It didn’t take us long to figure out how they settled on the name Santa Fe Skies for this campground.
Owing to (again!) some itinerary shuffling, we spent more than a week at Santa Fe Skies, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy its spacious, scenic campsites, quirky public art, large clubhouse with patio, sparkling bathhouses, proximity to downtown Santa Fe, and, especially….these stunning views. We took the dogs for a walk on the path that encircles the campground nearly every evening, enjoying the 360 degree mountain views and unwaveringly impressive sunsets.
The campground is operated by a single family on land that’s been in the family for generations, and it’s clearly a labor of love. Dave’s eyes light up every time we talk about it still, and he claims it’s his favorite campground ever. It is, at the very least, way up there for all of us.
Location
There are a couple of well-reviewed campgrounds near Santa Fe but nothing right near downtown. So you’re going to be a few minutes from the plaza in one direction or another. Santa Fe Skies is about 20 minutes southwest of downtown and right off of I-25, which makes for an easy (and less than an hour) drive into Albuquerque. There’s not a ton in the immediate area except for a Santa Fe Brewing location, complete with live music. We didn’t get a chance to go, but we did hear Government Mule playing from our site one night, and Ani DeFranco was there another night.
One thing to note about the location is that the campground is up on a ridge, and it gets very windy very frequently. Definitely keep en eye on awnings (we were also again worried about our slide topper, but it held in there, albeit with much noisy whipping about.
Booking and Arrival
Booking is via online form that you fill out and they get back to you or by calling. Since we shuffled things around a good bit, we ended up spending a lot of time on the phone with them. They’re very helpful, but, in our experience, you usually have to leave a message and wait for them to call back. But they’re very prompt about it.
The campground is easy to get to from the interstate, and there’s a spacious area to park by the office and check in. There’s a gate at the entrance that’s closed every night at 8, and they emphasize that you cannot get in without the gate code (i.e. there won’t be someone around who you can call to let you in). So make sure you have it if you’re getting there after 8 (I believe they e-mail it to you), and then don’t lose it. It wouldn’t be a catastrophe to get locked out if you’re just returning to the campground after a day of touring, as you can always park outside and walk around the gate to get to your site. But also it’s pretty easy to just take a picture on your phone of the gate code as a back up if you forget to bring the paper with it on there with you.
Campsites
Since we added on a couple of nights to the beginning of our reservation, we got to sample both a pull-through site in the big open area near the office and one of the more private back-in sites at the edge of the campground. Different experiences, but both have their advantages.
Here’s our first site:
These types of sites make up the majority of the campground; it’s a section of pull-throughs laid out in a grid near the office. All of the sites in the campground have a concrete patio with patio furniture and nice landscaping. All except for one site is full hook up. No fire rings as fires are “discouraged” because of the dry climate. The website says fires are allowed if not prohibited by county regulations. I’m pretty sure there was a burn ban while we were there, probably largely owing to THIS that was going on a few miles away:
We thought this was a weird cloud at first, but turns out it was a huge wildfire. It was a little unnerving for us folks from the generally very wet southeast, but by the time we were there it was pretty much under control and no one was much worried that it would make it to Santa Fe.
Advantages of these sites: close to the office/clubhouse, so easier access to the bathhouse, etc and also better wifi. Potentially easier in and out, as some of the back in sites are a little wonky. But we did overhear someone with a big motorhome talking about having trouble getting in to one of the pull-throughs. This is a campground where site selection is important, so take advantage of how you need to call to reserve and make sure you get the size and type of site you need.
The big disadvantage of this section is that the sites are narrow and close together, so you won’t have much in the way of privacy. There were a couple of different rallies going on while we were there, so we were surrounded by people who knew each other and were visiting a lot. By contrast, this was our second site:
This was site 18, and it might just be the best one in the campground. At any rate, we really loved it. This area is called the Yucca section, and all the sites are a little different here, so, again, best to talk to someone about what you need. We saw a big fifth wheel have a VERY tough time backing in to site 15, I think it was, not because the site wasn’t big enough, but because there was a big dip at the front of the site and they kept almost scraping. Our site actually had a pretty significant slope as well (to get into the site; it was pretty level once we were in there) that had me a little worried, but it was fine. Our site was a pretty long walk from the office and bathhouse, but some of the sites in this loop are significantly closer.
Amenities
The week we were here we were still dealing with van troubles (we had to get a jump start to move from one site to the other in fact) and Dave was working, grading AP calculus exams online, so we spent a lot of time hanging out at the campground and took full advantage of the amenities.
At first glance it seems that there aren’t too many of them; there’s no pool or playground or activities for example (you’ll find pools at other area campgrounds if that’s important to you)….but the ones they do have are excellent.
I’ve already mentioned the 3/4 mile walking path around the campground and how much we enjoyed it. There was a record breaking heat wave while we were there (lucky us! Normally Santa Fe’s high elevation keeps the temperatures pleasant even at the height of summer), so we looked forward to the cool evenings when we could get out and enjoy the views.
Along the walking trail, aside from sunsets, you can enjoy the art installations (some of which are for sale) and the impressive and fun collection of antique engines and equipment:
We also took full advantage of the lovely office/bathhouse/kitchen/clubhouse building. Dave worked there and usually had it to himself:
It’s a very nice space with MORE ART and a handbuilt fireplace:
There’s a nice campstore/office combo, a kitchen (much used by rally attendants while we were there), big laundry room, and sparkling clean and enormous bathhouse:
We also really loved the big patio area, which featured live music on a couple of nights that we were there by the excellent Jennings & Keller. This duo was there most of the summer last year, performing two nights a week–not sure what their future plans are, but definitely catch them if you can. They play Americana/folk music (covers and originals); the first night we saw them they played a John Prine song, and we told them after that we (and especially Abe) are big fans. When we came back the next night they played, they played I think three John Prine songs just for Abe. Fiesta the Beagle enjoyed the music, too:
Next up: what we did in Santa Fe when we weren’t hanging out at the campground! (also probably some new year type stuff first)
maybe you would like to pin this?
Leave a Reply