Monticello Point Road Dispersed Camping

Coordinates N33.327309 W107.269762

BLM land off of Interstate 25, just north of Truth or Consequences. Head east on Monticello Point Rd. Distance from I-25 to our spot was approximately 1-1/2 miles. Our spot was on the right. Road is hard packed dirt and gravel and just a bit rough because of gravel.

You will cross a cattle guard. Ranchers lease this land so it’s important not to leave any garbage around. On your way and you will see sites were somebody dumped tractor tires.

Our site was pretty clean but as I walked around gathering limbs for a campfire, I found areas with broken glass, oil cans, chair frames, beer bottles and cans. I cleaned it up.

You can see hoof prints of cattle. I find any littering is sad and unacceptable. Range animals can step on glass and end up getting an infection and they can ingest garbage. It’s months before the ranchers will see them again.

It’s up to all of us to leave the campsite cleaner than we found it. Slobs who litter, get places like this closed down.

1 mile down the access road from exit 92 on rt 25 we found a pull through which matches the coordinates listed here. There were two sites closer to the highway which were occupied when we arrived. We did not travel father down the road, but had noted that it looked like it eventually connected to the state park shore road. The site was easy to access, however it had clearly been used as a dump as there were 6 tractor tires, and a shower stall liner full of bullet holes adjacent to the site. We kept the dog on a very short leash as the site was covered with broken glass. We found the site quiet, and a good distance from the highway. An acceptable site for one night, when we didn’t need electric at the state park, and wanted to enjoy the mountain view we wouldn’t see at the truck stop.

Once you turn off the highway onto Monticello Point Road, there are two parking areas very close. We stayed in the one on the left-hand side. It was very easy to pull in and out. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but we did see other rigs coming and going.

There are a few other spots further down the road, but we stayed close to I-25 for the better cell reception. Loved having the full moon while we were there!

This has been one of the nicest out-of-the-way places we've stayed so far. Monticello Point Road is an exit right off I-25, just north of Truth or Consequences. The road is really old asphalt, so it's rough driving but solid. It's too narrow to actually park on the roadside.

Just off the freeway there are two wide spots - wide enough for a large RV with tow to pull in, stay and get out. In the next 3 miles or so there are 4 more actual pull-outs. We stayed in one, there's another decent one, one that's got okay parking but was used as a dump site (old tires and such), and one that has a stripped car. So, two good spots. Just past the stripped car, there's a cattle guard and the road turns to dirt. There may be places to part further on, but we didn't go past there to check things out.

For someone with a smaller RV, Class C or Van, it might be reasonable to pull off and just park in the desert. It's very level, pretty solid and there are areas with little vegetation. The issue would be the ditching on the side of the road, which is deep in some places, but crossable in others.

During the 5 days we were here, we had an average of 2 or 3 vehicles go by per day. It's hunting season, so that's expected, I guess. All the rigs were pretty upscale - and no one stopped or even slowed down.

We did get a visit from a very nice BLM person. She was in uniform and armed, pretty imposing! We had a nice chat. She was totally okay with our being here and complimented us on keeping things so clean around our camp. She said she was going to check out the abandoned car, so maybe it will be removed sometime in the next little while.

The views here are spectacular. Flat desert with low scrubby plants. About 15 miles in each direction are hills/mountains - which were crystal clear most days. We had some rain (with thunder and lightening briefly), but generally it's been clear, warm in the day, clear and cooler at night. Just. Perfect.