For our stay in Carlsbad, New Mexico, we stayed at the Carlsbad KOA. It’s a little bit out of town, about 20 minutes.
The campground was a nice one, with plenty of things to keep the kids busy. There was a large outdoor checkers board and a porch swing by the office. The main building housed an office/store, restaurant (delivered to your site, food made on-site in smokers), bathrooms/showers (men’s main bathroom closed for our stay), and a laundry room. The campground had WiFi (no streaming), picnic areas, fire pits at sites, pool (closed for the season for our stay), gaga ball court (boys’ favorite), tether ball, playground (with a set of bathrooms/showers nearby), and fenced dog area. Most of the sites were pull-through. There were a few tent sites and a few cabins to stay in as well. The rows were nicely labeled to help find your site. Once we were checked in (they gave us some cute red/black plaid can koosies at check in), a staff member led us to our site. The front desk recommended using a water filter for the drinking water.
The office store sold some souvenir type things, grocery items, ice ($3/10 lb bag), and firewood bundles ($10/bundle).
The spots were nicely spaced, with plenty of room for our trailer and truck to fit on the paved spot. There were only a couple of downsides (which they didn’t have control over): very windy at times and a fair amount of flies.
The campground was about 20 minutes from town, about 45 minutes to Carlsbad Cavern National Park, and about 1 hour from Roswell. Carlsbad (the town) had an Albertsons, a Walmart, and a Lowe’s, plus plenty of fast food options. There were also plenty of fuel stations in town, a lot with diesel. Most of them, however, would be difficult with a bigger RV/trailer.
Everyone we interacted with at the campground was nice and helpful. If we were back in the area, I would stay here again.
VIDEO: Carlsbad KOA Campground Tour
Side Note: Due to Covid, we could only go to National Parks/National lands. The State Parks (even all outdoor ones) are closed to non-New Mexico residents. Masks are also required indoors. The staff at the KOA did a great job with this, but the regular people out and about and employees in other stores did not.
SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:
Our rating: 2.5-3 out of 5 hitches
Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile
Laundry: Yes
Bathrooms/Showers: Yes, partially open for repairs
RV Sites: Pull through, a few back-in
Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: No
Amenities: picnic table and fire pit/grill at each site, cable, dog park, gaga ball court, tether ball
Cabins: Yes
Tent Camping: Yes
Full Hook Ups: Yes. 20/30/50 Amps
Pool: Yes, closed for season when we were there
Food On-Site: Yes
Camp Store: Yes
WiFi: Yes
Fishing: No
This is such a nice campsite…. i am always amazed by all the different features and services that each campground offers to campers. Your evaluations are so helpful and wonderful for future camping trips. Are you finding it easier to feel at home in these campgrounds? You are all going to be masters of adaptation!!!! ….which is a tremendous life skill!!!
It really depends on the campground. The nicer campgrounds (space between sites, stuff for the kids to do), I find it easier. There was one (Nevada) where we were in really tight spots and the area didn’t feel safe, that I never felt comfortable in. Each one is definitely different and it’s fun to explore each one!