Forest Road 88 Dispersed Camping

This is a free & dispersed campsite right off the highway. We were the only ones there for the night and it was very peaceful! We tent camped near the trees and found a pretty level spot. You could hear some traffic from the highway (big trucks) but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t keep us up at night. No facilities or water. Pack in and out! There was some trash around just from people being inconsiderate but it wasn’t too bad. Almost no bugs either! I would definitely stay here again.

We took FR 88, passed the flat spots and went further up the hill, heard some gun shots so we stopped and went to talk with them. A very nice pair of local couples doing target practice, they told us to drive over to the next road for some good spots. It turned out to be a good graded road, we found a spot maybe 1.5 miles back in a cove. 1 bar on the cell, we hooked up the weboost & it worked excellently. They told us it was all government land, but I did a publiclands.org search to make myself feel better, turned out they were right, we were on BLM land. Stayed here a couple nights after driving from Louisiana to go visit the Chaco Canyon Historical N.Park. A wonderful day exploring the park with very few people, on to Lake Powell in the am.The map doesn't show a road up to the spot, but there is a good side-road right up to where we camp next to.
36°03'07.4"N 107°01'49.1"W

If you go up the road maybe another 100 yds.from our spot, there is a turn around with a fire ring and a more grassy area. It does have deep sand in one section, but it seems to be hard pack under the surface. A little more in the trees though, so it would affect the solar some.

The sign says “Cuba Mesa”. The road is dirt (not gravel). It was freshly grated in Oct 2019. There are spots in the trees, but they are close to the road. The trees thin out as you continue up the forest road. We didn’t find any level sights farther up the road, so we returned to the trees. No toilets or water. There is one turn around before you leave the trees. We didn’t see one big enough for an RV up the road, but we only went a mile or so. You might need 4x4 if the dirt road was wet..

After driving through the desert , it was nice to sleep under tall trees and hear the wind in the pine branches.

• yes. There was highway noise but if you travel in far enough it would be faint or none existent.
• we were in a 25’ Forest River RV so didn’t go too far in. -It was a Monday night in May and there were no other campers.
• there was significant evidence of vehicles being stuck in the mud but it had been dry for days so we were fine.
• as others advised we took the southern most entrance.
• many coyotes at dawn.
• we picked up some trash.
• sign saying “No Campfires” but there was evidence that it was ignored. Yes we had Verizon coverage but didn’t use it much.

Fall was gorgeous here. Reds, yellows, orangey browns. Tons of wood around if you're the free fire type. AT&T was spotty and worked well now and not at all then.

The road in was crazy gnarly with giant ruts but no problem for us our van. Had we been pulling a trailer with low clearance I don't know if we'd have made it very far.

Very little traffic. And zero rocks. Well, we found one. So if you're into finding rocks...sorry this won't be your spot. But if that's no concern, have a blast!!!

This dispersed camping area is right off hwy 550 making it ideal for a quick overnighter to and from the Four Corners. Nestled in a forest of towering ponderosas, it’s a pleasant shady national forest that's nice enough to spend several days if the mood strikes. There are two separate entrances off the hwy. Be weary of wet/muddy conditions. New Mexico mud is not to be underestimated. The southern entrance (about a mile south on 550) is a bit more user friendly for larger rigs. Note, you will notice road noise unless you venture deeper into the forest. Verizon 3G/LTE is usable and even better boosted. Do not miss the Cuba Cafe south of here. Insanely good breakfast burritos and fresh, authentic NM fare!"