Jemez Falls Campground
1Heads up1 fire 1.3 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 3 of the next 30 nights read 17:03 UTC
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 5150 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Jemez Falls Campground is located in a stunning Ponderosa Pine and forest meadow environment. The campground elevation is 7,880 feet above sea level. Come prepared for warm days and cool nights. The Cerro Pelado Area closure prohibits members of the public from entering Trail 137 from access points South of the East Fork Trailhead. Entry is allowed North from the East Fork Trailhead to Las Conchas Trailhead. Please remember that this campground is special. Help keep it clean and beautiful by using the trash dumpsters. Campground has 52 camp sites with picnic table and fire ring. Keep reading
Paved access which allows trailers and RV's up to 40 feet. Loop 4 sites are non-generator use areas. Loops 1-3 may use generators from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. There is paved access from the highway and paved internal roads to individual campsites. There are no RV hook-ups. Drinking water is provided from spigots conveniently located throughout the campground. Vault toilets provide basic sanitation needs. A campground host is on duty.
Recreation
Overnight camping, fishing, and hiking are main attractions. Other recreational activities include outdoor photography and nature viewing. The campground is within the heart of the Jemez National Recreation Area.
Facilities
The campground contains 51 overnight tent and RV/trailer campsites. Loop 4 has been designated as a (quiet area), generator use is not permitted. Please be aware of the size specifications for your trailer/RV/tent, ensure your equipment will fit in the sizes that are stated for each site. There is paved access from the highway and paved internal roads to individual campsites. There are no RV/trailer hook-ups at the campground. Drinking water is provided from spigots conveniently located throughout the campground. Vault toilets provide basic sanitation needs. A campground host is on duty during the summer camping season.
Natural Features
The East Fork Jemez Wild and Scenic River runs close to the campground. The campground is situated on rolling terrain shaded by pines and sunny in open meadows.
Nearby Attractions
Jemez Falls, the largest waterfall in the Jemez Mountains, is a half mile hike from the campground. The Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument are within short driving distance along the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway. Charges & Cancellations
What the agency tells you
Online reservations are payment for two vehicles MAXIMUM; that includes the tow vehicle or RV and one additional vehicle. All RV's, Trailers and vehicles must utilize sites that will accommodate their appropriate RV/Camper length or Tent size including vehicles. No Exceptions.
Check out time is 11:00 AM and Check in time is 1:00 PM
Campground quiet hours are from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM. This includes the use of generators.
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Before making a reservation for a campsite, check the details for driveway length to ensure your vehicle and equipment can fit within the sizes specified.
Loop 4 sites are non-generator use areas.
ANIMAL ALERTS: CAUTION, Bears frequent the area. All food must be kept in approved containers.
No ATVs or ORVs allowed in the campground.
There is a campground host at this campground.
Firewood is not available for sale - dead and down wood in forest can be picked up for firewood use. All logs MUST fit inside the campfire ring provided. Please do not cut live standing trees or branches.
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.
Pets must be leashed at all times.
Click here for more information on the Santa Fe National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 51
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 47 ft
- Paved pads
- 48 of 51
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…located throughout the campground. Vault toilets provide basic sanitation needs. A campground host…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…campsites. There are no RV hook-ups. Drinking water is provided from spigots conveniently located…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Meadow
- Biking
- Fire Lookouts/Cabins Overnight
- Historic site
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 102nd darkest of 164 in NM
- Bortle 3
Full this Saturdayread 17:03 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
6 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 16:57 UTC. See them
OpenBookedNot reservable
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $20 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
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 6
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first; the nearest 5 of 6. read 16:57 UTC
- Redondo CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 3.3 mi · 92 of 112 site-nights open
- Vista Linda CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 9.5 mi · 6 of 26 site-nights open
- Clear Creek Campground (NM)Santa Fe National Forest · 16 mi · 9 of 24 site-nights open
- Rio De Las Vacas CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 17 mi · 14 of 30 site-nights open
- Juniper Campground (NM)Bandelier National Monument · 18 mi · 40 of 70 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 17:03 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
51 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 50 mapped sitesAll 51 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 50 of the 51 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Loop 1 | 02 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | yes | 54 ft | 1,328 ft | $20 |
| Loop 1 | 03 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | yes | 54 ft | 1,383 ft | $20 |
| Loop 1 | 04 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 59 ft | 1,350 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 05 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 116 ft | 1,478 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 06 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 63 ft | 1,528 ft | $20 |
| Loop 1 | 07 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 63 ft | 1,585 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 08 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 90 ft | 1,603 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 09 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 124 ft | 1,766 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 10 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 67 ft | 1,826 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 11 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 67 ft | 1,773 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 12 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 56 ft | 1,783 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 13 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 56 ft | 1,734 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 14 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 114 ft | 1,679 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 15 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 40 ft | 1,609 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 16 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 40 ft | 1,591 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 17 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 53 ft | 1,504 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 18 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 53 ft | 1,467 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 1 | 19 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 82 ft | 1,425 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 20 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 62 ft | 1,519 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 21 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 62 ft | 1,497 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 22 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 70 ft | 1,659 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 23 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 70 ft | 1,665 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 24 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 114 ft | 1,797 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 25 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 114 ft | 1,806 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 26 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 105 ft | 1,805 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 27 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 105 ft | 1,702 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 28 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 119 ft | 1,683 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 29 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | yes | 128 ft | 1,579 ft | $20 |
| Loop 2 | 30 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 127 ft | 1,452 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 31 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 76 ft | 1,422 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 2 | 32 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 76 ft | 1,385 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 33 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 136 ft | 1,055 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 34 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 177 ft | 1,171 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 35 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 139 ft | 1,304 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 36 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 60 ft | 1,368 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 37 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 60 ft | 1,309 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 38 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 101 ft | 1,379 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 39 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 137 ft | 1,256 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 40 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 50 ft | 1,069 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 3 | 41 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 50 ft | 1,021 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 42 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 128 ft | 929 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 43 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 86 ft | 861 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 44 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 47 ft | 755 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 45 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 93 ft | 680 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 46 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 93 ft | 719 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 47 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 210 ft | 684 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 48 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 116 ft | 612 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 49 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 47 ft | 714 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 50 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 86 ft | 785 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 51 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 136 ft | 923 ft | $20 | |
| Loop 4 | 52 | type not stated | 20 ft | yes | 1,024 ft |
25 of 51 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Redondo CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 3.3 mi
San Antonio CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 5.3 miPaliza Family CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 7.8 mi
PalizaSanta Fe National Forest · 7.8 mi
Paliza Group CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 8.4 mi
Vista Linda CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 9.5 miFrom Alburquerque: Take Interstate 25 north for 12 miles; exit onto NM State Highway 550 northwest for approximately 20 miles then exit onto NM Highway 4. The campground is accessed off NM Highway 4, approximately 15 miles northeast of Jemez Springs.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for La Cueva, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 26°F, day 57°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 9°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 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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Jemez Falls Campground 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyTeresa Leger FernandezU.S. Representative · New Mexico’s 3rd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationBen Ray LujánU.S. Senator · New Mexico
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMartin HeinrichU.S. Senator · New Mexico
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico
Dear Teresa Leger Fernandez, I’m a constituent in New Mexico’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 50 of the 51 campsites the agency files at Jemez Falls Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Jemez Falls Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Jemez Falls Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Jemez Falls Campground (Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico
Dear Ben Ray Luján, I’m a constituent in New Mexico. I tried to camp at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 50 of the 51 campsites the agency files at Jemez Falls Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Jemez Falls Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Jemez Falls Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Jemez Falls Campground (Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico
Dear Martin Heinrich, I’m a constituent in New Mexico. I tried to camp at Jemez Falls Campground, Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 50 of the 51 campsites the agency files at Jemez Falls Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Jemez Falls Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Jemez Falls Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Jemez Falls Campground (Jemez National Recreation Area, New Mexico) via campanac.com