Echo Campground

Wow. Wow. Wow. This spot is so beautiful and peaceful. We didn’t have any hookups but there are picnic tables and fire pits. We were there April 18th, 2022 and hardly anyone else was there. We had to make it to Austin for a wedding or we would have camped here for two weeks adventuring to Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu and visiting Georgia O’Keefe’s homes (make reservations if you want to do that-you can’t just walk-in and buy tickets day of for her Abiquiu home especially). The natural amphitheater is amazing! It’s only a short walk up a really nice walk-way and we all loved it-especially our two year old. Can’t wait to go back.

I was a little nervous about the water situation before arriving here because I read conflicting information via reviews and the forest service website. I confirmed with a ranger that the water at the campground was functioning and as of this review (2/23/2022) the water was flowing and operable (although it seemed the handle was loose so there was a bit of water squirting out while filling- stand back haha). No power. We arrived on a holiday and there were a couple other smaller campers overnighting here, but during the week so far we have had the place to ourselves. Very quiet and peaceful. Spot #2 is the biggest pull through loop and we fit our 30' tt plus F-250 with room to spare. Verizon service was low usually 1 bar maybe 2 but with signal booster we got 4-5 and were able to work and make calls no problem. Spot was a little uneven and took a little maneuvering to get level with a bit of rutted dirt, but nothing crazy. Access was easy. Close to Abiquiu - about 15 mins to the general store. Eat at Cafe Sierra Negra in town - soooo good! The short walk to the natural amphitheater was really neat.

This campground is only free if you don’t honor the honor system. It is a self pay station. $2 day use and $10 per night for camping. Spots are nice, 3 pull thru spots. About 10 spots total. The amphitheater is a neat touch. Quiet for being just off the highway. And a huge one, free water!!! Not at the sites but several faucets to retrieve from.

Checked it out, but did not camp. Easy access right off US84. Nice looking campsites with some privacy. Beautiful scenery. Close enough to road for lights and traffic noise.

Pay station was taped up, so free. Nice group picnic area, and individual picnic sites near the amphitheater, all covered. Appears to have not been maintained in a while, toilets were overflowing and sink water stank bad. You could smell the bathrooms from the group site. Water pump had been shut off. So, nice campsites, but no water or toilets

Echo Amphitheater is a little campground that's right up against the red rocks. It's a pretty setting, and you can see up the canyon one direction, and over to the peak of Pedernal the other way.

This is national forest campground, but when I was there in July 2017, the price had been changed to FREE, and the pay boxes were taped over. I'm not sure if that's a permanent change or not.

There's a small dirt loop that had a few little ruts, but was easy enough to drive. The sites are spaced around the loop, with a decent amount of privacy between them. There are picnic tables and grills at each site, but no shade structures. (There are shaded picnic tables in the picnic area, but not the campground.) I did have T-Mobile internet, not speedy but usable.

Drinking water is available. A few of the sites are pull throughs, but there are no hookups. One downside is that the bathrooms were out of order when I was there, but I assume they'll fix that soon.

There is an "amphitheater", which is a natural bowl in the rocks that echoes whatever you yell. During the day, there's a modest amount of people coming through to hear their own echoes, but at night, this place is pretty empty, and very quiet.

All in all, I was very happy with it, especially since it was free! It was pretty and comfortable, and I'm likely to stay there again when I pass through the area again.

Well, it's quiet and beautiful at night. During the day you may have to listen to a bunch of folks yelling to hear their echoes, but there are long stretches without any visitors. Still a really lovely site. I sat and played my flute for a while and listened to the Ravens. There is a half moon tonight, and the stars and coyotes really give a magical feeling. The CG is small, and the sites are small. Flush toilets though, which is nice. It's right off the road, which means there is a bit of road noise, but not much.