Cochiti Campground

We decided to stay here because it is somewhat close to Carlsbad Caverns. The campground is really nice. Although we spent our days at the caverns, we enjoyed our evening under the stars. There is access to the lake below where you can fish. There is also a really nice playground that was good to keep our children entertained. The park is 45 minutes from the caverns. We camped in a 41' Fifth Wheel and had 30amp hookups, no sewer.

I stayed in a non electric water view site in Ringtail Cat Loop. The view is gorgeous and the site was level with a nice shelter and table. Now to the downsides. The office is not open at check in time, hitch leads to confused campers wandering around trying to find sites. The hosts's last day was the day we checked in, and after that I never saw anyone update the sites that were reserved with tags indicating so. I'm not. Sure why, as a ranger drive by every half hour, which got old after a while. Also, since the picnic areas were all closed, numerous day trippers would come in and set up in campsites for the day. The rangers didn't seem to care about this either. The showers were like needles and too cool for comfort, a bad combo. Once the host left they didn't seem to be cleaned.

At the end of the day, the view trumped all and I'm sad to leave. But with a little bit of improvement it could be paradise.

An absolutely stunning paradise easily accessible from Santa Fe or Albuquerque - we sought refuge here after the Balloon Fiesta.

There are 4 loops open to camping - two with water/electric and two are dry camping. The Ringtail Cat and Elk Loops (dry) were mostly empty during our stay (late October), and available for walk-up camping. We selected the Ringtail, which is closest to the water with fabulous views. Site 70 is walk-up only, so we snagged it so we could extend as we desired. There are water spigots scattered throughout the dry loops, and a dump station at the entrance.

The Buffalo Gap loops is water/electric and the more modern of hook-up loops - some fabulous lake views from up there. The sites seemed pretty booked up during most of our stay, reserve those in advance if you want one.

All three of these loops have excellent site separation, have very flat concrete spots and well developed porch areas with covered picnic table and grill.

The Juniper Loop is part of the old campground - the sites are smaller, and most look out over the town of Cochiti Lake, the boat storage and such. It seemed sites were always available up there.

There's a Mini Mart just to the right of the campground, with some basics. And a laundromat next door (inquire at the Mini Mart for a payment 'card' - they're not coin operated).

A Verizon tower greets you at the entrance, but all other carriers were mostly unusable - even using a booster.

The bathrooms here are disgusting. The views and scenery are lovely. The closest grocery store is 30 minutes away. Very disorganized and I don't suggest this place to small children. Pros are I have cell service and there's some good hikes and sites close by.

We have been traveling fulltime with our kids for about 15 months now, and this is definitely the most beautiful campsite we have ever had. The views from our site were spectacular! It's about a 30 minute drive to Santa Fe and 60 minutes to Albuquerque which was a little inconvenient, but it was worth it to stay in such a beautiful place. Tent Rocks National Monument is very close by and was an awesome hike. Verizon coverage here is great! AT&T was just okay. Check-in was a little weird. They didn't give me any maps or information, so I just had to look at the map in the office to find the way to our site. There is no laundry here which was also inconvenient, but there's a laundromat down the street not too far away. We would definitely be back just to experience the beauty of this area.

The campground was clean with excellent facilities including a covered picnic table. Views of Cochiti Lake are wonderful. It was only 5 miles to Tent Rocks National Monument -- the canyon trail hike there is one of the best we have ever taken. We were boondocking and using our Federal America the Beautiful Senior Pass, so the price was "right"!

Stayed here for 1 night and had the Elk Run dry campground nearly to ourselves. There were 2 other campers but we spread ourselves out to maximize our view of nearby Cochiti Lake. On the other hand, the electric/water sites in the neighboring loop looked pretty full.

With the Federal discount pass, dry camping is only $6/night ($12 regularly). Dry camping sites are in Elk Run and Ringtail Loops. Water and electric sites In Juniper and Buffalo Grove loops are also available for $20/night.

There was no camp host/ranger on duty when we visited so we simply drove around the loops, decided on a site then walked back to the check-in building and filled out an pay envelope with our fee. For the price, this site is great!

Our site was level, with good cell reception. We took advantage of our nice view of the lake and set up our camping chairs on the gravel by our covered picnic table. It also had a grill, but we didn't use it. So quiet and peaceful. Love it!

I was very surprised to find such a nice campground with 50A service for such a reasonable price. Our reservations were last minute and as a result we had to stay in the older Juniper Loop as opposed to the newer Buffalo loop. I highly recommend that you try to get into Buffalo as it has water at each site vs spread out and in our case inaccessible at site #31.

We certainly can't complain as we had a nice site with a view of the Cochiti lake and it was only a short drive to Tent Rock National Monument and I highly recommend the short 3 mile hike there.

All in all if we were going through this part of the country again we would definitely stay here again.

We stayed 4 nights in Cochiti lake in the Buffalo Grove loop site #57. The campground is very clean and well kept. The campground is conveniently located, 40 minutes, between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The Campground sits high above the Cochiti Reservoir on a Indian Reservation. There is not much around the campground per say. The closest gas is behind the campground, but other than that you are looking at a 20 minute ride for gas and food. The campground was fully and was silent, you could drop a pin and hear it. Their used to be a big kids playground in the loop. Our kids were disappointed that it was gone. This campground is great for adults looking for solitude, but not for families.

It was a nice place to recoup from a long drive and also to unwind from the sightseeing trips in town. Santa Fe & Albuquerque are on either side of this place. 30 minuets to town. A little reservation owned convenience store with gas and laundry mat is right behind the park. Dog friendly and lots of walking trails all around and the views are spectacular at most any campsite and the the massive dam & lake is right there to enjoy as well. Some sites do not have water or electric. No sewer, just dump station(s). Lots of covered picnic areas and restroom/shower areas. Only negadtive thing was the showers did not get warm, so took them in RV and used the portable dump tank a lot. $10-20 a night. Pay CASH at entrance station in the drop off envelope box. Being a federal park, discounts are %50 off, so if you have a Pass it’s only $10.00 a night. If not the $20 is totally worth it! Overall we both liked it here and would highly recommend.