Redondo Campground

My wife and I stayed here with my parents. We were in camper vans. It's a nice small campground. It's in an area of tall trees. It's an older forest service campground. We had a nice time here. Some spots will take longer rigs but there aren't pull-throughs that I recall. Lots of families like this campground. I prefer the Jemez Falls campground that is just west a ways. My parents like the San Antonio campground that has hookups that is east of here. Across the highway is the Dark Canyon Overlook that is worth a visit. You can walk to it easily. There is a good view there and a bathroom. Nearby there is the East Fork Trail for a nice hike. You are near the Valles Caldera National Preserved, which is fun to visit. The Banco Bonito entrance to the Valles Caldera is just west. There are a couple fun restaurants in Jemez Springs about 20 minutes away. Jemez Falls is worth a visit to see the falls and take a short hike (not accessible for those with mobility problems). Two camping vehicles are allowed per site thus my parents and we were able to share a site, which was nice.

There is a boondocking disperesed camping area just west of the Dark Canyon Overlook but you need high clearance and it's a little dicey driving in there as it's bumpy and the trees are a little close to the ruff dirt road. I have seen folks get pop-up trailers back into that area. If you hike a bit west from dark Canyon you can find these spots.

I believe cell coverage is poor in this area way up in the mountains.

I was glad to see that Redondo was re-opened on Jun 15, 2020. It had been closed for renovations during the 2019 season - perhaps 2018 as well. So I was kind of expecting a nice campground... after-all a year of renovation should result in some renovations.

Not sure what the USFS considers a renovation, but I did not see anything that would qualify. No paint, no leveling, no site upgrades... they didn't even bother to rake up the trash. *** The majority of sites are only suitable for tents, when many could have been lengthened to accommodate larger vehicles.

Bottom line is that it Redondo is an old FS campground that has not been cleaned, nor upgraded in decades.
There are absolutely NO services, i.e. water, showers, dump. electric, cell, or wifi. You are basically boon-docking with a bunch of other campers.

That said, Site #8 is a nice, private corner. I backed in a my 28' trailer with no problem. It's not far from home, so I will certainly return for a few days of escape.

*** The pic indicates the result of 5 minutes of site clean-up produced. It's old trash and it seems that a year or two of "renovation" should have addressed it.

A beautifully kept campground for a great price.

The camp hosts were very friendly and they gave us lots of tips on things to see and do in the area.

The campground was very clean. I found micro trash here and there but it was obvious the grounds have been taken care of by the hosts, who did tell us the campground was a mess before they arrived.

There are trees a-plenty for shade and hanging hammocks. There are tables, fire pits, trash bins close by to each site, and very clean bathrooms fully stocked with TP.

There are beautiful hikes in the area. I recommend Jemez Falls just down the road from the campground. Plus, there are several other short hikes that we found within the campground.

We came across tons of mushrooms (yay!!! Mushies!) and wildflowers. We also spotted elk droppings. The hosts told us they migrate through the area during a particular time of year. We did not see or hear them during our stay. I imagine they’re further north during the summer.

The only downside to the campground is the popularity. Cars passed by regularly during the day and night. We arrived at the campground on a Wednesday, and by that time the campground was already half full. When we left that Friday, it was near capacity.

Our site was close to the road, so we caught some noise from that but not too much. I liked our site because it seemed to be the most private, flat and spacious compared to the other sites within the grounds.

An excellent place to take kids. We brought our two nieces (10 & 6) camping for the very first time. A great first impression for the kiddos.