Carson National Forest

Reviews

Carson National Forest campgrounds are widely appreciated for their beautiful mountain and creek-side scenery, clean and well-maintained facilities, and friendly, helpful hosts. They provide peaceful and quiet environments with good access to hiking trails, fishing, and nearby towns. However, several reviews mention challenges including limited or inconsistent potable water availability, rough or poorly maintained access roads, occasional noise disturbances from generators or other campers, close campsite spacing in some areas, and occasional reservation or site assignment issues. Facilities such as picnic tables and restrooms can sometimes show signs of aging or need maintenance.

Beautiful and scenic natural settings
Clean and well-maintained restrooms and sites
Friendly and helpful camp hosts
Access to hiking trails, fishing, and nearby towns
Quiet and peaceful atmosphere
Limited or inconsistent potable water availability
Rough or poorly maintained access roads
Noise from generators, campers, and nearby roads
Close campsite spacing or small/unlevel sites in places
Occasional reservation, site assignment, and host enforcement issues
651 reviews
5 stars
424
4 stars
142
3 stars
44
2 stars
29
1 stars
12
David F
Loop:Santa Barbara Campground
Site:
Reviewed 5 days ago
Always peaceful and beautiful
Tamara S
Loop:Santa Barbara Campground
Site:
Reviewed 6 days ago
Beautiful and clean, great camp hosts. Unfortunately, quite a bit of smoke from the Frijoles fire and cows within the campground at one point. A calf was right outside our vehicle and the dog was enthralled. Hoping to get back up there one more time before it closes.
Robert M
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 7 days ago
On site hosts are very friendly and maintain the area very well.
Andrew H
Loop:Elephant Rock Campground
Site:
Reviewed 8 days ago
The campground is beautiful within a short drive to Red River. Most of the sites are quite spacious. The vault toilets were clean and included nice touches like hand sanitizer and air fresheners.
Dianne A
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 8 days ago
Nice campground. The sites were nicely spaced. The host couple was friendly and helpful. I loved the creek.
Brittany T
Loop:Elephant Rock Campground
Site:
Reviewed 8 days ago
One of the cleanest, most organized/well laid out, family-friendly campgrounds I've ever been to. I never really go out of my way to leave reviews, but the host was on top of everything, and the restrooms were exceptionally clean and well stocked. There aren't any campground showers, but I have a travel shower pump that I stick into a basin of water, so that's never been an issue for me. Have already recommended this campground to others.
Popularity: Very quiet

Busiest in August, when about 18% of guest capacity is reserved. Based on 11 years of reservations.

Campgrounds

Carson National Forest has 16 campgrounds, 214 campsites in total.

Nearby Parks