Sugarite Canyon State Park

We came her a the last minute. It was very rainy and muddy. We stayed in Soda Pocket and boondocked. absolutely no cell service

The first campground on the left after entering the park was the only one open and it is very nice.  Water and electric are included for the RV sites, the sites are nicely spaced and it is easy to maneuver a 30 foot 5th wheel.  We'll stay here again if we're going through Raton.

This is one of the best campgrounds we've found.  Beautiful setting, water, electric, large oak trees, sites well spaced, easy to maneuver.  We'll stay here again if in the area.

We've lived in New Mexico (Alamogordo and Albuquerque) for 30+ years, but had never made it up north to Sugarite Canyon State Park.  But on our RV trip back home from Rocky Mountain National Park, we decided to spend a night here rather in the small town of Raton (eight miles away).  It's a lovely park, with some steep walls, small lakes and an interesting history.  We took a few of the smaller hikes (time was limited) and the one of the Coal Camp was very interesting.  

Our 29ft RV barely fit in our site, and there were some tricky branches and overhanding trees to work around.  The site was fairly narrow, but I will say we were spread out nicely between the sites.  We were at a site with electric (30 amp only) and water (water pressure very low, due to a lower aquafer).  The dump station was nearby, but no water available by it for flushing out the tank.

Camp hosts were super friendly.  It was a very easy going place.  Most of the sites are pretty small, and our "small" Class A was the biggest rig there, except for the hosts' 40' RV.  So if you've got a bigger rig, you might have trouble finding a site to accommodate.  But for smaller RVs, I think this is a great place to stay.  VERY dark and quiet at night!!  A lovely and reasonably priced spot that I can easily see spending a long weekend at.

(OH, there is NO wifi and no cell signal.  Be prepared to be off-grid completely!  You're at least 5 miles from a signal.)

Birds bears snakes and and turkeys nice secludedesites in the mountains few hookups reservations recommended 

Not a long drive from Raton if you want to spend the night before entering Colorado.  The campgrounds were full when we drove in at about 2on a Friday, so the visitor center said it was fine to just pull into any area along the lake and camp...$10.  We had a class c, towing a car, and found a fine sized spot for our rig right at the lake edge.  Had a picnic table and porta-pot.  By evening, the area had filled in with other campers, but not so close that it was irritating.  We took a drive down to see what the campgrounds looked like.  Pretty tight and raggy.  Glad we were by the lake!  Next morning we had to drive through the campground again to turn our rig around.  Would go back again if needed when passing through Raton, but don’t recommend it as a vacation stop. P.s. the showers are only at the beginning of the road by the visitor center as another reviewer reported.

Upper campground is 10 a night. Host is ahgh okay I guess. Hiking trails are descent. My 200cc motorcycle I didn't have to pay extra for. No cell service anywhere near this entire park besides a 5% chance on the upper camping lot on rock by the overlook. If you don't want to drag your rv up that 2+ mile steep hill, just use the overflow lot across from the lower campground. Extend stay is OK. 

Shower house only at the park entrance. No water at the campground up the mountain. $10 

"visit the nearby Capulin Volcano National Monument"

If the park were not so beautiful I would rate this lower. The park is easy to get to just 6 miles from the interstate. Upon driving it is was a beautiful sight! There are two camp grounds, we stayed at Lake Alice as it had water, electric, and a few full hook up sites. When we drove up to the campground or smiles soon left us. 

Lake Alice sites were all crammed together and only 4 had full hook ups. We had registered in advance and were quickly greeted by the Camp Host(s) and shown to our site. The site was not very level and right next to the vault restroom and garbage. We looked around for a while and noticed a very strong odor coming from the garbage. The site was directly down wind and it was unbearable. I asked the host for another site and he said there was one for walk-ins. He did not want to give it to me, but I pushed and he showed it to me. I immediately said I would take it as it was a MUCH better site.  I also informed him of the odor at the other site and he had someone from the park come get the trash. We were lucky, because not 10 minutes behind us were at least three other campers looking for sites.  The site had a picnic table and bear box. I asked and bears were very aware of this campground.  All was good until the night we were getting ready to leave. Several campers had been waiting in the overflow lot for my spot. The host came and found me and asked when I was leaving the next day. I understand he was trying to help the other folks, but I found it to be really pushy. To make matters worse, he showed up in the morning and continued to bother us as we packed up. When he saw that I was ignoring him he finally left. It was just a pain. 

The other campground was very nice but did not have any hook ups. We would stay there is we were prepared to do so. The only catch is that while the sites are beautifully placed high a-top a mountain, the road to reach them is quite rough. I would make the drive without your trailer to make sure it is where you want to be first. 

I did not deduct points due to the host, but these final comments are why I took off two stars. 

The park has posted a boil water advisory since June 2015. I inquired as to the status of the water and they said most people use it, just don't drink it. The detailed response on the info board said possible e-coli. I really did not want that water in my tanks or lines, not did I want to shower in it. Be forewarned, fill your tanks before arriving. 

We did not dump tanks at this site as water for rinsing was not available and the dump was in the middle of the campground and difficult to get to. 

Finally, when walking my dog, we noticed a hose coming off a neighboring camper into the thin woods between us. They were draining their gray water. I can't imagine why there are animal problems in this camp ground...

Lastly, should you visit this park, be sure to visit the nearby Capulin Volcano National Monument in nearby Capulin a 30 minute drive away.