Clear Creek Campground (NM)

If you and your buddy are looking to run off into the Santa Fe National Forest and escape the city heat, Clear Creek Campground might just be the paw-fect place for you two to stay! That’s if you can commit to a bit of a wilderness experience, of course -- Clear Creek is a little short on luxuries. Two vault toilets are about the only concessions to civilization, and you certainly won’t find any showers, electricity or RV hookups.

Nestled in one of the valleys of the Jemez Mountains, the sites sit surrounded by shady ponderosa pines, and at an elevation of over 8,500 feet, you and your pupper should have no trouble keeping cool! You’re also just a bone’s throw away from the creek itself, and deer and elk have been known to just casually wander through camp.

Clear Creek offers a couple of different ways to stay -- as well as the standard sites starting at $10 per night, group sites are available for larger gatherings. Though the US Forest Service has designated Clear Creek as a light usage campground, there are only 8 sites available, so it’s best to make your reservation early.

Each site comes with a picnic table, so if all you and your pooch want to do is sit back and take in the scenery, you’re in luck. If you’d like to get a little more active, though, don’t worry -- there are plenty of op-paw-tunities for outdoor recreation in the surrounding area! The San Pedro Parks Wilderness is close by and offers plenty for hound-dog hikers and keen anglers alike. 

While San Gregorio Lake might look like a great place to cast a line, you’d be better off trying your luck in one of the many streams that thread the park. Lower lake levels kill off the trout population in summer, while the streams still abound with scaly swimming critters. You’ll also find a hiking trail for every age and ability, from the fittest furry friend to the less athletic among us, running through dense forest and gorgeous meadows and past mountain views.

In other words, Clear Creek Campground is the pawfect base camp for avid anglers and adventurers of both the two- and four-legged variety!