Jacks Creek Group Area
1Heads up1 fire 12 mi away
- Right now
- OpenListed open; its database flags it not open
- Sites
- 2All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 1 – October 31Open May 1 through October 31
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 3 notices
In the agency’s own words
Jack's Creek Group Area is a picturesque, high-elevation campground situated just 50 miles from Santa Fe. Set at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet within the Santa Fe National Forest, visitors can enjoy moderate temperatures and invigorating mountain breezes. Perfect for family reunions, recreational events, and large gatherings, it features 2 spacious group units to rent (Group A and Group B), each accommodating up to 40 guests. Open from mid-April to mid-November, this campground provides stunning views of the surrounding wilderness, making it an ideal retreat for outdoor enthusiasts. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground's close proximity to the popular Jacks Creek Trail is an added bonus. Jacks Creek Trail #257 is 14.3 miles long, starting at Trail 25 and ending at Trail 251. This trail is best for experienced hikers and horseback riders, making it a great option for those seeking a challenge. The trail is open for hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding. A common route leads to Pecos Baldy Lake, where overnight camping is allowed, with campfires permitted 200 feet from the water. For more information about the Jacks Creek Trail and its offerings, visit the Jacks Creek Trailhead website. Fishermen can enjoy catching rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout in Jacks Creek. Although Jacks creek is not regularly stocked, you can visit New Mexico Department of Game and Fish for weekly stocking reports and fishing regulations.
Facilities
Recreation staff or a campground host regularly patrols the area and is available to answer any questions campers may have. For added security, groups can lock the gate after settling into the site if they choose. One of the sites, Group B, is accessible, ensuring convenience for all visitors. All roads leading to the campground are paved, making it accessible for low-clearance vehicles as well.
Natural Features
Nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Jack's Creek Group Campground is located on the edge of the Pecos Wilderness, which encompasses 160,000 acres of mountain landscapes, high-altitude lakes, and the Pecos River. The campground is richly forested, featuring a mix of firs and aspens that showcase golden foliage in the fall. Down the road from to the group campground, Jack's Creek enhances the area’s natural beauty, creating a serene atmosphere ideal for relaxation and great trout fishing. The region teems with diverse wildlife, including elk, mule deer, and migratory birds. In winter, bald eagles and other raptors can be spotted, making Jack's Creek a great destination for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts alike.
Nearby Attractions
There are many hiking and fishing areas along the Pecos River, offering great opportunities for anglers and hikers alike. Just 50 minutes away, Pecos National Historical Park features prehistoric archaeological ruins, 19th-century ranches, and a Civil War battlefield, providing a rich glimpse into the area’s history. The town of Pecos is located about 21 miles south of the campground. The City of Santa Fe is just over an hour drive away.
What the agency tells you
This is a high elevation facility. Please use caution when traveling from lower elevations.
There are no hookups or showers.
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 2 · 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Wilderness access
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 99th darkest of 164 in NM
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 5 days ago, 16 km away
- Peak color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 sites · the site map
All 2 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 2 of the 2 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. 2 of the 2 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
PanchuelaSanta Fe National Forest · 0.9 miIron Gate CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 2.0 miCowles CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 2.1 mi
Holy Ghost Group AreaSanta Fe National Forest · 5.2 miHoly Ghost CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 5.6 miLinks Tract CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 5.9 miTake I-25 east from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and travel approximately 18 miles. Take the Glorieta/Pecos exit. Take State Highway 50 approximately five miles to Pecos. At the four-way stop, turn left onto State Highway 63. Travel north on 63 to the Jack's Creek Campground area. The campground is about 21 miles north of Pecos.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Rio en Medio, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 32°F, day 61°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 32°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Jacks Creek Group Area is in New Mexico’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Teresa Leger Fernandez (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →