U.S. Forest Service · Gila National Forest · NM

Aeroplane Mesa Campground

First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
OpenThe agency lists it open
A night
FreeNo camping fee
Season
Year-roundOpen year-round
Drawn from the record · 7,990 ft · 0% tree cover · Loco Mountain Tank within reach · Bortle 1 sky
7,990 ftElevation
1,714 ftWater · Loco Mountain Tank, a lake
40.5 miNW of Little Walnut Village, NM
0%Tree cover
Bortle 1Night sky · 11th darkest of 164 in NM
Open year-roundToday

The place

the agency’s own description

In the agency’s own words

Aeroplane Mesa Campground is a great location for hikers and horseback riders to access the wilderness. The area is relatively open and 'park-like' with grass interspersed with trees.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and it costs nothing at all. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
A nightFreeNo camping feethe agency’s fee record
A weekendNothingDerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 4

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Camping feeFree
There is no fee for this campground ($0.00).
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What a stay costs
A night, and a whole weekendDerivedNothing

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s own record says there’s no camping fee, and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

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Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight28°Mostly Clear
Saturday57°Mostly Sunny
Saturday Night33°Partly Cloudy5% rain
Sunday60°Partly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers28% rain

NWS forecast for Gila Hot Springs, NM

Typical weather

Typical October night 27°F, day 71°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical December night 13°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°0°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: LUNA RS, NM (USC00295273), 40 miles away and 940 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
T Bar6,823 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Canyon Creek9,824 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Elk Mountain6,550 acres · 10 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Gabe Vasquez, official portrait

Aeroplane Mesa Campground is in New Mexico’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Gabe Vasquez (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: B. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: The agency lists it open right now.
Season: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Gila Hot Springs, NM, 19.9 mi NW (a census designated place). Straight line.