Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

Oliver Lee State Park has history, an amazing diversity of desert plants, flowing water and the plants and animals associated with it, and a great hike into the Lincoln National Forest. While this campground is probably quite hot in the summertime, most any other time would be an excellent time to visit.

Campground data:

Controlling agency:	New Mexico State Parks; campground web site
Location in the state:	South-central; Tularosa valley
Waypoint(s):	OLVRLEECG
Elevation:	4349ft; 1326m
Number of campsites:	48
When we visited it:	2005-04-01. 2005-03-26, 2005-03-19.
Cleanliness:	10/10. The campsites we checked had 0-2 pieces of small litter. Repeated visits have confirmed the overall high level of cleanliness.
Fee:	$10.00. Add $4.00 for sites with RV hookups.
Water:	Yes.
Garbage cans:	Yes.
Fire pits:	Yes.
Cooking grills:	No.
Toilets:	Flush. The flush toilets are on loop A; a set of vault toilets is on loop B. The visitor center also has flush toilets available when it is open.
Showers:	Yes. The showers are on loop A.
Handicapped accessible:	Yes.
RV info:	Electrical hookups. Water hookups. Sewer hookups. Park on gravel. Only two sites have sewer; they are designated as campground host sites, and may not be available. Otherwise, an RV dump station is at the park entrance. Sites with hookups are 1-10 and 20-27.
When to camp:	Jan--Dec. According to a ranger, high season is late February through early April, with the busiest time being spring break. Summer will be hot. The campground gets a lot of day use on Easter Sunday.
General comments:	Not surprisingly, shaded campsites go quickly in the summer. Very few of the sites with hookups also have shade structures. Due to severe flash flood damage (i.e., the flood destroyed most of it completely), most of the riparian (nature) trail is closed. They are working to repair the damage, but it may take a while due to the number of government (state and federal) agencies involved, and the amount of money in various budgets.

Maps:

USGS 1:24000 Deadman Canyon
USGS 1:100000 Alamogordo
USGS 1:250000 Carlsbad

Getting to the campground:

From Alamogordo, take US 54 south from the point where it crosses US 70. After about 12.6 miles, a sign indicates the left turn to the park. This road dead-ends after about 3.9 miles at the park.

The campground:

	As you can see from this photo taken from the Dog Canyon trail, the campground consists of two loops. The camp sites are spaced far enough apart to be quite, even though there was a troop of Boy Scouts nearby one night.
Some of the campsites (such as site 14) have sun shelters. As you can imagine, these sites are the first to be claimed in the summer.
	The view west from the campground includes White Sands and the Organ and San Andreas Mountains. Sunrise on the mountains is beautiful, and the sun sets on the nearby Sacramento mountains (see the photo at the very top of this page for an example).
One of the reasons to visit this campground is because of the plants. Cactus such as this Turk's head bloom in the campground. Additionally, the park has a garden where a wide selection of identified native plants grow. Note that the cactus in the park and the nearby national forest are protected and must be enjoyed on-site. In addition to the diversity of plants, we also saw many species of birds.

Plants we saw in the campground:

American century plant (Agavaceae Agave americana)
Torrey yucca (Agavaceae Yucca torreyi)
Littleleaf sumac (Anacardiaceae Rhus microphylla)
Desert marigold (Asteraceae Baileya multiradiata)
Trifoliate barberry (Berberidaceae Berberis trifoliata)
White Sands fanmustard or bi-colored mustard (Brassicaceae Nerisyrenia linearifolia)
Nipple beehive cactus (Cactaceae Coryphantha macromeris)
Turk's Head cactus (Cactaceae Echinocereus horizonthalonius)
Comb hedgehog or Arizona rainbow hedgehog (Cactaceae Echinocereus pectinatus)
Straw-pile hedgehog (Cactaceae Echinocereus stramineus)
Claret cup cactus or Kingcup cactus (Cactaceae Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
Pincushion or Cob or Corncob (Cactaceae Escobaria tuberculosa)
Little nipple cactus (Cactaceae Mammillaria heyderi)
Elgleman's prickly pear (Cactaceae Opuntia engelmanii)
Black-spine prickly pear or Long-spined prickly pear (Cactaceae Opuntia macrocentra)
Desert prickly pear or Mojave prickly pear (Cactaceae Opuntia phaeacantha)
Honey mesquite (Fabaceae Prosopis glandulosa)
Ocotillo (Fouquieriaceae Fouquieria splendens)
Stream orchid (Orchidaceae Epipactis gigantea)
Golden Columbine (Ranunculaceae Aquilegia chrysantha)
Violet Twining Snapdragon (Scrophulariaceae Maurandya antirrhiniflora)
Alamo Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae Penstemon alamosensis)
False Spectacular Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae Penstemon pseudospectabilis)
Creosote bush (Zygophyllaceae Larrea tridentata)

Reader comments about this campground:

On Thu Jan 19 12:37:03 2006 Bob from Carlsbad, NM said:
Visited the campground in late September 2005. Very pretty and clean campground and park with interesting nature trail. Spotless restrooms and showers.

It was unseasonably warm when we stayed there, which made sleeping in our popup camper without an airconditioner a little unconfortable until it finally cooled down late at night.

Campground is convienent for visiting the White Sands National Monument and other things to see and do around Alamogordo.

On Sun Aug 26 19:05:54 2007 R. Miera from Alb, N.M. said:
We stayed at this campground in late July. The surrounding area was beautiful due to some rains earlier. Some trails were still washed out from the previous years monsoons, but we still followed the trail up the mountain and the views were spectacular. We did see a rattle snake and horned toad.

We will like to go back and visit this campground during a cooler time of the year.

On Sun Mar 30 16:11:15 2008 Gil from El Paso said:
I have been coming to Oliver Lee State Park since 1987. Used to tent, then pop-up, and now a travel trailer. Used to be me and my wife, then me, wife and baby, then me, wife and two babies, and now me, wife and two grown up children. They have been practically been raised at this place or "Babbling Brooks" as we call it. We have been there when the temperatures have been over 110 degrees and down below freezing. We've also been there during high gusty winds, rainstorms, beautiful all-day drizzles, strong snowy days, and great spring time weather. It has always been very clean. The rest rooms are very well kept. What we especially like about this place is that it is very quiet, calm, and serene. The night skies are excellent for star gazing. In 2002 we saw the most incredible Leonid Meteor shower ever. Over the years more people have discovered this place, but still we enjoy coming out here very much. It is no longer the well kept secret that it once was, but that's a good thing since more people get to enjoy it. Let's hope it continues to stay as peaceful as it has been over the years. As I write this, I just got back yesterday from being out there the last three days. Got to see a red fox near the creek too. Great place. Hope to continue camping there for years to come.

***(Oh yeah, the "Man in the Van" [he now has a trailer] who lives just outside the park has been there longer than I have been camping at that place. He's there 24/7. Oliver Lee State Park just wouldn't be the same if he were to move on, or worse.)

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