PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B
This place has sites and nobody may sleep in them.Ask for camping here →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 15 nights read 16:37 UTC
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Pine Flat picnic sites A & B are accessible picnic areas. They are located on State Highway 337 (James McGrane Memorial Highway or Old South 14) approximately 7 miles from I-40. State Hwy 337 runs parallel to Pine Flat picnic area making it easy to identify and enter. From the entry way to your left you will find two reserve only sites. The area is surrounded by pinon, juniper, scrub oak and ponderosa pine that lend shade to both reservation areas. Cool mountain breezes are common here. The sound of rustling foliage render Pine Flat picnic sites an excellent place to lean back, relax and maybe even take a nap. Keep reading
Each site can accommodate fifty people. Pine Flat Trailhead has pull through trailer parking in addition to regular vehicle parking, which is located to the right as you enter the gate. Follow the road south to the trailhead that leads into the Manzanita Mountains Trail system. You will also find dispersed picnic tables throughout the Pine Flat sites, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pine Flat Sites A & B were built in 1956 by the Forest Service with the intent to provide picnic sites for large group use. Please take care of your public land by using Leave No Trace ethics. There is no overnight camping at this site.
Recreation
Pine Flat connector trail leads to a multiuse motorized trail system. The trail system has loops and straightaways to satisfy just about any recreationist. For more information on OHV use, consult the District Motor Vehicle Use Map.
Facilities
Please note: You must make two separate bookings for site A and B if you want to reserve both. Please verify the site you have reserved when checking out. As you enter the area, to the left you will find two reserve only sites, A and B. Both sites have grills, tables, vault toilets and bear proof trash containers. The trailering area for horse and motorcycle trailers is located to the right as you enter the gate. Follow the road south to the trailhead that leads into the Manzanita Mountains Trail system. Dispersed picnic tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They are located throughout the area along the east side of the Pine Flat site. Water and electricity, firewood/charcoal are not available at the site. Accessible vault toilets and bear proof trash receptacles are provided. Bears frequent the area; More about Bears and Food . Have questions? (505) 281-3304.
Natural Features
Pine Flat picnic ground is 7,240 feet in elevation. It is fairly flat which makes it easy to park a trailer and unload your OHVs or horses. Hikes in the surrounding area can vary in elevation by approximately 50-120 feet.
Nearby Attractions
The historic Cedro Cemetery and the town of Tijeras are about five miles from the picnic area.
What the agency tells you
Please note: You must make two separate bookings for site A and B if you want to reserve both. Please verify the site you have reserved when checking out.
It is recommended for visitors to make a reservation at least 48 hours in advance to give staff notice to prepare the site prior for your arrival. If reserved within 48 hours of arrival, site preparations will be subject to staffing availability.
To ensure an enjoyable stay for the next visitor, please make sure to place ALL trash in the trash cans provided and leave the site as clean as you found it.
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Water and electricity, firewood/charcoal are not available at the site. You may notice water spigots at this site, however the water lines were retired in the mid 2000s due to difficulties with freezing pipes, therefore, bring your own water.
Please DO NOT park in front of any gates. They must be accessible at all times.
Accessible vault toilets and bear proof trash receptacles are provided. Please use appropriate containers for food and garbage. Food Storage Keeping You and Bears Safe More about Bears and Food
Have questions? Contact the Sandia Ranger District Monday - Friday from 8:00am to 4:30 pm at (505) 281-3304.
Obtain firewood near your destination and burn it on-site: Don't Move Fire Wood
Trail Map: Manzanita Mountains Trail Map
For more information about the Cibola National Forest & Grasslands: Cibola National Forest Web Page
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…A and B. Both sites have grills, tables, vault toilets and bear proof trash containers. The trailering…”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- Biking
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 11 days ago, 14 km away
- Patchy color
3 of 4 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:37 UTC
The agency files 2 records here and marks every one of them day use, not overnight. On its own record there’s nothing here to spend the night in.
OpenBooked
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 · 13
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
recreation.gov availability, read 16:37 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 records · the site map
All 2 records
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Oak Yucca and Locust Group Picnic SitesCibola National Forest · 1.3 mi
Cedro Peak Camping Sites - Robin and JayCibola National Forest · 1.6 miCedro Peak Camping Sites - Robin and JayCibola National Forest · 2.5 mi
DOC LONG PICNIC SITES - A and BCibola National Forest · 12 miFourth of July CampgroundCibola National Forest · 16 miTajique Campground16 miFrom Albuquerque, drive east on I-40 to Tijeras Exit 175; at the traffic light drive straight ahead and continue south for 7 miles on State Road 337 (James McGrane Memorial Highway). Look for the Cibola National Forest - Pine Flat Picnic sign on the east side of the road. As you enter the picnic site, look to your left. There you will find both reserve only sites A and B.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Cedro, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 35°F, day 67°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 18°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
PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B 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 →
Who can change it · 3
The agency’s own record files sites here and marks every one of them day use. The draft asks whether any could open to overnight camping, and if not, why.
- The member who votes the moneyMelanie A. StansburyU.S. Representative · New Mexico’s 1st 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
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Melanie A. Stansbury, I’m a constituent in New Mexico’s 1st district. PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico carries 2 records on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B (Cibola National Forest, New Mexico) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Ben Ray Luján, I’m a constituent in New Mexico. PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico carries 2 records on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B (Cibola National Forest, New Mexico) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Martin Heinrich, I’m a constituent in New Mexico. PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico carries 2 records on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about PINE FLAT PICNIC SITES - A and B (Cibola National Forest, New Mexico) via campanac.com