Paliza Group Campground
1Heads up1 fire 9.0 mi away
- Right now
- OpenListed open; its database flags it not open
- Sites
- 2All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 1 – November 30Open May 1 through November 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
Paliza Group Campground is found north of the small community of Ponderosa, surrounded by ponderosa pines and views of the stunning cliff faces of majestic mesas. There are two group areas within the campground, with walk in and drive in sites found separately in each loop. The group campground generally opens in mid-May and closes in October. It’s location is ideal for enjoying quiet, star filled nights as it is far away from major cities. The Jemez National Recreation Area is a short drive away and providesmany opportunities to enjoy the Santa Fe National Forest. Keep reading
Recreation
Paliza Group Campground is not far from NM Highway 4 and the popular Jemez National Recreation Area. Scenic day hikes, hot springs, and historical landmarks can be found nearby. Fishing is popular on the nearby San Antonio Creek with plenty of fishing sites available.
Facilities
The Owl Loop sites have paved driveways along with standard campsite amenities like a fire ring grill, picnic table, lantern post, and gravel tent pads. There is a large outdoor picnic area for the Owl Loop and comes with pedestal grills, a ramada, picnic tables, and plenty of room for large gatherings. The Red Tail Loop sites are walk-in sites, but the parking is close by with additional parking for RVs and trailers available. Red Tail Loop sites have a picnic table, fire ring grill, lantern posts, and gravel tent pads provided, with a gravel walkway connecting all the sites. There are recently renovated vaulted toilets found in both loops.
Natural Features
The short driveway from Forest Road 10 to the group campground is scenic, with riparian trees changing to towering ponderosa pines as the road climbs in elevation. Spectacular views of the surrounding mesas and clear blue skies are hallmarks of this campground. The dark greens of the conifers stand out against the bright yellows of flowering chamisa in the summer, and the yellows and reds of fall foliage provide a variety of scenery through the seasons.
Nearby Attractions
The East Fork of the Jemez National Wildand Scenic River can be accessed nearby. The Valles Caldera National Preserve is conveniently located north of Forest Road 10 on NM 4. An impressive geological formation known as Battleship Rock is worth stopping to look on NM 4, north of the town of Jemez Springs. The town itself has art created by locals, hot springs, and a restaurant for those not wanting to cook.
What the agency tells you
Check out time is 11:00 AM - Check in time is 1:00 PM
No ATV/ORV use in the campground. Travel is restricted elsewhere on the forest.
There is no water.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
Paliza Owl loop can support a max capacity of 75 people. Paliza Red Tail loop can support a max of 40 people.
Fire restrictions may exist. Check with the Jemez Ranger District if you are unsure.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 2 · 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 24 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Little
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets · Pit Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 2 of 2 campsite records, ACCESSIBLE VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 2 campsite records / ACCESSIBLE PIT TOILETS on 1 of 2 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, River, Creek
- Biking
- Birding
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Night sky · 125th darkest of 164 in NM
- Bortle 3
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 Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 sites
All 2 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. 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 · the phone number
Where it is
PalizaSanta Fe National Forest · 0.7 mi
Vista Linda CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 5.1 mi
Jemez Falls CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 8.4 mi
Redondo CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 11 mi
San Antonio CampgroundJemez National Recreation Area · 13 miFrom the town of Ponderosa, New Mexico, travel 5 miles northeast on Forest Road 10 to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Ponderosa, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 36°F, day 70°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical November night 26°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
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Paliza Group 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 →