Capilla Peak
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $10From, per site
- Sites
- 129 on recreation.gov
- Season
- April 1 – November 30Open April 1 through November 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 3 notices
In the agency’s own words
With great views of Manzano Mountains, Rio Grande and Estancia Valleys, and unique camping structures, this 8-unit site at 9200 ft is a popular destination. Capilla Peak has access to Manzano Mountain Wilderness and Hawkwatch's raptor counting station. Note that none of the campsites have designated parking spurs and are NOT suitable for large trailers or RVs. This campground is a mix of first-come, first-served and reservation sites. An additional day use picnic pavilion is available for reservation and located at this site. Mobile payment may be available at this location, but you will need to first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service. Keep reading
Facilities
A separate day use picnic pavilion is also located on site. This site is available for reservation on Recreation.gov.
Natural Features
Great views of the Manzano Mountain Wilderness and Wilderness access. Note that all campsites are very exposed, and inclement weather is common at this high elevation. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (505) 847-2990.
What the agency tells you
No potable water on site.
The road to this campsite is not suitable for all vehicles. High clearance is recommended.
All campsites are exposed to the elements and variable weather should be expected at this high elevation site.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 12
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:46 UTC
recreation.gov lists 9 of the 12 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $10 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 15:46 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
12 sites · the site map
All 12 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 12 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 12 of the 12 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Capilla Peak | 01 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 02 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 03 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 04 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 05 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 06 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 07 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Capilla Peak | 08 | standard nonelectric | $10 | ||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 2 | type not stated | $10 | ||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 3 | type not stated | $10 | ||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 4 | type not stated | $10 | ||
| Scan and Pay | Standard | standard nonelectric | 3.1 mi | 348 ft | $10 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the phone number
Where it is
Red Canyon CampgroundCibola National Forest · 5.4 mi
Red Canyon (NM)Cibola National Forest · 5.7 miFourth of July CampgroundCibola National Forest · 6.5 miTajique Campground7.5 mi
Oak Yucca and Locust Group Picnic SitesCibola National Forest · 21 miThe weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Torreon, NM
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Capilla Peak is in New Mexico’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Melanie Stansbury (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →