Alamogordo, NM

outdoors

Lincoln National Forest

An unexpected treasure. After hours of driving through the desert, we suddenly hit a green, pine tree, high altitude oasis. Summer temps were in the 70s. Stopped at a western saloon for an ice cold beer and asked the bartender where we should camp. He gave us directions to an isolated spot tucked up in the mountains next to a waterfall. Went to sleep with the sound of the stream next to us and woke up for an ice cold shower in the waterfall. Most of the land is National Forest, so you can camp just about anywhere. Would highly recommend this off-the-grid area. Campsite was named Bluff Springs.

NM, United States

outdoors

White Sands National Monument

Otherworldly. Felt like we were camping on mars. White Sands National Monument is backcountry camping only. We payed a super low price for a spot out in the middle of the 40 ft tall dunes and hiked our way out there during sunset. Spent the evening watching storms roll by in the distance and staring at the intense stars above us. Woke up for the best sunrise I've seen. This experience is absolutely one of a kind if you're cool with complete isolation, intense desert environment, and sharing the space with some coyotes. Highly recommended.

NM, United States

outdoors

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

If you're not a fan of scorpions, black widow spiders, and rattlesnakes, think twice before pitching your tent on the ground in this park. If you're down for an unconventional, free stay, you can make Carlsbad work. We found a campsite on the side of a public dirt road on the top of a rocky, cactus covered hill where we found all sorts of poisonous critters. We were out of money, daylight, and energy to go anywhere else so we cracked our beers and made the best of it. This place is sweltering hot in the summer, and I'd only recommend it if you need a cheap last resort. We spent the majority of our time playing cards in the back of the truck so the creepy crawlers wouldn't befriend us.

El Prado, NM

outdoors

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

This place rocks. One of my all time favorites. Very well maintained campsites are all along this wildy deep, beautiful canyon. We nestled right up the ledge in my buddies bus so we had a five-star view of the gorge and the stunning mountains in the distance all in one. There are plenty of trails to hike around for entertainment too. We hit these digs in mid-december and had great, chilly weather, but nothing too extreme. Great access to Taos Ski Valley and surrounding mountains.

Eagle Nest, NM

outdoors

Cimarron Canyon State Park

Tall pine trees, towering rock faces, and a pristine river. Hard to beat. We showed up here after sunset and struggled to find an open camp site (as most of them were closed for winter). We managed to find one, payed a super reasonable price for a permit in a little permit box, and spent the night around a fire and taking long exposures of the epic cliff faces against the unbelievable stars. We didn't see a single other camper while we were here (might've been closed, oops?) so it was pretty isolated, however very well maintained. I'd highly recommend.