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A wooden ladder goes up into a cavate at Bandelier, a room cut into the Frijoles Canyon wall, and the trail works along that wall and keeps sending you up into the cliff dwellings, one short climb after another. Frijoles Creek runs below while you do it, and you hear the water every time you step off a rung.
Juniper Campground is the first night, on the mesa above the canyon rather than down in it. Driveways fit rigs up to 40 feet, and Loops B and C reserve six months out on recreation.gov, so lock that pad before the van. Loop A is first-come, Loop C closes from November 1 through March 1, and none of the sites have hookups. If you need more sleeping space or a longer rig than those driveways, look at New Mexico RV rentals.
A seasonal shuttle runs into Frijoles Canyon, mandatory only when the parking lots fill and cars get turned around at the entrance. You can still drive to Juniper when that happens, so the overnight does not depend on finding a canyon day-lot.
NM-4 continues to Valles Caldera, a grass valley on the floor of a collapsed volcano. From the rim road you can pick out elk on the grass a long way off, and the preserve has no campground of its own, so the night is still Juniper. Jemez Springs and the NM-4 campgrounds west of Los Alamos are Albuquerque's.
Hyde Park Road and the forest above Santa Fe
Hyde Park Road switchbacks through aspen that turn gold in fall, then ponderosa, then the ski basin. Black Canyon Campground is the close overnight, an RV-friendly loop on a paved road, and the overflow when Juniper is full. Sites reserve at least four days ahead on recreation.gov, and as of September 2026 there is no potable water, so bring your own.
Aspen Basin Campground is at the Ski Santa Fe parking area for a night at the top of the same road. In winter that road ices, and Ski Santa Fe is at the end of it. A day in town is the Plaza, Canyon Road, and Meow Wolf, then you come up here to sleep.
Taos and the Rio Grande Gorge
The Rio Grande cuts a slot in the plateau on the way to Taos, and a steel bridge deck hangs over that slot with the river a long way down. From Santa Fe you take the High Road through the hill towns or the Low Road along the river, one out and the other back.
Orilla Verde Recreation Area puts you in the canyon near Pilar, with water and electric hookups at Pilar and Rio Bravo Campgrounds. Sites are first-come, and Taos Junction Campground closes from November 1 through March 15.
North of Taos, you stand at La Junta Point in Wild Rivers Recreation Area, where the Red River meets the Rio Grande. As of September 2026, none of the campgrounds there have water. Taos Pueblo is the day in town, and Taos Ski Valley is the winter stop at the head of the valley.
Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch
US-84 toward Abiquiu opens into the red-rock mesas and badlands of Ghost Ranch. Spend the day in those cliffs, then sleep at the lake or farther up the highway.
Riana Campground is on the bluff above Abiquiu Lake, with electric and water hookups on some sites. Echo Amphitheater, farther along US-84, has a small campground with electric at each site and a 30-foot length cap. The road keeps going toward Chama.
The Pecos
You walk the excavated pueblo foundations and the roofless adobe mission at Pecos National Historical Park. The park has no campground, so the van night is up the canyon. NM-63 runs toward Cowles, and Cowles Campground is open at the top of the canyon, where Winsor Canyon meets Pecos Canyon. As of September 2026, Jack's Creek, Panchuela, and Field Tract are closed for construction through the end of the month.