Franklin Mountains State Park Primitive Campground

Recreation.gov says the site is 40'. It was tight getting our 34' RV backed in with the truck. It was very uneven front to back on one side of the site and the more level portion had our door open up to a bush. We were backed in all the way to the barbecue. Leveling side to side was difficult with the loose stone as our levelers kept sliding out of place as the trailer was backed on to them. If I came back, I would pick a different site.

The scenery is beautiful and we had good service with our T-Mobile hotspot where we could stream TV.

The hike to Aztec Cave was great. We should have worn hiking boots instead of sneakers as it's loose gravel going up and more difficult coming down.

Gate locks at night but code provided at the visitor's center. .

We enjoyed our time at this State Park. Please be sure to review the specific site descriptions on their website for vehicle length. We were in site 3 and it indicated 30ft max and that was about exactly correct.... There are only 5 sites in the RV area and they are very unlevel. If you are a big rig you will want site 4 or 5 but be prepared with leveling blocks from front to back.

Garbage cans at each site were a bonus. Note that the daily rate is $10 but then you also have to pay an additional $5 per person per day for the added day use fee. So the camping fee quickly doubles. There is no water and dump station in the park and we found the only option in the area was the Loves Truck Stop. We did a video review of the camping if you are interested.

https://youtu.be/tPYUCj5Am3M

Great hiking trails.... but no shade and the winds can get pretty strong at a moment's notice.

This state park is an ideal place to camp within 30 minutes of El Paso. We were in a tent and the sites were sufficient and had great sun coverage, tent pads, and picnic tables. There are wonderful hikes in the park and the most amazing sunsets. I like that this place mainly caters to tent and car camping but there were also RVs in the center of the park. The staff at the park are friendly and informed. Be aware that the gate does close at 5pm, but if you are camping at the park, you are given an access code. We visited the Border Control Museum and Archeological Museum which is on the other side of the mountain. They are both well worth a visit. A walking tour of the murals in town is a great treat.

We very much enjoyed our stay. The park is beautiful and the staff are knowledgeable and friendly. The RV camping area only has 5 spaces so definitely reserve before you go. There are only two sites that fit big rigs and they are nowhere close to level. Definitely scope out how you want to park before pulling in.

There aren’t any hookups or a dump station but the hiking makes it well worth it. I wish we could have stayed for longer than our reserved two days. The Junior ranger program was great and individualized to the park. The rangers were also knowledgeable and were able to answer all of our children’s questions.

The biggest plus of this park for us was that our golden could go on all hiking trails with us. That was fantastic! I would recommend booties for your furry friends if you’re hiking quite a bit. We logged about 10 miles over two days and the sharp rocks can be hard on the paws.

I gave four stars only because the actual campsite wasn’t fabulous but everything else more than made up for it!

Beautiful park on the edge of the city. Gorgeous dark sky with a view of the city lights twinkling in the distance. No hookups, so I was there for just a night. The loop for RVs is small. My site #3 was nice and roomy but terribly unlevel. The surface at one time was blacktop but it has deteriorated and left the site a mess. Not a complete deterrent. Just an annoyance. Nice metal picnic table and fire pit.

Pros:
Amazing panoramic mountain views, small “rv” campground area (like cul-de-sac size)
Close proximity to Whole Foods, chipotle, downtown El Paso
Great price!
Camp store (although haven’t visited yet)
Lots of hiking and places to explore
Picnic tables and fire pits
Friendly park personnel!

Cons? Or moreso just things to be aware of:
The office closes at 4pm, so you aren’t able to get a walk-in site if you arrive later than that.
The gate closes at 5pm for entry - I’m not sure if you get a code to leave later if you want to go into town to get dinner. Something to ask.
If you’re allergic to ant bites/stings just be aware that there are a lot here hiding underground and they are aggressive
No water or electricity
Close proximity to neighbors - not much privacy - especially in sites 4&5 (but those two are the most level and good for bigger rigs)

I would definitely stay here again!
1-2 bars of Verizon - ok enough service to browse social media and send texts
Rated lower for quality just because a lot of the sites aren’t level, there are underground ant hills with aggressive ants, and lots of brush (so if you’re freaked out about critters and snakes - lots of good hiding places) but if creepy crawlies don’t bother you, it’s great!

Stayed here mid January 2022. the park has many hiking options and some great views of the surrounding mountains. Dogs on leash are allowed on all trails. We stayed at the 5 available RV sites which are set-up as 3 back-in sites (RV1 thru RV3) and 2 "parking lot" sites (RV4 & RV5). The parking lot sites are designed to have the RV park on the pavement and there is an adjoining picnic table in the parking lot island. We saw a Class A, Class B and large van use these sites. Site RV1 seems to be the largest and our 26' Airstream fit okay. Site RV2 is the next largest with RV3 the smallest. The sites are not level and we needed to raise the driver side of the rig up 3" and the tongue of the trailer was raised 15" off of the hitch. I talked to someone who had a larger 5th wheel in this site, so it's doable but be aware. There are no hook-ups and no water or dump available. There are no obstructions so solar potential is great. Our phones had 1-2 bars of AT&T but our Pepwave and cellular antenna with AT&T had 4-5 bars. The nights were very quiet, close proximity to El Paso for needed items and all the hiking available within the park make this a great visit.

We decided on trying to Stay in Franklin Mountains State Park at the last minute when heading through Texas. We got a little behind getting to the park gate after stopping for our favorite chicken at Don Carbon! And I'll admit...I think I read the time on the website wrong and when we arrived at 5, the gate was already locked. Trying to decide our next plan, I looked and saw a ranger opening the gate. I ran to him and asked where we could go?? Park ranger Cesar Mendez was kind enough to let us in for the evening. The park is surrounded by small mountains and close to El Paso. It was a pleasant and quiet stay. The next morning we were able to get a short hike on the Aztec Cave trail. We would definitely return to the park for another stay!
*Thanks again for letting us in Mr. Mendez and we did stop by the park office to pay:) PS...we did not see any fires to put out during our awesome stay (we were the ones in the converted freightliner fire ambulance)
**As mentioned in previous reviews. They have completed the construction on the trans mountain road, but watch carefully for the left hand turn off of the highway into the park entrance, it sneaks up on you and if you pass it, its quite a bit up the road to make a safe U-turn. And arrive before 5 pm to enter!

We arrived at Franklin Mountains State Park after having spent 8 hours on the road. We drove to the address listed for the park only to a find the gate closed and locked. We then realized the address is actually for the park office which is closed and gate locked at 5PM. We then “searched” for another park entrance which we found was on the opposite side of the mountains. We drove there only to find it gated and locked. Evidently the entire park is secured at 5PM. This information would have been nice to know. We ended up spending the night at the luxurious Walmart Super Center: nothing like commercial peace and quiet after a long day.

The camping area for RVs was ok; 3 regular sites(RV01-RV03)and 2 in the middle of the parking lot(RV04 & RV05). The sites are all uneven. The night sky was great. Was very windy and hot every day I was there(5/13-5/21). A 20 minute drive to most of El Paso. There is a long steep hill coming in from the east that was under construction. The ranger station has air conditioned bathrooms but no potable water. The vault toilets were not close enough to the sites to be useable.