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Rio Costilla ~ Pristine Wilderness is located in Northern Taos County, New Mexico. Lush forests offer Spring & Summer Recreation through Labor Day Weekend and are a Hunter’s Paradise throughout the year.
Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Bike Riding, Rock Hounding, and just plain Relaxing are among many activities to be enjoyed during warmer months of the year in Rio Costilla Park.
Day Entrance Only: $15.00 per vehicle per day. Day entry up to 8:00 PM Only.
Dry camping for tents & RVs.
Overnight Entrance for Camping: $30.00 per vehicle per day. Fee covers up to 24 Hours
Fishing: An Additional $10.00 per person per day
Trash dumpster – located across from big Canopy in Rio Costilla Septic Waste dump site – located at the old El Gato Lodge No Potable water in Rio Costilla, however, RVs/Trailers can be filled with potable water at the Rio Costilla main office, located in Costilla, NM.
Had an amazing experience camping here. The staff were very helpful. Breathtaking views and would recommend to everyone. Had a blast with my family.
Can't say enough good things about this place. Mostly geared towards anglers, so it's a pretty chill crowd. No ATVs (yay!), and folks are encouraged to keep noise to a minimum for the fishing folks. My kind of place!
Scenery is beyond compare.
Campsites are mostly far apart and not visible to each other, and there are plenty of portapotties that were all amazingly spotless and stinkless. Lots of grazing cattle, so if I HAD to complain about anything it would be the volume of cow patties all over the place, but it's hardly a "problem". Great place to bring the dogs, who had the BEST time.
So nice, I almost don't want to tell anyone about it! It's great; don't come! LOL
Some if the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. Its like walking around a Bob Ross painting. Making the drive to the lakes is worth the challenge.
I love this park. Incredibly beautiful! Privately owned by ranchers. Operated like a "fee-area national forest". In 2017 August, I did "dispersed camping" next to one of the alpine lakes. When I visited the office, the staff were fun to talk with -- good stories about the area. Overall, I had a great experience!
9 alpine lakes! Trout fishing in alpine streams. (I did not fish, but saw other people doing so.) Many picturesque viewpoints within the park. Latir Peak is 12700' (above tree line), an awesome hike. Base of mountain is about 7500', which means the summit view is from about 1 mile above the desert floor. You can take a 4WD registered vehicle to campsites at 11200', where there is lush greenery. An absolutely beautiful park!
Has a hunting season, when no regular camping is allowed (hunters only).
The wild animals grow big and healthy around there, including the Black bears and Cougars/mountain lions. (No brown/Grizzly bears.) Safest to hike in groups of 3 or more people, at least one of whom has good sight and hearing. Same if camping in a more remote spot.
While hiking and while camping in the more "remote" areas (like I did), keep you ears and eyes open and scanning at all times for predators. Seal the scent of your food & garbage, to prevent attracting bears. Use standard back-country protocol.
Some of the physically stronger predators in this area may view humans as weak enough to hunt as food... If you see a predator, then "make yourself big and scary". Do not run away or you will invoke predator instinct. Yell, bang pots, throw rocks & sticks, use 1 warning shot, air horn, etc. These types of predators will typically GIVE UP hunting a human if we "Make Big".
If you are actually charged (rare!!), then FIGHT BACK. Do not give up; do not play dead. Playing dead makes it easier to eat you. Extremely rare for these types of predators to be willing to fight an adult man. If you do not feel physically strong, then okay to bring your pistol, pepper spray, hatchet, 10 ounce hammer, or other weapon that you can "quickly" wield.
I was told that a man had been charged by a hungry Black Bear the week before I camped. Thankfully the guy had a pistol, knew how to use it, and saw the bear coming. He shot it dead. I don't know the details, but I wonder if it was literally "overkill" to shoot the bear, because I do not know whether he first tried scaring off the bear with a warning shot -- or if the guy even had enough time to do that.
