Zapata Falls Campground

We left Albuquerque in the morning, took our time and arrived mid afternoon. Campground road was paved and steep. Loops are terraced for great views. Campground was close to full and day use area was busy. Happy to say encountered zero jerks. All campsites have bear lockers. There is no drinking water nor hookups. Vault toilets which were ok. Very close to Great Sands National Park which is well worth seeing. We would definitely stay here again.

We stayed here July 17 and 18th. Road is now paved, we have 24 ft RV and had no problem with the access road or campground roads. Views from campground are spectacular, we were treated to an amazing sunset with deep reds in the clouds. Easy access to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Vault toilets were clean and park host was friendly. The day use area gets very crowded with hikers to the Zapata Falls. The RV campsites seem to be spread out from one another- we had great privacy and quiet.

Looking at past reviews I was concerned about the access road up the mountain. This is no longer a problem. The access road and campground roads have all been paved as of July 2022. Be aware it is still steep with switchbacks but very nice campground with spectacular views. Vault restrooms were very clean and maintained. Not easy for large RV’s 24’+. ATT service 3bars LTE.

The road seems to have been recently re-graded (March 2022) with fresh gravel, but it is a long 3.5 miles. There is currently very little washboarding and no potholes or washout, so is accessible to any passenger vehicle (but you may want to go slowly). Hopefully the road will remain good through spring rains.

Road is wide enough for two cars to pass easily and the switchbacks didn't feel too sharp/aggressive (but ymmv hauling something). Allow 15 minutes for the drive. Locals speed up the road in their trucks for the hike and picnic area.

I would not attempt this road with any snow/ice. It was totally clear of snow/ice in mid-March but check the weather and trail reports.

Sites can be reserved! No longer first-come-first-serve, which will save you a 7 miles rocky drive.
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/261715?tab=campsites

No water, pit toilets were ok.

Great views from the road and campsites. Can see the entire valley and Great Sand Dunes National Park. Perfect for watching sunrise/sunset.

The Zapata falls hike is worth a look. Gentle incline and rocky surface, but an easy short hike.

Well maintained. Great hiking. Awesome views. The road up if a little rough but everyone can get up there from small cars to med/large RV/TT’s. Slot sizes vary and is first come first serve. Requested to leave by 1p on checkout day. So be in the side lot by 10a to get a jump on spot choices. I walked through and looked at tags on the spots to see who was leaving that day.
Camp Safe….

Yep it’s a long rough road for our rig. Ram 2500 pulling a GD Imagine 2800BH. It’s a lot of switchbacks that are tight in a few spots. We went slow. I’m glad we did because our view was beautiful. The site took some leveling, but for a mid August night, the cooler temps made it worthwhile. We were treated to a glorious sunset!
Although we did it, I definitely don’t recommend larger trailers. There are about 5- 6 sites that are small RV friendly. We found about 4 sites we could fit.
The fee is $11, no hook ups, good host, 3 bars of Verizon LTE.
Can’t comment on bathrooms, we didn’t use them. Defiantly would stay again if we have a smaller rig.

We ATTEMPTED to drive up this road just to see the falls. Thank god we did not have our TT attached.
Even without our trailer it was extremely rough, the road was heavily rutted, narrow, and full of rocks.
After about 1/2 mile of getting bounced around we decided to turn back.
We do have a 4x4 but you would need to let some air out of your tires to make this doable.
Fortunately, it did look like they were working on improving the road.