orangeclouds
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- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
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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.
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.