Jemez Falls

This campground is in a wonderful ponderosa pine forest. If you stay here, be sure to take the short hike to Jemez Falls (hike page not yet up) or go further to Battleship Rock (also not yet up). This campground is popular, and expect it to be full on summer weekends. If you arrive and find it full, check out the nearby Redondo campground.

Campground data:

Controlling agency:	Santa Fe National Forest; Jemez Ranger District; campground web site
Location in the state:	North-central; Jemez Mountains
Waypoint(s):	JMZFALLSCG
Elevation:	7985ft; 2434m
Number of campsites:	52. One site is reserved for the campground host. The sites are divided between three loops.
When we visited it:	2005-09-16.
Cleanliness:	7/10. In the sites I checked, the litter count went as high as 48 pieces of small litter.
Fee:	$10.00. The fee is per vehicle, not per campsite. Site 23 is a double site, and costs $20.00/vehicle per night.
Water:	Yes.
Garbage cans:	Yes. Garbage is a dumpster near the entrance. However, signs indicate that this can be changed, in which case teh trash cans aree near the toilets. These were bolted shut when we camped here.
Fire pits:	Yes. Many of the fire pits are old, and due to rust they are a fraction of their original size.
Cooking grills:	Yes. Not all campsites have BBQs. However, all accessible sites do.
Toilets:	Vault.
Showers:	No.
Handicapped accessible:	Yes. At least one of the handicapped sites (30) had the sign indicating the accessibility hidden behind grass.
RV info:	No electrical hookups. No water hookups. No sewer hookups. Park on asphalt. A few sites (such as 24, 41) are pull-through.
When to camp:	May--Sep. The actual season depends on snow.
General comments:	Plenty of flat areas for tents. Many of the RVs had generators running much of the day. Site 47 is the most isolated site. Sites cannot be reserved. An ampitheater is near the entrance. If this campground is full, try the nearby Redondo campground.

Maps:

USGS 1:24000 Redondo Peak
USGS 1:100000 Los Alamos
USGS 1:250000 Albuquerque
Santa Fe National Forest

Getting to the campground:

From Los Alamos, take 501 west. Starting the odometer at the stoplight after the bridge, at 4.2 miles, you reach the junction with NM 4. Turn right (west). At 21.9 miles, a sign for the campground is on the left. Turn left, and after about 0.7 miles more, the campground is on the right.

Or, if you are coming from the other direction, start at the junction of NM 4 and NM 126 in La Cueva. Head east on 4 (toward Los Alamos) about six miles. You sill see the sign indicating the campground turnoff on your right. After about 0.7 miles more, the campground is on the right.

The campground:

	The campground is in a primarily ponderosa forest, as you can see here.
This is site 30, one of the accessible sites.
	Site 34.
Site 36

Plants we saw in the campground:

Yarrow or Common yarrow (Asteraceae Achillea)
Dandelion (Asteraceae Taraxacum)
Harebell or Bluefell bellflower (Campanulaceae Campanula rotundifolia)
Spruce (Pinaceae Picea)
Ponderosa pine (Pinaceae Pinus ponderosa)
Wild strawberry (Rosaceae Fragaria vesca ssp. americana)

Animals we saw in the campground:

Stellar jay
Junko

Reader comments about this campground:

On Thu Jan 19 09:44:42 2006 Bob from Carlsbad, NM said:
Great campground with many sites. Very well shaded and pretty clean. Campground is very busy or even filled on the weekends. During the week it is almost empty. Nice short hike down to the Falls. Highly recommend this site for a Monday to Thursday trip, otherwise it will be very crowded.

On Wed May 24 03:01:53 2006 Jake S. from Albuquerque, NM said:
My friends and I have camped around here many times before. It is almost very clean and we encountered friendly people. It is a very nice place for people who like to hike, because there is a trail along Battleship Rock that leads to a hot spring (though you are likely to see old hippies nude). The trails are nice and quiet, though, and if you are the adventurous type, you can climb to the top of Battleship Rock! Wonderful view.

On Wed Jun 7 18:35:06 2006 Jimbo from Albuquerque, NM said:
A great campsite for a few nights out with your family. Nicely shaded and pretty good temperature. A little cold through the night. Insects are not a problem most of the time. Campsite can be quite busy, however.

On Sun Aug 6 21:06:49 2006 Tim from Albuquerque, NM said:
Just returned from a weekend stay at Jemez Falls (8/4/06). This was an excellent campground, very clean, toilets alway had TP, no mosquitoes, even with all the recent rains. Arrived about 1:00pm on Friday and found it roughly half-full, filling completly by about 5 or 6. Lots of nice shade from the beautiful pine trees. Our loop(first) was not at all noisy even though it was full, however walking through the next loop over, Sunday morning around 8 or 9, there were a couple sites playing loud music and a generator running. We will definitely return to this campground. I like the fact that it is back in away from State Rd 4.

On Fri Aug 3 21:26:37 2007 Todd Birchfield from Rio Rancho New Mexico said:
I have camped in the campground 2 times and think its beautiful, as a matter of fact me and Fiancee are getting married there on Sept 2nd 2007

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