Review of Santa Fe National Forest

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orangeclouds

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This site may have been reviewed before, but I was just there yesterday so here's one about the current state of the area. I will specifically be talking about N 35°41'22.62", W 106°5'38.46" near the Santa Fe Trailhead and the pit toilets. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I was there for 3 nights and 2 days, all weekdays. [/font]

The area itself is quite beautiful in my opinion. It's on a flat plateau with many small pinion pines and juniper trees. There's great views of the distant mountains. It's not hard to find a semi private spot tucked behind a tree and if you venture further down the road, you could definitely find some good seclusion. 

The main perks: very close to Santa Fe, a beautiful little city where good free spots are really hard to come by. I had full cell reception on tmobile. Every one else staying there was friendly and waved and such. There's some nearby hiking trails to explore. The area itself is beautiful. Is adjacent to BLM land, so a 28 day stay is possible. 

The cons: it's right next to the dump. You cant see the dump, I never smelt the dump, but I could here all the heavy machinery during the day. The area is a bit trashed... both from dump blowover and disrespectful humans. I did what I could to leave my own spot better than I found it and collected the trash that was there. 

Cons continued: there is a good amount of illegal shooting going on nearby despite all the signs that say no shooting. The last night I was there, last night in fact, a group of locals came up to have a party at 2:30 in the morning on a Wednesday night. Blasting country music so loud my van was vibrating. And the horrible drunken sing along... these people had no respect or common decency. There was easily 20 other rigs up there that night. They finally left shortly after 4 am and I barely slept last night. 

In summary: I liked this spot before last night. I would have stayed longer and returned in the future, but now knowing that some locals treat the area as a total free for all, I'll take a hard pass.
 
This is also known as the Caja del Rio area. If you want privacy and remoteneess there, you can continue down the dirt roads to the Rio Grande River.
 
N 35°41'22.62", W 106°5'38.46". Too close to a major city. I would not boondock so close to any city, as that is where the locals go to get drunk and blast away at tin cans and bottles, and generally trash the place.

If I am anywhere near a city, I prefer staying in an organized CG, and preferably one that has a host. Safety first, free rent second.
 
Qxxx said:
N 35°41'22.62", W 106°5'38.46". Too close to a major city. I would not boondock so close to any city, as that is where the locals go to get drunk and blast away at tin cans and bottles, and generally trash the place.

If I am anywhere near a city, I prefer staying in an organized CG, and preferably one that has a host. Safety first, free rent second.

I appreciate the advice! I'm still learning as I go and I suppose I hadn't really thought about that going into it. I just thought about the free rent part. I've only got about 5 months on the road under my belt so far, so the trial and error phase is alive and well.
 
orangeclouds said:
Funny you say that, that's exactly what I ended up doing!
The KKTR blm website says day use only. So where did you camp? I expect to be visiting the area early spring.
 
Qxxx said:
The KKTR blm website says day use only. So where did you camp? I expect to be visiting the area early spring.

I stayed at the Corps of Engineers campground at Cochiti Lake.
 
Cloud, I also had a similar experience to yours 2 summers ago. I was boondocking on BLM in Oregon not far from a big town, and local twits came in the daytime with semi-automatic weapons with bump stocks, and proceeded to blast the heck out of a bunch of bottles. Glass everywhere. 

Anymore, I check over areas to see if there is evidence of such behavior. Eg, near to a town, garbage and broken glass and beer cans.
 
Qxxx said:
The KKTR blm website says day use only. So where did you camp? I expect to be visiting the area early spring.

At the US Army Corps of Engineers campground at Cotchiti Lake. Really nice campground, only 6 bucks a night if you have an annual national parks pass.
 
Qxxx said:
Cloud, I also had a similar experience to yours 2 summers ago. I was boondocking on BLM in Oregon not far from a big town, and local twits came in the daytime with semi-automatic weapons with bump stocks, and proceeded to blast the heck out of a bunch of bottles. Glass everywhere. 

Anymore, I check over areas to see if there is evidence of such behavior. Eg, near to a town, garbage and broken glass and beer cans.
It's sad, you'd think of anyone the locals would respect the land the most. But apparently in a lot of places it's not so.
 
MrNoodly said:
When you're done there you might want to cross over to the Cochiti Lake side and hike at Kasna-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/kktr

I was watching a YouTube video (Avion Awesome) that Tent Rocks doesn't allow dogs. At all. They won't even let you enter with a dog in your vehicle. That makes it a deal breaker for me, since I spend 24 hours a day with a chocolate lab.
 
Their website does not mention a pet policy. Their website has a phone number to call for clarification if you would like to go there with a pet. Take everything on the internet with a grain of salt and not gospel. There is no substitute for your own research.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/kktr
 
B and C said:
Their website does not mention a pet policy.  Their website has a phone number to call for clarification if you would like to go there with a pet.  Take everything on the internet with a grain of salt and not gospel.  There is no substitute for your own research.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/kktr

From that exact link about halfway down the page:


[font=Roboto, sans-serif]Please note that dogs are not allowed in the Monument.[/font]
 
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