Rio Costilla Park & Campground

Very beautiful, very clean pristine land. A lot of hard work is put in to maintaining the gorgeous vast mountains, lakes and streams. my boyfriend Ted Trujillo shared his lovely family inheritance land experience with me. Thanks babe Carol h

It is located in a beautiful place! I love northern NM!nWe went for 4 nights (5 days) in August. First the things I wish someone had warned me of: 1) the road leading to the lakes is in terrible repair. The sign at the gate says 4WD recommended. I would say that’s an understatement. High clearance vehicles with low 4WD or AWD - emphasis on high clearances- you will not be able to avoid the giant boulders in the narrow road at times! 2) the map provided is not to scale - the distances are not portrayed well and it takes much longer to get to the lakes than you may think. 3) the signage is poor, sparse and oddly placed.nThose are areas for improvement - now for the positive things. The hikes are lovely, the views beautiful. The stars at night spectacular. Each campsite has an outhouse if that appeals. Take plenty of water and propane- it’s a long drive to town to replenish anything. Fill your gas tank in Costilla or Questa so you have plenty to drive to Little Blue Lake trailhead or other options to explore the park. No ATV’s- so it’s quiet. Fishing was mediocre from our experience and observation of others. Probably stocked early in the season and we arrived late in the season. Still plenty of fun fishing. The lakes are perfectly suited for small inflatables and kayaks, but you need to carry to any lake except # 2 and 3. . No motors. Saw a guy paddle boarding every dawn and dusk when the water becomes so beautifully still. The lower meadows area of the park is suitable for RV’s and motorhomes. Flat and grassy and near the stream.

We were in campsite 20 just last weekend with 4 other family members with their own Rvs. The area is beautiful! However we were so disappointed to be overrun with mice. They got into our Rv. Needless to say they made a mess and got into drawers, on tables and chairs. At night they were everywhere. I’m not sure if it’s just the camp spot.

IMPORTANT WARNING IN THIS REVIEW....One of the most beautiful campgrounds I’ve ever seen. The river flows right through almost every site and it is gorgeous! And sometimes cows walk right past and it’s pretty cool. BE WARNED: Went beginning of August 2020 and because of the pandemic you have to rent your own private vault toilet/porta potty at $25 per night and have it delivered to your site during business hours. Don’t wanna miss that deadline haha. No toilet sharing and you are given a lock with its own combination. No one told us and there were no signs about it or announcements online. We found out (after we had paid and set up) by getting in trouble for using a nearby porta potty. So the nightly fee was pretty steep, worth it, but when you add the nightly toilet fee AND a ban on campfires it turned out to be extremely frustrating despite its beauty. I mean, campfires are like 50% of camping right? :) I would like to return once the pandemic restrictions are lifted. Maybe then it wouldn’t cost so much and campfires would be allowed.

Beautiful spot! Lovely rivers and streams. A few too many cows for my tastes, but great access to epic hiking at Latir lakes and Peak.