Gila Hot Springs Ranch

I stayed 2 nights while visiting the cliff dwellings (late April). This is a single road campground with parking along each side of the wide gravel road. The sites were nicely spaced with trees lining each side of the gravel road. The sites are level with full hookups and a choice of either hot or cold water to hookup at your site, with a picnic table in the gravel site. There is a bath house at each end of the road with 2 toilet/shower rooms. The bathrooms were clean, but I did not use the shower here so I can’t speak to the shower water pressure. There are nice views from the campground where you can watch the sheep graze in the grass. The hosts were nice and helpful. There was no cell signal here and the wifi was not reliable (reason for only 4 stars). It was a short drive to reach the parking lot for the cliff dwelling hike. The hike to the cliff dwellings was an easy 1 mile round trip hike through mostly shaded trail along a running creek that flows into a beautiful river. There is a small gift shop at the parking lot at the start of the trail. There is also a small grocery store right across the street from the campground. It was quiet and peaceful at the campground. With the trees there was shad part of the day, until the sun shifted.

When we drove up, the profusion of green grass was fabulous, but that's where the horses are. The campground is the usual NM dust fest. Sites are all pull-alongside style on both sides in a single row. We took one on the end by the bathhouse b'c it did have a patch of grass adjacent. A couple of long term tenants, but the rest tourists. Took a while for the site water to run clear and fill our tank. Ended up being a nice night. Bathhouse was plain but clean enough, though water pressure was lower than low. You can get hot mineral water at your site from a separate spigot. We didn't pay the $5 ea extra for the hot tub mineral water soak provided there. Our Travato was fine on Hwy 35 coming in, though we did have to up our downshifting game. CG host said no problem taking 15 back to Silver City to avoid the long detour back thru Mimbres on 35, but park ranger said "absolutely not, 35 is 5 times easier than 15." We took the ranger's advice. This is nearest place to cliff dwellings with hook ups, and far less dusty than the NFS campgrounds, as dusty as it was. Seeing the horses being herded in at sunset was a treat. Wifi worked OK up by the community kitchen and rental units up front, but not along the campsites. No cell service.

Cons first: No cell service at all, the drive in is white-knuckle for 36 miles up 35 and 15, travel trailers and anything longer than 20 feet cannot make it up the southern part of 15 from Silver City - you have to go up 35 through Mimbres. The closest diesel is 41 miles away, so fill up before you go up there.

Pros: Absolutely beautiful! Quiet, full hook up sites, park is older but everything works. Really hot and clean showers. You have hot water at the site. Super nice people and very laid-back. It is a working ranch with horses, goats, sheep. Hot tub available for an extra $5. Can also go across the road to the smaller campground for a soak in the hot spring pools for $7 for 2 hours. Very close to the Gila Cliff Dwellings and numerous hiking trails. We hiked up the Middle Fork trail to the Featherlight hot springs and took a soak in the natural thermal spring pools. We road our bikes all over the place. There is a small store across the street for food and some supplies.

They have satellite wifi that is okay for checking emails but is not capable of much else. Could not call or text at all.

The campground is basically a wide road but it is very nice because both sides of that road are pasture with sheep and deer often feeding there. They have great drinking water and there is also hot spring water available on each site - it is supposed to be a good temp for showering but we didn't try it. The power was a little suspect, it varied from 103 to 109 volts with only three spots occupied and no A/C required but we were in the last spot on the road.
This is the only place anywhere near the Gila Cliff Dwellings that had any kind of hookups. They advertise wifi for $2 (included in our $27) but it was the worse wifi we have ever used anywhere because it would not stay connected. Could barely get email. There is no cell service anywhere near there on Verizon and they say that no cell service is available from anyone including T-mobile although the coverage map says it is covered. I took the lady in charge's word for the cell coverage for all carriers.

If you're looking for full hook-ups close to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (about 5 miles) then this is the place. We spent one night after several days at the free Forks Campground about a mile up the road. We paid $26 for 30 amp which included a $3 fee for electric ac/heat. There is also an extra fee for using a credit card. The park is basic, nothing fancy but it was fine. They were currently upgrading the electrical. I think some guests were longer term (maybe just seasonal) but the grounds were neat. The bathrooms with hot showers were clean and private. The showers are free and are fed by the hot springs. There is also a hot spring jacuzzi but it costs extra so we didn't try that. When we stayed there in mid March, there were baby sheep right outside our window. A bonus at the RV park is the hot and cold water hookups. The hot water is from the springs and it's VERY hot. You can have a hot mineral shower right in your RV.

No cell service for ATT or Version but there's a store across the road with free WiFi. They have a few groceries and delicious homemade ice cream. They also have coin operated washers and dryers available during store hours. We bought a bundle of "firewood" there that consisted of cut-up fence posts and treated landscape timbers. I wouldn't recommend it if you're wanting to smoke a brisket.

The Gila Hot Springs Campground across the road has soaking pools. It's within walking distance - about 1/4 mile down a dirt driveway. The cost is $5 a person for the entire day. They have several pools of different temperatures.

A note about the roads leading there. Hwy 15 from Silver City is a beautiful drive and we have done it a few times on our motorcycle. It's a fantastic ride but it's narrow and has some pretty tight turns. This trip we were in a 30-foot RV and decided hwy 35 through Mimbres would be a better choice. It's much better for larger vehicles and trailers and still a beautiful drive.