Big Arsenic Springs Campground

What a treasure of a site right on the ledge! We had a beautiful view of the Rio Grande River and great hiking opportunities. There are picnic shelters, stand up grills and a firepit with a grate too. The campsites vary in size and we saw several throughout the area that we could fit in. Best of all, the roads are paved or smooth gravel for only a short distance.

Unbelievable views we had one of the best sites. I could see down into the gorge from my bedroom window, also the sunset. The trail from this campground climbs down into the Rio Grand Gorge and is signed with information. The spring itself at the bottom by the primitive hike in campground was huge and crystal clear. Don’t miss the petroglyphs just a few yards past the outhouse. You can walk along the river trail and go back up to other campgrounds and walk the loop trail back. Hike to the confluence of the Red river and Rio was fabulous. So many hikes, mountain bike rides and road rides.

Big Arsenic is one of the campgrounds at the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (also known as Wild Rivers). This is where the canyons of the Rio Grande and the Red River come together, and the campgrounds are on a mesa top in between the two.

Big Arsenic is on the Rio Grande side, and the Rio Grande Gorge was located right behind my campsite. We could see both directions up and down the river from our site, and even hear the sound of the river, running far below.

The sites here are well designed, with shade structures, picnic tables, fire rings, and grills. There are clean vault toilets (with toilet paper), drinking water available from pumps, and garbage collection.

The trail down to the river is amazing, though it does make for a steep climb back up. But it's totally worth it to get the different views, and hang out for awhile down by the river. The Big Arsenic trail heads down really close to here. If you turn right when you get to the river trail along the bottom, there are some petroglyphs you can see, too.

It was $7 per night to stay here. Usually I prefer to stay at free places, but this is so beautiful, I ended up staying quite awhile. With decent cell service, gorgeous views, and stellar hiking, it's hard to beat!