Joe Skeen Campground

Note: older reviews reference an overflow area right before the entrance to the campground. That area was blocked off when I arrived there. I travelled here with a 35’ 5th wheel, long bed pickup and parked in the site #8, a free, back-in site. The dry wash leading into the campground was a bit steep and my rig just barely cleared it. The road is somewhat rough and there is a good sized hill going up into the CG. I took it slow and didn’t have any real issues. Sites 8 and 10 are the best for larger rigs. 6 and 7 would be good for multi-family groups. The sites are totally open to the sun which is good for solar. Other spots are spread pretty far apart. There are two vault toilets, no water. Had 2-3 bars LTE with Verizon (40.1 mbps download). No wifi and I didn’t check OTA. Nice covered picnic tables and lovely views. Great access to El Malpais and El Morro wasn’t too far – made for an easy day trip. Saw many CDT through hikers as that trail passes through that area. The night sky was spectacular.

I arrived a little past 6pm and the place was full to capacity, there seem to be a few people who’d been here a while,Definitely the sites towards the back judging on how their plot was setup. I didn’t see any trash in the area. Did see a bathroom assuming just toilets in there. The road coming up through the entrance is pretty long and has bad wash away spots that was manageable to get around.

I arrived before sunset and just after a rain storm, which left a very beautiful backdrop for the sunset over beautiful scenery.

I was worried when I pulled in that I wouldn’t find a spot. Some of the spots were fairly close together, but I managed to snag one of the last two spots. I didn’t get to stay long because there AT&T and Verizon signals were poor, and I had to take a video call for work. While I was walking my dog, another camper told me to beware of rattlesnakes because they had seen two.

The campground was only 11 miles from the interstate. It was very well maintained and clean.

We stayed here for one night. There were 3 or 4 out of the 10 designated spots available on a Sunday afternoon.

The access road into the campground isn't in great shape but its manageable. You do have to drive through a steep wash which would cause longer rigs to bottom out, we barely made it in our lifted Airstream.

The sites are mixed in quality, some pull-through, some back in. Some are extremely unlevel and wouldn't be usable for most rigs, but others are acceptable. A modest amount of road noise was audible but occasional.

ATT speeds were mixed at 7 mbps download and 2.5mbps upload without any fiddling. With cellular band locking, I was able to bump it to 17/5 with our roof mounted Pepwave antenna. T-Mobile was way faster at 78/5.

I travel between Tucson and Colorado Springs frequently and this is the perfect half way point between the two. Love that it's close to the interstate, trails, and the arch. For anybody not familiar with this area it is truly magical. El Malpais, ice caves, El Morro, lava tube trails, Ancient Way Cafe, Acoma Pueblo, and the Zuni reservation are all "close" by.

- 10 (?) sites appear to be private and have a ramada, cooking grill, and fire pit.
- Very clean.
- No hookups that I recall. We are self-contained and had no need for water/electricity.
- We usually arrive at 2:30pm in the afternoon and have no trouble getting a spot. However, since this is FREE and close to the interstate it does tend to fill up by nightfall.
- While there we had wonderful evening monsoon storms roll through.

We arrived here last night around 6:30 pm and sites were full, we found a little side parking spot and stayed overnight in our truck camper, this campground has about 11 sites with shelter and picnic table and fire pit, rest of the place is covered by grass and cactus, good view of rock cliffs and lava beds. I like it. T-Mobile has barely one bar or two bars occasionally.

I didn't spend a lot of time here; I arrived late in the evening, set up my crossover to sleep in, and left fairly early in the morning. So I don't have much to say, but it was totally adequate for what I needed: a safe place to sleep. I will say there was nothing particularly interesting to me about this campground. Everything was good, but I don't feel a strong desire to return unless I'm just passing through.

The campground: It's about a fifteen minute drive off highway 40. Once inside the campground the road is gravel and fairly easy to navigate. There's about 10 sites; each site has a pavilion with a picnic table, a grill, and a fire pit with a grill on top. Plus there are two vault toilets; one in the upper area and one in the lower area. I arrived just before sundown and there was only one site left, so getting a spot might be an issue during busier times. Everything was clean, including the toilets. It was very quiet; everyone seemed to turn in not long after I arrived.

The area: It's in El Malpais area, and I've been told there's a lot to explore around there; unfortunately I didn't have the time. There's a Phillips 66 located where you get off 40 to head to the campground.

Booking: No booking or fee, but minimal sites. I didn't see any good spots to camp inside the campground that weren't official sites. There's some "restoration" areas that might have been spots for camping, but are currently blocked off.

Cell service: Spotty with Verizon. I could make calls, but couldn't text or use the internet. My spot was near a ridge, so maybe other spots had better service.