for a complete reconstruction and should reopen sometime in September 2006. This campground often fills up. You should arrive early. It was full by early afternoon Saturday 8/10/02 and mostly full early evening Sunday 8/11/02. 8/28/04 it was around 3/4 full. Reservations may be made online at ReserveUSA.com at least four days in advance. They also list a phone number, 877-444-6777, which they say needs a two-day advance notice. So far, I have not tried either method. |
Maps:
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Getting to the campground:
From the Santa Fe Plaza, head north on Washington Ave. Just past
the pink Scottish Rite Temple (which is on the corner of Paseo de
Peralta and Washington), turn right on Artist road; the sign
says that Hyde State Park and the Santa Fe Ski Basin are this way.
Drive just under seven miles and you will see the sign for the
campground on your right.
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The campground:
 | All of the campsites are in the Douglas-fir forest, and hence
shade is readily available---this is a plus in the summertime, even at
the elevation of this campsite. To the left, you can see Diana sitting
in the sun at campsite 21.
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This campground is notable for the (fat) chipmunks who live here. Clearly, we drop plenty of food, and I suspect that the campers also offer them food. One of our neighbors recounted a tale of a chipmunk trying to make off with an apple that was bigger than it was (the apple was softball-sized). The chipmunk was rolling it down the hill for quite a ways before it finally gave up and left its prize. However, the apple did not go to waste, as we noticed that it disappeared in the night, obviously the prize for some other animal. To the right, you can see one of the chipmunks. They are cautious of people, so getting this picture required a great deal of patience on my part. |  |
 | In addition to chipmunks, two types of squirrels---Abert's
and some smaller species (pictured here)---make their home in the
campground. They are shier than the chipmunks, preferring to scold from
the heights.
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To the right, you can see site 27, which shows an unoccupied site. Other sites of interest: Sites 34 and 36 are near water without being next to the restrooms. Site 26 (of which I have no photo) looks like the most secluded site. Site 32 is somewhat apart from the others also. |  |
Plants we saw in the campground:
Reader comments about this campground:
On Thu Jul 3 13:08:44 2003 Megan M. from Denver CO said:
Thank you so much for creating this site. We are heading there
this weekend and came across the site just by chance. Very helpful.
Megan
On Sun Aug 10 20:18:58 2003 Caroline from Austin Texas said:
Extremely convenient to Sante Fe, yet removed from the hustle and
bustle of the city. Go to the spa 10000 Waves located down the
road for a relaxing evening in communal hot tub and a hot shower!
On Wed Jun 22 14:55:59 2005 Frank Wirtz from Corrales, NM said:
Add your comments about the Black Canyon campground.
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