Valley of Fires Recreation Area is a 5,000 year old lava flow which is one of the youngest in the continental USA and is approximately 5 miles wide and 40 miles long and 160 feet deep. The campground is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and sits above the lava fields with terrific views.
Campground: Valley of Fires Recreation Area
Location: Carrizozo, New Mexico (4 miles west of town)
Site: 15
Cost: $9 (50% off $18 with interagency pass )
Services: E(50 amp), W
Comments: A beautiful campground with great views from every site. Many of the sites are exposed and the area can be windy at times. Due to the forecasted storms over the next few days we picked a site which was somewhat protected by the overlook hill and a tree. It helped tremendously. Sites are quite long and can easily fit big rigs. There is a dump station on-site.
There are 19 sites at the campground of which 14 sites have hookups.
There is a Visitor’s Center with a bookstore on-site, a horseshoe area, and a nice 2/3 mile interpretative trail through the lava fields.
Due to the area being so exposed it means there are some terrific possibilities for sunrises and sunsets. We happened to be there during a terrible 4 day storm covering AZ, NM, and Texas. That meant many periods during the day of wind, rain, thunder, and lighting, and some dark clouds. Details on our hail storm in the next post.
