Albuquerque North / Bernalillo KOA

I had high hopes for this place but couldn’t get out of there fast enough.. Tent campers beware! It’s right off the highway so there’s traffic noise, they have a ton of confusing rules, the tent camping sites are up against the playground AND the dump station for the park! The “tent pads” are artificial grass and even though the rules state no dogs using the grass as a toilet, the grass was in fact full of dog piss which we had to endure smelling all night long in our tent (now our tent smells too)… There were several helicopter fly-overs and jets above the park and many barking dogs throughout the night but the cherry on the cake was waking up to the park staff firing up the blower at 7:01am to blow away leaves around the park followed by more than an hour of “silent” chores by the same staff person. We had planned to stay again on our way back through the area next week but we will be finding a different solution at this point, I do not recommend this park for tent camping!

I'm used to KOAs being more out in the woods. Besides the property is a brewery/restaurant, we didn't go there. No open fires only in off the ground pits. The check-in process had us a little worried. We arrived at 4 pm and the office was closed. A sign said it closed early due to the weather. I called the managers number that was on the door for emergencies. She ended up walking over and checked us in. We use the bath houses to shower. They are clean and well maintained. On our second night there, as I was finishing up my shower. 2 females entered. One was fussing about the light being on and that she was going to lock the door, and anyone who opened it would get tossed from the park. Now, mind you, I had an audio book on and paused it after they came in out of respect for them. They had to have heard it. They put on some loud volger music and played the same somg twice. When I exited the shower, they were already in theirs. I called my husband, who was in the men's shower, to see if he was done because he had the key. The fussing lady kinda freaked out and turned the music off. I had to tell her that I was just finishing my shower when they walked in and why I had called my husband. She just said, oh ok. Didn't apologize for her fussing about the lights being on. In this world, we have to be more aware of our surroundings as ladies. I had my shoes on the floor past the door and my dirty clothes so they wouldn't get all wet and my coat was on the lavatory. How they didn't notice I was in there, I really didn't have a clue! I'm guessing she was the manager who had checked us in. I just found it really weird. It's quite here, and the patios are artificial grass. Not ours, but some spots had the picnic tables right next to the sewage dump for another site. I wouldn't want to eat there. Overall, it was a pleasant stay. We were going to stay in Santa Fa, but they called and said the snow was giving people trouble getting in and around, so this was our second choice. The roads are paved here. Our view was mostly a building across the street, but to the right a bit, we could see the mountains. We could occasionally hear dogs barking from off the property (not their fault, can't control the neighbors).

We live locally and just wanted a quick overnight getaway so we thought we’d check out the Bernalillo KOA. It is in a safe area and the sites are well-maintained. We had site p-18 which had a nice turf patio and was an easy pull-through spot that was completely level so we didn’t have to disconnect or use leveling blocks for the night which was nice! The bathrooms are extremely well-maintained and clean, with plenty of hot water, a baby changing station, and a separate baby-wash sink. There are 2 nice dog parks on site, a pool that runs may-October, and a great kids playground. Overall compared to other local options, we give this KOA 5 stars. It also has a walking trail connecting to next door Cactus Brewery.