We spent the month of April here in 2023. The park is at 7400′ above sea level and April can still be fairly cold with average highs of 66 and lows of 34. We had several nights in the mid to upper 20’s and it could be quite windy in the area but luckily we were somewhat protected from the worst of the winds. Although a lot of area activities are not up to full speed in April, it’s still a great time to visit with fewer people and abundant wildlife.
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Located about halfway between Silver City and Deming, City of Rocks offers camp sites, hiking trails, excellent mountain biking, wildlife viewing, birding, stargazing, picnic areas and a desert botanical garden. The park encompasses a one square mile area in the scenic Chihuahuan desert region of southwestern New Mexico at an elevation of 5,200 feet. Formed of volcanic ash 30 million years ago and sculpted by wind and water into rows of monolithic blocks, City of Rocks State Park takes its name from these incredible rock formations rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets. The eruption was from the Emory Caldera, centered near Hillsboro Peak at the southern end of the Black Range.
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We stayed here for one night on New Year’s Eve while travelling from Colorado to Elephant Butte, NM. We typically stay at the Isletta Lakes RV Park since it is in a better location but when checking this year the reviews had gone down hill. They also don’t allow you to reserve a site and it’s right on a railroad track and can be quite noisy. Route 66 RV Resort and Casino is about 20 miles west of Albuquerque on Interstate 40. The park is much nicer and worth the extra miles and we had a great dinner in the Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina.
Park Review – Route 66 RV Resort
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Site Quality / Amenities: Concrete pads and asphalt roads with nice landscaping for a desert environment.
Type: Commercial Park
Access: Easy access from I-40 about 20 miles west of Albuquerque., Showers and laundry facilities on site.
Staff: Friendly but check-in/out procedures were somewhat awkward. The texted for information before arriving and after leaving but then still called even after I replied.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Good
Restaurants: Thunder Road was good but pricey.
Nearby parks: We didn’t look at any other parks in the area.
What we liked: Clean, well run park.
What we didn’t like: A bit out of the way for us but it was worth it.
Verdict: This is a nice park for a one or two night stopover when travelling through the area and we’d stay here again.
This was a one night stop on the way from Colorado to Texas. Although Clayton has some restaurants, a few small stores, a small museum, and some truck stops (Love’s was great with the TSD fuel card and we saved about 20 cents per gallon); there just isn’t much more there.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel roads and pads. Large amount of space between each site. There are restrooms with showers but no other amenities.
Type: Commercial Park
Access: Right off of US-87 on the south east side Clayton, NM
Staff: We didn’t have any interaction with staff at the park except for the camp host in our loop. He was friendly and helpful.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Verizon was fast at about 76 Mbps.
Restaurants: We didn’t eat out while we were there.
Nearby parks: We didn’t check out any other parks in the area.
What we liked: The sites were wide and just long enough to stay hooked up for a quick departure the next day. There is a good amount of room between each site.
What we didn’t like: There is a train track across US-87 but they didn’t use their horns and noise was minimal. It was very windy the night we arrived but that isn’t unusual for the area.
Verdict: Great place for an overnight stop but not much more as there just isn’t much there.
While staying in Las Cruces, NM at the end of February, 2020 we took a day trip to White Sands National Park and Alamogordo. This is the largest gypsum dune field in the world and is so large it can actually be seen from space. White Sands has been a National Monument since 1933 and in January, 2020 became the 62nd National Park. So, of course, I had to get a t-shirt with the new White Sands National Park on it! The visitor center sign out front will be changing soon!
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