Santa Barbara Campground
1Heads up1 fire 18 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $30–$80Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 21All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Santa Barbara Campground is situated nicely on the edge of the Pecos Wilderness area and next to Rio Santa Barbara, a beautiful and healthy trout stream. Keep reading
Recreation
This is a great drop off point for hikers and horseback riders seeking close access to the Pecos Wilderness and Jicarita Peak.
Facilities
The campground has 15 single sites, each containing a table and fire ring; two double sites, each containing two tables and a fire ring; one triple site containing three tables and a fire ring; and two quad sites containing four tables and a fire ring. Vault toilets, drinking water from faucets and trash removal are provided. There are no horse facilites within the campground. First-come, first-served sites are available.
Natural Features
Santa Barbara is located in a mixed forest of spruce, fir and aspen trees, which provide some shade throughout the day. At an altitude of 8,900 feet, temperatures can cool off during the summer nights.
Nearby Attractions
Trail access to Jicarita Peak, with close access to North Truchas Peak, Sipapu Ski Resort, the town of Vadito, and the town of Penasco are all nearby. All are within 8-15 miles from the campground. Most services are available in Taos, NM, 25 miles north of the campground or Espanola, NM, 45 miles southwest. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (928) 537-8888.
What the agency tells you
Standard Single Family sites: Recreation Use Fee allows ONE camping unit ONLY. Double, Triple & Group sites: Refer to Specific Site # for capacity limits.
Extra Vehicles: Cannot be paid for in advance - upon arrival coordinate with the host for payment and where to park.
Late Arrivals: campers are not considered a "no-show" until 24 hours after arrival date check in time. Our policy is that your site will not be released before that.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE sites must be booked in person. DO NOT call to determine availability, as they are only available on-site.
Bears frequent the area: please obey all food storage rules and regulations. Check with your host for details.
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.
Off-road vehicles are not permitted in the area. There are no horse facilities within the campground itself.
Click here for more information on the Carson National Forest.
Opening and closing dates are weather permitting, please call 928-537-8888 for more information.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 21 · 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 65 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…containing four tables and a fire ring. Vault toilets, drinking water from faucets and trash removal are…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…tables and a fire ring. Vault toilets, drinking water from faucets and trash removal are provided. There…”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 76th darkest of 164 in NM
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 6 days ago, 40 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 · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $30–$80 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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
21 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 21 mapped sitesAll 21 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. 21 of the 21 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 001 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 53 ft | 433 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 002 | group rv area nonelectric | 32 ft | 53 ft | 413 ft | $80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 003 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 73 ft | 331 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 004 | standard nonelectric | 38 ft | 73 ft | 275 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 005 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 112 ft | 263 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 006 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 120 ft | 311 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 007 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 139 ft | 219 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 008 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 109 ft | 159 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 009 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 109 ft | 108 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 010 | standard nonelectric | 65 ft | 81 ft | 182 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 011 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | yes | 81 ft | 127 ft | $30–$80 |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 012 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | yes | 55 ft | 112 ft | $30–$80 |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 013 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 55 ft | 161 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 014 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 83 ft | 123 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 015 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 83 ft | 164 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 016 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 67 ft | 165 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 018 | group rv area nonelectric | 25 ft | 67 ft | 193 ft | $80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 019 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 90 ft | 205 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 020 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | 88 ft | 206 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 021 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 88 ft | 199 ft | $30–$80 | |
| SANTA BARBARA CAMPGROUND | 022 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 273 ft | 97 ft | $30–$80 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Agua Piedra CampgroundCarson National Forest · 5.5 mi
Amole Canyon Group ShelterCarson National Forest · 6.8 miBorrego Mesa CampgroundSanta Fe National Forest · 12 miPilar CampgroundRío Grande Del Norte National Monument · 17 miArroyo Hondo CampgroundRío Grande Del Norte National Monument · 17 miLone Juniper CampgroundRío Grande Del Norte National Monument · 17 miFrom the junction with State Road 75, follow SR 73 1.4 miles to the Santa Barbara Road. Turn left onto the Santa Barbara Road. Then travel 6.2 miles to the campground. Santa Barbara Road becomes Forest System Road 116 when the pavement ends.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Peñasco, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 32°F, day 61°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
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
Santa Barbara 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 →