Cebolla Mesa

A campground right on the edge of the Rio Grande Gorge. Watch the sun set on the Taos mountains, then go to sleep to the sound of the rapids 800 ft below. Wake up and watch the sun descend into the canyon, then descend into the gorge yourself on the Cebolla Mesa trail.

Campground data:

Controlling agency:	Carson National Forest; Questa Ranger District; campground web site
Location in the state:	North-central; Rio Grande Gorge
Waypoint(s):	CEBOLLACG
Elevation:	7397ft; 2255m
Number of campsites:	5
When we visited it:	2006-09-03.
Cleanliness:	8/10
Fee:	$0.00.
Water:	No.
Garbage cans:	No.
Fire pits:	Yes. Most fire pits were full of ashes, rocks, or both.
Cooking grills:	No.
Toilets:	Vault. The toilet looked new; it was clean and not smelly 2006-09-03.
Showers:	No.
Handicapped accessible:	No.
RV info:	No electrical hookups. No water hookups. No sewer hookups. Park on dirt/gravel.
When to camp:	May--Oct. There is no gate, so the season is probably dictated by the weather more than the calendar. This campground is probably hot in the summer.
General comments:	The picnic tables looked new 2006-09-03. On Labor Day weekend, we saw one couple who came to hike. Otherwise we had the campground to ourselves. Most campsites had good places for tents. The tents will be on dirt containing gravel.

Maps:

USGS Topo Quad 1:24000 Guadalupe Mountain
USGS Topo Quad 1:100000 Wheeler Peak
USGS Topo Quad 1:250000 Raton
Carson National Forest map

Getting to the campground:

From Taos, head north on NM 522 (this highway starts out as US 64, but on the north edge of Taos, 64 goes left and 522 continues north). Between mile markers 15 and 16 you will see a sign about Forest Road 9 and Cebolla Mesa. Take Forest road 9 west (left) abour 4 miles. The road goes through the campground. This is the view as you approach the campground.

There is no sign along the road to indicate you have arrived.

When we visited, the road had ruts indicating that it becomes slick and muddy when wet.

The campground:

	The easternmost campsite has its table away from the parking area. It would be a good tent location. This site is isolated from the other sites.
This is the sunset view.
	The westernmost campsite is on a point of land, with the gorge on one side and a smaller canyon on the other.

Plants we saw in the campground:

Sagebrush family (Asteraceae Artemisia)
Snakeweed (Asteraceae Gutierrezia)
Pricklypear cactus (Cactaceae Opuntia)
One-seeded juniper or One seed juniper (Cupressaceae Juniperus monosperma)
Piñon pine (Pinaceae Pinus edulis)
Gramma (Poaceae Bouteloua)

Animals we saw in the campground:

Rabbits
Coyotes (we heard them at night)
Nuthatch (?)
Woodpecker (we heard it)
Hummingbird
Two other unidentified birds
Tarantula-hawk wasp (the NM state insect)
After the rain, some biting flies came out.

Reader comments about this campground:

On Thu Mar 20 09:10:43 2008 paula from Boulder, CO said:
We camped here about 12 years ago. Found it magical. Want to go back this summer. High on Mesa with hikes down to Rio Grande. Camping among sage..probably hot in midsummer.

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