El Morro Campground

We camped at El Morro Campground during the first week of May at campsite 7. This is a first come - first serve campground, we arrived mid-afternoon and took the last campsite. Our campsite was spacious and sloped slightly, we had a picnic table and fire ring and small shade trees. The vault toilet was clean and a trash container was located near our campsite. During our stay the water was turned off. During our stay in the campground we had no cell service, but we did have cell service at the visitors center. Beautiful stunning sunsets and perfect night skies were great features of this campground. We also hiked at the El Morro Monument, great trail system, fascinating ancient Native American dwellings, and historic inscriptions on the sandstone bluff. Overall we enjoyed our peaceful visit to El Morro and would definitely return again.

Great free campground maintained by the Park Service. The campground itself has water (turned off for freezing temps while we were here), bathroom, trash. The campsites all had tent pads but for those in vehicles there’s only a couple of flat spots. RV limit is 27 feet.
AT&T signal was very limited if any at all. We got a sporadic signal when boosting but it didn’t last too long.
The National Monument itself is unique and interesting. The short two mile hike is definitely recommend

Amazing summer sunsets from the campground (see photos)
And very quiet at night.

We have been to the monument severals times, but it was our first time camping here. (Tent camping) The date was June 11, 2022.

The campground is located approximately 45 - 50 miles from highway 40 between Gallup and Grants MN.

Considering its a free first come first serve campground, we were surprised that there were spots available because it was a Saturday. We arrived around 12pm and at sunset there were still about 5 spot remaining.

There are only 9 sites including a disable site across from the restroom.
Registration was simple, just fill out the paper form and place it on your pole at your site.
Each campsite has a gravel driveway a tent pad, picnic table and a fire pit (There was a statewide fire ban durning our stay.)

We were in campsite #7 witch is large enough to fit a large class a, however the maximum length allowed in the campground is 27'.
There is a vaulted toilet that was very clean. The campground also has a drinking water spigot located between campsite 5-7 but no other hook ups.

We would and will camp here again.

It’s about 40 miles off interstate 40 well worth the trip just to see El Morro monument. It’s a must stay. Clean , fire pits tables, most site have a place for 10 x 10 tents . Also place for RVs . Bathrooms are well maintained , Problem is people pets . They just don’t clean up after the pets . So watch where you walk ! Time to charge for pets!

Just down the road from El Morro National Monument, where views are beautiful and Park Rangers are very friendly and helpful! The campground was empty, save for one car that pulled in around 6pm but didn’t seem to stay. Pit toilets were surprisingly clean. Temperatures were far below freezing at night (early Dec) but car camping was doable. Fire pits and picnic tables available. No cell service here, but a short drive out away from the monument and I had full bars.

Arrived on a Tuesday and had a choice of 3 of the 9 sites. There is a size limit for RVs and our little 17' Casita just fit, although the site was not very level and we ended up using all our blocks plus a rock :) Each site has a firepit, heavy duty picnic table, and level tent pad. This little campground was spotlessly clean and the other campers were friendly and quiet. Although this spot is renown for dark skies, we happened to be there during a full moon, which turned the night as bright as day. We fell asleep to the sounds of owls and coyotes. It got colder than we expected (27 degrees at 7AM) for late September but it quickly warmed back up when the sun rose. The Visitor's Center is closed Monday and Tuesday and maybe not open at all because of Covid?? Not sure. We just enjoyed a couple hikes and the beautiful scenery. My only regret is that had to move on after only one night. NO cellular service here, or for miles around.

Not much to add to what others have said. This is a nice little campground near one of the very first National Monuments. It's definitely better suited to either tent camping or small Class B or C RVs. I was in site 7 with a 20' trailer, and was just barely able to get it leveled. There's zero cell service anywhere in the area. The nearest service is about 2-3 miles down Highway 53, in either direction.

This is a small (nine sites) loop campground off the side road to El Morro National Monument. It is set in a pinyon-pine/juniper habitat, and the sites are partially shaded, except for the concrete-covered wheelchair accessible site. There was a nice breeze, but the tiny gnats were annoying when the breeze died down for a while. Site #8 is one of the longer sites (but I hope you're better at backing in than I am). The one downside to #8 was being directly downwind of site #9--I don't know what they were putting in their campfire to make it stink so badly! The west side of the loop (sites 5-9) is more scenic than the east side, but the whole place is pretty scenic. This is a great place to stop to explore El Morro National Monument at your leisure. And it's free! Who'd'a thunk it! It has running water (at least in June when I was there), a nice toilet, and bear-proof trashcans. No ATT cell signal. There are also wide-open views of huge, multicolored bluffs and monoliths as you pass through the nearby Zuni Pueblo.