Bluff Springs Dispersed Camping

Most sites are pullover along the dirt road. I got in on Friday around 5pm and was able to find a spot. Clean area with friendly people. I did about 40 miles to atv trails and got kinda lost so turned around to find my way back. Seen elk coming in and on atv. Most spots are big rig friendly. Road is a little bumpy coming in but any rig can handle it. Temp in Aromagondo was 98 and at this location was 73. Definitely recommend especially is using ohv.

Great free camping in Lincoln National Forest. The 4 mile road getting was very bumpy and one lane. Only have a 20’ camper plus tow truck and it was tight at times. All site are car and tent friendly. Beautiful hike through the woods. Camp next to the stream if you can. Sunsets over the tree line is beautiful. Don’t even think about driving a class C or large 5th wheel to this CG!

This was an amazing place!

Bluff Springs National Recreational Area in Lincoln National Forest.
8100’ elevation.

I was able to back my TT in to a nice space tucked out of the way.

The view out my front door was looking straight at the waterfall!

I sat quite often and just watched and listened to the water pouring over the rocks. Super relaxing.

There are people that come by to see the waterfall, but not too busy.

Lots of places to hike.

Once you get off Hwy 6563 south of Cloudcroft you’ll go 2 miles on a narrow pace road (15mph) then 2 miles on gravel, a bit rough here and there but slow slow slow gets you there!

I saw a couple of other boondocking spots nearby.

Absolutely no cell service!

We camped up the road a ways from the waterfall. Road was busy at times-but far enough away from our site. Very quiet and peaceful. Lots of Elk sign everywhere. Saw them morning and evening moving through our camp and a nearby meadow. Temps were extremely pleasant. Really enjoyed our stay here. Road in was bumpy but GPS took us the long way. The road out towards cloudcroft was much better.

The central hub - where the waterfall is - for the area was VERY crowded, as were a lot of the spots on the side of the road by the creek to the east. There is a very sizable area just past the spot where the road on the west side goes from the pavement that leads to the sunspot highway turns to gravel. It was level, open, and easy access. LOTS of sun/sky view to run our solar, and little to no traffic during the weekday. We had a HUGE area completely to ourselves. It's close enough (30 minutes) to Cloudcroft if you forget/need anything basic, and far enough away to feel like you're almost in the wilderness.

Be careful if you're towing, though. The road that comes in from the east is quite narrow in places and offers little chance to turn around and plenty of areas where passing another car/truck/RV is not possible.

We stayed here in September and the weather was perfect. There are many sites for RV’s on the left hand side of the road. There are no spots past the recreation waterfall area so this is your last turn around point. We stayed after a small rain and the road was fine to travel on.

We stayed at the last spot available which is also the largest near the trailhead. Only 2 vehicles approached to park near the travel head during the day, which wasn’t too bothersome.

Each spot is right along the Rio Peñasco which makes for a beautiful little scenery. You can hear plenty of elk throughout the night as well.

The spot was clean and very level with a fire ring already in place. The road it self isn’t very long, but it takes quite a while to travel down because you have to take it slow.

We love this spot and plan to stay here many more times! Definitely less crowded then the other dispersed camping areas in Cloudcroft.

My friends and I camped here the first weekend Ft. Bliss personnel were allowed to travel after COVID-19. It was packed. We drove about two miles past the falls before we found a spot across the spring that wasn't crowded. We drove 4WD trucks (one with a tear drop trailer) and SUVs and had no issues crossing. Everyone was very respectful and quiet. No noisy parties. No camp fires allowed, but we were able to cook on stovetop a without issue. The spring is too shallow in most spots (deep in some spots)fast and cold. I don't recommend for swimming. We will definitely be back soon. There is no cell service with Verizon here - a plus in my books! Plenty of trees to string up a hammock. Great place to get away from the desert heat. Low 50s at night, high 70s during the day. Very comfortable for tent or hammock camping. Road might be too narrow for big rigs.