By:
Submission
Datil Well Recreation Area Campground includes one of 15 water wells along the old Magdalena Livestock Driveway. The old cattle trail was established in the 1800s and stretched 120 miles from Springerville, Arizona, to Magdalena, New Mexico. The area includes 3 miles of hiking trails in pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands, with scenic views of the San Augustin Plains. The trail and vistas also offer an occasional glimpse of wildlife in a setting of quiet and solitude. You can close your eyes and almost hear the cattle lowing as they settle in for the night.Please leave a clean camp and respect the facilities and natural surroundings. Pack it in. Pack it out.
The Datil Well Recreation Area Campground is off of US 60. Go 1 mile west of Datil on US 60 or south on NM 12.
I spent one night. The campground and toilets were pristine. The hiking trails lead to beautiful vistas. My only negative was the barking dogs of other campers while trying to sleep. It is not free to camp, but only $5. Day use is free. Bring water. The spigots were not open. Highly recommend
We were able to find a couple spots where our 40 fifth wheel fit. We used site 19 with electric. Site 21 with electric would have been an easier fit but a tent camper took the largest site for themselves. I suppose that's what first come means though. We made it work. However, all of the potable water spigots had locks on them. We went to the camp host who informed us she was off duty and the locks are on there because people steal water. We just wanted to fill our tank enough for our visit. She said, "this is not an RV park." She said we should use a bucket. We made dye with what we had. The hiking was great! Nice trails, not handicapped accessible if you need that.
