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Sunset Reef Campground. BLM | Established Campground

United States

Details

Verified:
21 days ago
Elevation:
1076.0 masl
Phone:
None
Contributor:
mdemmons

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
No
Water:
No
Toilets:
Pit Toilets
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
Yes
Pet Friendly:
Yes
Sanitation Dump Station:
No

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Description

Sunset Reef Campground has space for 6 tents and 6 RV pull-throughs. There are no connections here for water, sewer, or electricity. Each site has a grill, a covered picnic table, and a trash bin. Tent site closest to privy is handicap accessible. There is a vault toilet on-site.

You can't see this campground from the highway, as it is blocked by a small hill. Turn at the Washington Ranch Road and take the first right into the campground.

You may stay here up to 5 nights. Then you have to move 25 miles away.

I have Verizon and I get 75Mbps download and about 10Mbps upload speeds.

ATT has 162 downloads and 14.7 up.

Photos

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Latest Check-Ins

fantastic free campground super close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. fire pits and tonnes of space. up to 5 nights free

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Nice place to camp and close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It’s free, clean has a place and space for everyone. All the parking camp spots were full when we rolled in last night so we parked along the fence with a few others. It’s safe and well kept with an outhouse, the stars are stunning to see at night here too. The short road is a little bumpy coming into here but easy as well. Lots of different campers here right now from tents, vans, over landers, campers, trailers etc.

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Busiest BLM campground in the immediate area. Likely do to the presence of pit toilets and shade structures. There are a few less busy options if you can live without those. That said arrive early and expect the campground to fill up. There are the developed sites but plenty of room around the north side of the campground for other campers. 2-3 bars of AT&T signal.

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beautiful spot with shaded tables on cement. watched the sunset. little road noise. felt safe.

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Excellent Boondocking site. BLM land with level gravel sites, picnic tables under shelter and grills/fire pit. 6 or 7 rv sites and same amount of tent sites. Go slow on the rocky road leading in and you’ll be pleasantly surprised

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as everyone described. a great free campsite between carlsbad caverns and Guadalupe national park. pit toilet was clean ish but didn't smell bad. all sites had shade, table, fire pit and grill. we were the only ones there on a Monday night in June. very good view of the stars.

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Great place to stop if you’re visiting the national parks. Most people had their RVs but a few had tents. Was very windy at night.

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Campground BLM fairly new just off highway 180. Quiet despite crowd.

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Beautiful sunset! The established campsite was full (post-eclipse travel) so we stayed in a pullout nearby.

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This place as others have described it. Basic camping for RV’s and a few shelters areas for Tents. Good for a nite stay if you didn’t mind the generators and AC units running.

Follow the directions others have mentioned there are no signs were to turn nor can you see this camping area from the main roads

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Great place for overnight or a couple of days. Carlsbad Caverns not to far.

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Boon docking only, get there early.
Watch for turn off. Once off the highway it is the first right you see( probably 100 yards or less.

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We passed up the turn. Once you exit the off the highway take the first right turn. We went all the way down and had to turn around. Great spot nonetheless.
Be sure to get there early.

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This spot has tons of great amenities and feels safe with all the other people around. Stayed here on a windy night in a roof top tent…super flat and open land surrounding. Lots of spaces but it does fill up. Can squeeze a bunch in on the sides. Pull off at the Washington ranch sign and make the first right.

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A perfect place to stay while visiting Carlsbad Caverns. Beautiful sunrise and peaceful dark nights. Trash, toilets, picnic tables, fire pits, level spots, good AT&T. About a dozen other campers here with a combination of tents, vans, class A’s, class B’s and truck camper.

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Absolutely incredible spot. Got here at 2 PM all but one RV spot was taken. We parked along the fence with our van and utility trailer. Others did that as well.

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great campground. stayed here 3 nights. established rv and tent spots. road in gravel and rough but manageable. camped with a 30ft 5th wheel

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Sunset Reef Campground is a quiet free campground that allows 5 nights at a time. It has 6 tent sites and 5 rv sites that have covered picnictableswith a small bbq pit and a fire rings. there is a nice clean pit toilet. no electricity or water. it is gated due to open patures with grazing cows. We've heard there are wild horses but haven't seen any yet.

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Pulled in later in afternoon, all RV sites full, but plenty of room along the rail - preferred - distance from neighbors. Pit toilet was pretty clean, site clean, obviously well maintained. You can see lights, & hear, trucks on hi way, but it’s muted. Relaxing & safe.

I have long rig, maneuverability no problem, road not bad - it’s a dirt road - ease down it - no problem.

Like proximity to Caverns, for visit.

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Stayed for 3 amazing nights. 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns and 20 from Guadalupe Mountains NP. Arrived around 4pm and there were still plenty of established, level spots to choose from. Plenty of room around the fenced area for those who arrive after spots are filled. Cows roaming all around, pit toilet was super clean, and weather was PERFECT (no wind as others described). We are remote workers and spent all day outside under the covered picnic tables. Great T-Mobile and AT&T signals.
Know that if you leave toward Guadalupe NP, there will not be fuel for quite some time, would recommend to go back toward Carlsbad/White City to fill up before heading west.

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Very nice BLM free camping spot. Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns. We did the caverns then camped here for the night just in time to see a beautiful sunset across the mountains. Easy to find (see photo). Nice flat spots with gazebos and picnic tables and a clean bathroom. No other amenities. Lots of room as you can also park along the fence if spots are full. We have a class A towing a Jeep and had no problem getting down the gravel road.

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nous y étions le 13/12/2023 comme a décrit le précedent c était trés propre on peut se placer entre les tables de pique nique ou le long des barrieres si il n y a plus de place ,nous avons vidé nos wc dans les toilettes seches sur place mais il n y a pas d eau , nous avons rempli plus loin en repartant a Marathon
les grottes sont a voir meme si la mise en scene manque de lumiere prendre une lampe de poche et c est gratuit avec le pass american beautiful

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very nice campsite but 3/4 mile very rough gravel road between the main road and the campsite. Outhouse toilet, no water or dump since it's BLM and free, but hey! it's free 😁

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Stayed here for the night. Popular/Busy place, showed up just before sunset and grabbed the last designated spot. Some people parked along the fence as well. Clean pit toilet, tables, fire ring, grill. Good AT&T and Verizon cell service.

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Fantastic little campground that filled up. Flat, Clean, Free.

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Very clean; shade coverings over every picnic table. Cement pads under every table made for a handy place to organize gear. Gorgeous sunrise! No wildlife except for birds and a small tarantula!….

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This campground is not far from the highway and easy to access. It’s relatively flat with a toilet and a few picnic tables. We pulled in close to 8:00 pm. All the official sites were taken but there was plenty of room for us along the rail. The maximum number of nights one could stay here is 5 nights and we stayed for two nights.

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Pulled my minivan camper into the tents section. Windy as all get-out, but lots of folks here for the night and longer.

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PLEASE REMOVE THIS POST
was told by a Ranger at Carlsbad Visitors Center that it was cool to camp here. Just a cleared fenced “day use” park with picnic tables and a pit toilet. Sign at the entrance says it’s maintained by BLM. I’ll let you know in the morning how it went. I’m the only one here at 4:30pm.

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Nice free BLM campground with covered picnic tables and fire rings. Has very clean vault toilet.

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This place is in wrong location - it is located at 32.11072, -104.42921

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As described. Packed. Lots of spaces but all filled. I was lucky that someone was leaving as I got here for an open spot. I think it might be noisy tonight because several people using their generators but I didn’t want to keep heading south risking not having a spot at another place

T-Mobile 2 bars

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Sites fill up fast and though the sign says that you must Park in a actual site there are many people around the edges. Stay limit to 5 days. Very peaceful for as crowded as it was. If you like to hike this is a wonderful place head off towards the Guadalupe Mountains and the Black River it is amazing.

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Awesome campground. Free for five days. Decent Verizon service. Pit toilet super clean. Lots of people here.

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Wow! Awesome free space close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park! Excellent place!

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We stayed here several days, great service if you need to work, we have both ATT and Verizon. SUPER clean pit toilet. We elected to park by the fence as we really didn't need the picnic table/coverage. Empty during the day but would fill up at night. There's also 5-6 tent pad areas with picnic table/coverage. Highly recommend

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Second year to stay here. Pleasant both times.

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A fairly nice place. We stayed multiple nights. The place fills up at night, but mostly empties out each day. Saw the occasional park ranger pull through. 5 pull-through spots & 5 smaller tent sites, all with picnic tables and fire rings. Good view of the reef.

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Came in last night, it was full! But with my van, I was able to park by the fence facing north. Real nice. Took pic of sundown. I decided to stay out for today then visit cavern on Monday to avoid the crowd. I would come back again. Nice!!!

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Nice spot, only 3 other cars on a Wednesday night. The toilet was swarmed with dozens of flies, completely unusable with them coming in and out of it.

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There is no dump station

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Nice site. We enjoyed our visit. We can recommend it.

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this was an awesome spot. there are 5 or 6 designated spots for larger vehicles and about 6 smaller ones for tents. each one with shelter, picnic table, fire pit and grill. there is also a dry bathroom. Amazing sky at night for star gazing.

to find it turn right where you see a big red sign saying something about events and then the first right into a dirt road. follow it and you will find the campground.

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Good little corral camping area. 12 designated sites but plenty of room around the outside of the fence to park if you're late to arrive. Pit toilets were clean. Quiet when we were there.

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We stayed 4 nights here, very nice Campground, but you have to be lucky to get one of the 6 rv spot with table and BBQ.. Very busy place, with lot of generators! Rule say they have to be off from 10pm to 7am! You can stay max 5 days. Very clean toilets. Good t-mobile service.
Bm.aroundtheworld from Switzerland

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Great spot! Yes, it looks like a gravel parking lot so we weren't that excited about coming here but after spending 4 hours at Carlsbad Caverns we wanted a place close by. And this turned it to be a great spot. Google maps doesn't show the road to get here....we took the turn off for Black River, which is just past the site, then took the first right to circle back to here. The entire area has a low fence around it. There are maybe a dozen spots in the center each with a covered picnic table, firepit and gbg bin. You can also park along the fence, but you won't have a table or firepit. We pulled in about 5:00 on a Saturday and took a spot by the fence, tho there were a few picnic tables sites still available. About 5 more vans pulled in after us and also parked along the fence. There is a very clean pit toilet. The site is very clean, and everyone is being respectfully quiet. The only down side is that all the gbg bins are full....not sure how often they get emptied...

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Last review is correct- NO dump station! only pit toilet

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Super busy by evening but several tent sites were open when I arrived around 4pm on a Thursday. Seems like a good spot and for good reason - shaded picnic tables with grills and fire pits, and super clean pit toilet with light provided. Just don't expect too much privacy and know that it's damn near impossible to stake a tent into the gravel

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Entrance to the campground is off Washington Ranch Road. (Large red sign saying Washington Ranch Park marks the entrance off the highway) Easy access, however we got there too late. We rolled in at 6:45PM on a Sunday. Every spot was taken and some vans parked along the perimeter fencing (not in designated camping spots). Some campers were even camped along the road to the site. If you stay here, expect to be VERY close to your neighbors and only one pit toilet.

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Established BLM campground. About 20 sites with picnic tables under shelters lined up in a row. Free. Highway signs show the turnoff but must immediately turn right on unsigned dirt road. Okay for a place to stay but nothing special.

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Great spot. We got there at 11am on a Friday and it was already crowded but we found a spot along the fence. By 4pm people were coming in and turning around because there was no space left. It was very quiet, great views, everyone was very nice. We didn’t use the toilets but the trash can was closed up and couldn’t be used. Just be sure to get there early!

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We stayed here 4 nights. We stayed here last year, and since then they've added nice firepit and grills to all the RV and tent sites. Toilet is always clean and stocked with toilet paper. If the spots are full, just park around the perimeter.

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There is no dump station at Sunset Reef. There is one at the RV park in White City.
There is a vault toilet at Sunset Reef that you can dump your pee jugs or cassettes. Otherwise, NO DUMP STATION HERE.

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Great, free spot! We stayed here for 2 nights. Spots fill up quickly, but there are more spots across the street ( without facilities).

Each spot has a picnic table, BBQ, and for pit. There’s a pit toilet too.

Close to Carlsbad Caverns NP. Gas is a few miles away, along with some facilities ( restaurant, showers, post office, etc) at a one stop town called White’s City.

The GPS coordinates are accurate. Go past miles marker 11 ( on National Parks Highway South). Pull into the area that says ‘Historical Marker’ and go down the road that says Washington Ranch Road. Take the first right, which is a dirt road. You’ll get to the campsite at the end of that road.

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The front desk said that they have a dump station on site. The cost is $15.00.

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No sign on the main road but it was not difficult to find. We pulled in at night and were fortunate to get a designated spot. It is popular spot. Very nice campground.

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Awesome place! The bathroom was clean and nice. People were nice. Awesome views. Close to Carlsbad and Guadalupe. Couldn’t ask for more!

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As described, very nice primitive campground, decent number of people but plenty of space and nice neighbors, quiet and peaceful, full ATT service cleanest pit toilet I have ever seen

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Very clean and quiet. Pit toilets were clean as well. Every site has a grill and fire pit. wasn't full in evening but by morning it was pretty full. but this is peak time of year here. can get windy.

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What a great spot. All picnic areas full so we just parked along fence. Great views.

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nice close corners camp ground. the entrance is unmarked, but the directions have been given above. toilets, picnic tables and all.

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Super crowded. Lots of people overflowing to the sides and just camping by the fence, but everyone was nice and respectful when we were there. Toilets clean. Very convenient to Guadalupe mountains and Carlsbad caverns.

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Got lucky and scored the last pull through site on a Wednesday in December. Nicest free campground I’ve been to, very clean, garbage, toilets, and all for the price of free! Would come back in a heartbeat.

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Nice place. Early November and packed but there’s room at the fence for everyone. Get here early if you want an established site. 5 day limit so I bet slow turn for table sites.

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Stayed here a couple times in april. Beautiful spot. We stayed by the fence. Pit toilets and trash available. Be advised it gets very very windy. Check weather before you come as it can get very hot. No trees or shade. There is some shade where picnic tables are of the campsite spots. (Those get taken quickly)

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Campground full of RVs last night. 5 official pull through RV spots were occupied. 10 unofficial spots on the camground periphery were occupied. There was one tent camper and one van-lifer at the 5 tent sites. View of Guadalupe mountains is lovely. Best free campsite in the area in my opinion. The pit toilets were clean but my teenager says they stink and are hot. Campground was mellow during the day and silent during quiet hours 10pm - 7am. We had one bar of reception AT&T. Stayed for 2 days

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Stayed 1 night here & really enjoyed it! The RV & tent areas were both full - but a few of us little vans parked along the perimeter. Had cell service (Verizon) & couldn’t hear highway noise. Oh & the vault toilet was a L U X U R Y.

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Access from County Road 418, then first turn on the right.

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We spent one night here before visiting the cavers. It was mostly empty and very quiet. The vault toilet was clean and we had a nice sunset. There was a host on site.

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Sunset Reef Campground is fairly new. It has space for several tents and 5 RV pull-throughs. There are no connections here for water, sewer, or electricity. Each site has a grill, a covered picnic table, and a trash bin. There is a vault toilet on-site.

You can't see this campground from the highway, as it is blocked by a small hill. Turn at the Washington Ranch Road and take the first right into the campground.

You may stay here up to 5 nights. Then you have to move 25 miles away.

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Established campground with 6 tent sites and 5 pull through trailer sites. No water but does have a vault toilet. Nice concrete pads with picnic tables and roofs to keep the sun off. Absolutely gorgeous sunsets over the Guadeloupe mountains with the Carlsbad Caverns visitor center off in the distance. Each tent site has fire pits and everywhere has a charcoal grill. Not a lot of firewood in the area though. Free of charge and 100% worth the stop. For some reason I couldn't change the stars but I'd give it 3.5-4/5 for tent camping.

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