On Mon Jul 14 17:33:06 2003 Dave from Austin, TX said:
Came upon Holy Ghost for the first time by a stroke of good fortune when I was seventeen. Since then I have returned many times sharing this wonderful campground with friends and family. Lots of beautiful hiking in the mountains and along icy cold crystal streams. Beautiful nights with the sound of the wind rushing through the aspen spruce and pine.

On Mon Jul 28 09:09:06 2003 Paul Mitchell from currently Fredericksburg, VA said:
Holy Ghost Campground was our favorite family destination when living in Whiterock, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque 1972-1991. Our old bright orange VW Camper graced just about every one of the camp spots over the years.

Fate has moved us to Virginia but daughter and family still in New Mexico and our small grandkids are today cavorting at Holy Ghost just like their mom did at their age 30 years earlier. It does not get much better than this.

Just like the real holy ghost, this place and memories are etched forever on my soul, and, God willing, that of generations to come.

Clearly in the top few enchanted spots in the land of enchantment.

On Sat Aug 16 02:15:43 2003 Darren from San Antonio, TX said:
My wife and I camped there in July of 1997. Nice campground! The ground is soft with grass so it made sleeping in our tent very comfortable. I would definitely recommend this campground to anyone.

On Wed Jul 6 22:15:15 2005 Todd Kristy from Albuquerque, NM said:
We camped at the group site 6/17/2005--6/19/2005 as part of a larger group. The stream produces a wonderful background to outdoor camping and the hand-pumped water was much appreciated. This is a very nice campground. We were a little unprepared for how cold the site was at night. I'm guessing the daytime temperatures were around 85, but the nighttime temperatures left frost on our car. I think the campsite is situated in a canyon that extends much higher into the mountains and funnels cold air down to lower elevations at night. The campground is also very close to the Terrero general store which is nice for those little things you forget.

On Tue Mar 14 15:56:11 2006 Joel from Rio Rancho, NM said:
We used to camp here every year, beautiful area and nice campground overall. The Camp host has been MIA for who knows how long, and the last 2 times we were their we were up all night listening to annoyingly loud music and drunks with no escape. Last time we left early. Road to get their is narrow, hard to get Trailer in there. Rangers show up to grab your money and leave, no real service that we noticed other than that.

On Sun Jun 18 21:34:31 2006 Matt from Albuquerque, NM said:
We just got back from Fathers Day weekend. The camp ground was great. I stayed here last August and its even better now than when I stayed then. Probably due to the really cool camp host.

The site was spotless, so beautiful you cant help but pack out others litter in the rare case you see it.

Really popular site packed in this weekend but, it stayed very mellow and peaceful. Check it out. Even in Summer it gets cold at night, be prepared.

On Mon May 21 11:55:13 2007 Steve from Amarillo, Texas said:
Holy Ghost is our favorite camping spot. The hiking trails are great and the scenery beautiful. We hiked up to Stewart lake in May 2007 and it was stunningly beautiful.

We go at least twice a year and have only seen a camp host once in May 2006.

Our last trip (May 2007) was great except for several inconsiderate people who played loud music all day and well into the night. They also shined their flashlights in other campsites during the wee hours of the morning. It's too bad there isn't a camp host or ranger who can "police" the area from time to time--at least on busy weekends.

We have gone during the week and it's much more peaceful. Since we are tent campers we tend to camp towards the back where there are fewer RVs and less noise.

There are lots of squirrels and birds to watch and we've seen skunks during the night. As with any camping it's imperative that you don't leave food out at ANY time.

The campground is kept clean as are the bathrooms.

On Tue Jul 24 12:51:31 2007 weekenders from Albuquerque new mexico said:
We stayed at holy ghost campground and I did check out the web site before we went. It didn't say any thing about the narrow winding pot hole speed bump one lane road. It doesn't say any thing about the rusty and yellow water and it doesn't say any thing about the dirty nasty bathrooms and the trash cans that are too small and not enough of them and the really rude ranger. But even after all that we had the most wonderful time at the camp ground tell you why despite all that we took our sweet time on the narrow winding road going up it was on a wednesday and we had are own water and we had are own bathroom and thank god for the 30min of rain we filled up buckets that we had so we could finish are last days of the trip and we only had one bag of trash and we did comply with the 30min genarator rules that the ranger so rudely told us about. Itis a wonderful place to camp if you look only at the mountains and the river and the sky alot of the campers were very nice and even though they had dogs every one got along very well just a little work on the campground would be nice. Thank You

We had a wonderful time we will go back in another time. Charlie and Lucy

On Mon Jul 30 09:09:28 2007 Anonymous from Somewhere said:
This Friday went up and the campground was full at 5:30 p.m. It resembled a KOA rather than anything else, without the amenities. We were probably lucky it was full, because it did not look like much of a nature experience, just a bunch of people from Oklahoma and Texas sitting around drinking beer on lounge chairs, while their bored kids looked for something to do.

On Sat Aug 18 09:40:17 2007 Anonymous from Somewhere said:
Holy Ghost Canyon holds many great memories for me as we used to go camping there when I was very young. I didn`t know if it was still open or not, it was closed for a period of time.We will visit again from nearby Texas.

On Thu Sep 6 20:56:09 2007 ankseg from Albuquerque, NM said:
We went up on a Saturday afternoon on Aug 25, 2007. We took a 35' motorhome and gotta say it was OK taking up that winding narrow tree-lined road, BUT got a few adrenalin rushes when cars were coming the other way and they had to SQUEEEZe to the side of the road so i could get by, the worst was when they were right against a rock wall and the road was sorta crumbling on my side where there was a steep drop down a hillside, yikes - made it thru though. When we got there we got the very last campsite available, phew. Since this is a narrow valley the road is straight with campsites flanking both sides, a bit like row houses and we had a view of several neighbors. Everyone was real nice and no loud partiers that we could hear. It was very pretty surroundings and nice to take walks to the little river - I found some wild raspberries, nice. In the morning everyone started up their campfires and breakfast at pretty much the same time and the narrow valley was wall-to-wall smoke - I got pretty smoke sick and nauseous from it...but it cleared up not too long after. It wasn't exactly as secluded feeling as I would have liked, but it was pretty. All the sites seemed to have picnic tables and firepits with grills. The ranger only drove by once but didn't stop to bug us or anything. I don't think I'd go back unless maybe it was mid-week when there might be less people. But I'd probably rather check out a new campground as nothing really compelled me to return to this one... By the way thanks for this awesome website!!!

On Fri Jun 27 19:38:06 2008 Anonymous from Somewhere said:
I camped in Holy Ghost Canyon in l969 with a group of youth from Hunt Memorial Methodist Church in Dumas, Texas. What wonderful memories !!!! I was one of the youth leaders. I am now 71 years old. The Holy Ghost Creek brought laughter to me as I remember one of the other leaders falling into it as she was trying to get water in our coffee pot. Ha !!! What wonderful memories. So glad to ready your web site. Glad you all are still in operation and I pray others are still being BLESSED !!!

On Sun Jul 13 07:52:39 2008 George from Santa Fe NM said:
We always loved Holy Ghost and Jack's Creek with equal measures- the great views, the cool nights, and of course, the great fishing. We tend to stay at Jack's creek now, ever since that "incident" in 2005. A small church group had taken two campsites near the second bridge, and in the middle of the night, a group of bikers showed up, tore up their tents pretty good, and made off with three 18 year old girls and one 19 year old guy. We don't mind it too much, since the bodies were actually found over in Las Vegas, NM, and the heads closer to Wagon Mound- they don';t think that the murders happened at Holy Ghost, but think they were probably decpaitated in Pecos, than the bodies were dumped down the road. That isn't the issue anyway; the wailing and screams at night are un-earthly- it's been said that the white glows look like walking people without heads, usually coming down the mountain... good luck if you go!

On Tue Jul 15 13:53:37 2008 The Webmaster from Albuquerque, NM said:
George, that's a great ghost story for telling around the campfire!

On Thu Jul 17 10:09:31 2008 Anonymous from Somewhere said:
My only visit to Holy Ghost Canyon was 1960 or so when I was a young teenager living in Fort Worth, Texas. Our family always took camping vacations with six or eight other families and this one was one of the biggest; had about 15 kids in the bunch. As I recall we were at the end of the campsites and we virtually took the place over as we stayed for over a week. We set up horse shoes, volleyball court and more. One of the group was a minister and we had a church service; put up signs and some other campers joined in. One of the most memorable events of the trip was the surprise hail storm that covered the ground so deep that our pictures made it look like snow. In another post I was reminded of the narrow and winding road. I remember my dad commenting on how we had no choice but to keep going because turning around was certainly no option. Glad I ran across this site; it has brought back many great memories.

On Mon Jul 28 15:20:05 2008 John Robins from Austin NM said:
I remember the church slaughter too! 2005 and it was a bloody mess- pieces of those poor kids were found from Pecos all the way up to Wagon Mound- heads were just tossed along the road. We took a Wigi board there last fall, and some really creepy stuff took place- someone needs to bless the place- or something. I've heard of blood flowing from the pumps, then all of a sudden it's clear- my Brother was fishing and saw a face in the water looking over his shoulder- a teenage girl, and he turned too see no one behind him.. I've never heard the reported "screams", but wouldn't doubt it, given the violent deaths those poor kids suffered. I've heard it's all good up there till Labor Day weekend, when the Vaditos tend to drop in for some drinking and party'ing.....

On Sun Aug 24 18:01:11 2008 Anonymous from Albuquerque NM said:
We had a lovely weekend at Holy Ghost 8/20-8/22/08 The campground was clean and tidy, and not too crowded, and all the campers well-behaved, with the exception of some RVers who insisted on running their generator late into the night, despite posted signs about run restrictions. We had no trouble finding a space for our tent on Friday. The campground was pretty much empty by Sunday afternoon. There was a heavy rainstorm Saturday, and it was quite cool at night and early in the morning.

The upper men's bathroom was quite smelly,however. (remind me not to camp down wind from a bathroom again).

We picked up a small amount of trash left at our campsite. We are looking forward to coming back again soon.

I do wish people would not leave trash in the cooksites. We also retrieved some trash from the stream and from the hiking trail. I will never understand why people are so lazy that they cannot throw trash away and are so willing to mess with the beauty of the area.

On Thu Jan 1 10:59:56 2009 Robert from El Paso TX said:
I was there when the slaughter happened- there was so much noise and it happened so fast- the church group got one member down to Tenorio and summoned the police---- they never told us what was going on and seemed to hush the news a lot-- I remember reading about the corpses and heads later in the week in a Las Cruces paper-- pray for the souls of those horribly murdered kids!

On Wed Apr 29 10:59:12 2009 Lisa from Lubbock, TX said:
I have many fond memories of camping with various family members at Holy Ghost as a child in the 60's. What a lovely site!

I am hoping that my husband and I can take our daughter this summer.

On Sun May 17 18:37:16 2009 Joe Black from Athens, Texas said:
Made a week of fun in New Mexico, traveling about on motorcycle and pickup, we made this campground our last night stay there, setting up tent and enjoying the sound of the creek running, the quiet, the solitude and beauty of this area is very impressive. The only mistake I made was going up there too fast and I acquired H.A.S. High Altitude Sickness. I enjoyed my night there, headache, upset stomach, leg cramps or not. It is beautiful and expect to return there again someday. I had camped in this beautiful area back in the 80's at that time the cave was open and we explored it to where we just couldnt crawl anymore, I found it a shame that has been closed since then. All the same, the campgrounds are clean, the restrooms well kept. Bring firewood though, the wood lying about has been fairly already scavengered by campers for their fires. We found enough bit and pieces to keep a fire until nightfall. It got down to 37 degrees, camp heater or not, it was cold, but refreshing as compared to hot and humid Texas. Thanks for your hard work on making this campground available.

On Thu May 21 13:58:13 2009 Santa Fe NM Camper from Santa Fe, NM said:

I spoke to a forest service ranger today who has worked at the Holy Ghost campground since before 2004.

The stories about a church group taken from Holy Ghost campground to Pecos then Las Vegas and beheaded by a gang of bikers are entirely fiction.

A search of the internet pulls up no such story, and the ranger worked there for the entire 2005 season and can confirm that no incident bearing any resemblance to this has ever happened.

Please disregard the posts above - they are probably trying to create a new "Holy Ghost" story for the campground, but it simply is not true.

However, legend has it Holy Ghost Canyon, where the campground is located, is haunted by a spirit of a priest killed by Pueblo people in the late 1680s. As the only allegedly haunted campground in the Forest Service, it is recommended visitors bring flashlights and lots of campfire ghost stories.

The above stories are nothing more than campfire ghost stories.

On Tue Jun 2 20:31:13 2009 Jim from Roswell said:
I beg to differ- the whole church slaughter incident was a true and horrible incident- word is that some of the perps are actually in prison for unrelated drug charges (Bikers and crank... go figure). We walk in pairs to the can at night- just too creepy- My neighbor was there the week after, and the whole east half of the campsites were cordoned off by the State police- they were combing for anything else- I spoke with Jim Aragon, a State Police Lt. from LV- he was on duty when the first head was found- they shut down 25 for 12 hours while cadaver dogs scoured for more pices- no telling how many parts of those poor kids were found.

On Tue Jun 2 20:38:04 2009 Tom from ABQ said:
I heard a Ranger was in on the whole murder thing anyway- he was trying to cover up for his biker buddies who were coming up there to cook meth over the week- but got pissed off when they saw the church bus- I always watch the Rangers more carefully since hearing about the involement-

On Mon Jun 8 11:33:15 2009 Robert from PHX said:
My Wife and Grand-kids spent last week up there- great place during the day, cool at night- I had to get up from the tent to go to the latrine, and my God, the unholy sounds I heard- it was Weds night, and there were no more than 3 other campers in the whole grounds- I saw blue flashes, and screams and red flashes- all from up near the bridge that leads further up to the group area- I went over, but my dog wouldn't- I had to send him back to the tent- I ran into another campr who said she had been woken up by screams- we looked all over, but saw nothing that indicated anyone was up that far- we were closer to the entrance, befor ethe second set of latrines. I don't know what it was, but we heard it again Thurs night, and decided to leave early Fri- We ran into a Ranger, short guy with grey beard, as he checked the registrations and picked up the garbage- he said he wasn't there that long, but a lot of people say they see and hear wierd stuff at night- after reading of the murders, I wonder what "impressions" have been left in this beatiful canyon-

On Wed Jun 10 19:31:42 2009 Anonymous from santa fe nm said:
SINCE READING THE STORY ON THE WEBSITE I DID MY OWN RESEARCH. I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPEND AT HOLY GHOST. I LIVED IN NM MY WHOLE LIFE AND I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE I CAN FIND INFORMATION ABOUT IT PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

On Mon Jun 15 09:36:12 2009 Jennifer from Albuquerque, NM said:
Wow! What a great ghost story!

Just got back from Holy Ghost campground. What a beautiful place. The only lights I saw were the lights from the lady's truck turning around in our parking space because she was too lazy to get out of it to throw away her trash. And the water is pretty rusty coming out of the pipes but if you let it run just a bit, it clears up. The only noises were the water rushing and the occasional bark of a dog.

No host but people were pretty considerate. I do recommend carrying your own roll of toilet paper unless you don't mind using the roll that's inevitably left on the floor.

Can't wait to go back.

On Tue Jun 16 18:44:25 2009 Kyle from ABQ said:
Call the State Police and ask them about the open case from Holy Ghost- any officer from Las Vegas will know EXACTLY what you are talking about--- The feds got involved because it involved a local state employee- potential suspect- it was a crazy, sad and horrible incident. I would think that they would be doing more patrols in all the campgrounds as a result, but all the economy things, Bush and global warming must be holding it up.

On Tue Jun 16 19:19:26 2009 Big Bear Daddy from Santa Fe from SF, NM said:
Big Clan Bear gathering- all local bears welcome. Come one, come all- m2m camptrip, up at the group area, 6-19 through 6-21.

On Tue Jun 16 19:30:39 2009 Carlos & Carrie from Albuquerque, NM said:
Just got back after spending 2 nights at Holy Ghost. Have also spent time there a couple years ago as well. Love this place...it's quiet and clean. Couple years ago we saw quite a bit of deer in the campsight, as well as skunks. This time around, no critters, just lots of flies, but we had a GREAT time. Be sure to bring a hummingbird feeder with you, they're great to watch!

On Sat Jun 20 00:30:53 2009 Lonnie from Hobbs, NM said:
i am 40 yrs old and have been going to holy ghost since i was in diapers,literally, i can remember when there were no bridges in holy ghost and the half shelters at the end of the campground, there were many campgrounds back when i was about 6 yrs old, it was more primitive camping and people were supposd to haul out the trash, but you know people and that is probably why they modernized it and for environmental reasons which is understandable, i also remember the cave at terrero and the gold mines and stories of mucury entering the river from the shellings from the mines, but as a kid it sure was fun to go exploring and maybe the chance of finding gold or even a little pyrite. the hiking trails are always relaxing to walk and enjoy what God has created i have never been bored there, the fishing before whirling desease came around was always fun and then just spending time with family and now i have shared holy ghost with my children they always look forward to going camping!

there we always drive in late at night that way they sleep and i can get up the one way road to holy ghost without any trouble of someone coming down, the kids love going fishing and swimming and wading in the river. we have never heard of the murders or ghostly figures that had taken place in 2005 and believe me we have gone there every year that we could possibly make it, (i am not saying it didn't happen i don't know), sometimes twice a year and it is a 5 hour trip for us, it is always well worth the trip it is our idea of a true vacation, and i have been to some nice places as far as vacations go like; las vegas, miami and cancun all a little to noisy for me, i would rather enjoy family and the wilderness. yes there has been a time or two when the bathrooms have been pretty rank, but they usually clean them once a day, nothing would make me avoid this area. when i was 18yrs old they had been doing the renovation to holy ghost and it was quite dissappointing we had to stay in jacks creek which is nice but nothing compairs to holy ghost i am sure that most that have been would like to keep it there little secret, but most that stumble on it usually come back and if you find it you have found a treasure.

On Mon Jun 22 09:48:10 2009 Thomas from Estancia said:
Great place- nice co-campers (except the Texans who seem to love midnight generator runs). Fishing is always great, but challenging- we love the tree covered canopy over the stream. We've never experienced any of the ghostly occurances, but the guy at the Dairy Queen in town can tell you about the biker gang slaughter of 05- I guess the story goes they kidnapped some kids from the campground, killed and dismembered them on the way back to Colorado, tossing limb, heads and torsos along hwy 25 as they rode on- last pieces found were in Wagon Mound- they apparently never pieced all the kids back together. Lord be with you!

On Thu Jul 30 11:36:13 2009 Larry from Las Vegas NM said:
I have been going to Holy Ghost, Cowles and Jack's Creek since befor ethey had paved road, campfire rings and outhouses. I heard about the murders in 07, when I met a Ranger down in Pecos at the grocery store- he said they've been trying to get it "forgotten" since it happened. They saw a huge drop in campers right after it, but since then the numbers went back up- he said they don't have many problems up there, but the usual generators and all night dirnkers. Usually real peaceful.

He did say you won't see many Rangers there at night- they get scared because they remember the murders and they are uncomfortable going there in the dark. They also say they have seen the ghost of the girl who crashed her car into the river on the road going up there from Pecos itself.

Pray when you go, and keep you eyes shut hard at night when you hear something- maybe it is just your mind playing games on you, but I don't need to get any disbodied souls latching onto me!

On Thu Jul 30 15:56:59 2009 Anonymous from Pecos NM A Local Boy said:
What funny ghost stories. I've lived in Pecos my whole life and never heard such nonsense. It's funny to hear all the goofy stories from TEXANS. HAHA! They scare themselves so much they believe themselves. So if anyone ever gets freaked out due to these stories.......you're pathetic. The only thing you'll hear in Holy Ghost is the beer cans being opened and an occassional Fart.

On Sat Aug 8 12:35:55 2009 Robert Q from Santa Fe from Somewhere said:
The local Pecos folks have kept this whole thing under wraps- not just Texans making their knowledge public- kind of like their own "Chainsaw Massacre" thing going on- who'd even want to pass through Pecos if the truth was so clearly evident! I remember hearing about this whole mess when I worked in SF at the Gov's office- lots of efforts made to keep media coverage and public knowledge down- this whole thing has been buried deeper than 1948 Roswell! New Mexico buries what it cannot hide!

On Sun Aug 23 12:46:30 2009 frank from new mexico said:
at some time or another all ive read has been true-5% of time there have been rude people-but being from california where the prices to go to places not nearly as peaceful-or as few people -been in new mexico since 92-the holy ghost campground is best spot for young kids i know- meaning under 7-and ive been to them all in new mexico 2x a year each year-new mexicans are basically family oriented hard working people- and none-anywhere are perfect- but the nicest poeple ive met have been here- and we know its a treasure dont we! be content everyone.and god bless

On Wed Jul 14 15:51:42 2010 Ericka from santa Fe, NM said:
I wanted to know more about the muders that happen in 07. I am a ghost hunter not professionally but I love to do it. I also was trying to find out information on the church to the left when you drive up to holy ghost it is said to be haunted that is why it is kept locked. Hope someone out there can help me.

On Sat Jul 24 23:07:12 2010 Hookd from Lubbock Tx said:
When tent camping from July 15 through the 18th. Stayed in the walk in camp sites, and it left clean by prev camper. Wish I took pics but my camera broke when tring to take my first picture, Guess somethings i'll just have to hang on to until my next trip. In the 1st loops it was all campers/Trailers generators with the best view,and camp sites by the small river that runs up the mountains. And that river is running full and pletty of fish by the Holly Ghost entrance, with some fishing guys and families their. It was full from what everyone was saying. Also talking to the owner and two Rangers up at the store where everone goes to get forgotten goods or take a shower. I told the guys about the story of the murder story and they laughed and said guess we better see whos bloging. Saw a Highway cop car driving the sites and a "Chip" driving. Not to mention the two Rangers I was talking to. They all say its bs, but lets be real. Thats what got me there and i could not say enought about any camp sites in this area.

It rained, hailed pea size and the days where mostly hot and sunny and the nights were kind of cold so you will enjoy a nice fire. Humming birds everwhere around you and your camp just looking for a feed'r. No bitting insects but some flys (not bad, had Flys off spray for the dog). Yep took my Nice Doberman and campers on both sides of me had dogs. Not one barking dog around all weekend cause they were all introduced to each other, and have to say all campers were awesome. The trails run deep into the mountains and it further than you can walk. One guy next to my camp had to go home cause his knees locked up going far up then having to walk down. The owner of the store also has horses that he will guide you far up or even does camp drop offs. Thats the ticket camping if you can hire him.

On Sat Aug 7 13:21:18 2010 jakkrabbitt from Albuquerque, NM said:
Just got back from a midweek stay at Holy Ghost. It's beautiful, if you get there midweek. We arrived on Wednesday and there were only two sites. But the good news is that only two camper trailers/r.v.s. were there and they had taken the two sites at the entrance. We were surrounded by fellow friendly tent campers from all over, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, California. Lot's of dogs in the grounds, and for the well behaved dogs, leash requirements not strictly enforced. (keep your dogs in your own sites and there is no problem) Rainy season, so it rained Wed. afternoon, and poured Wed. night. Cloudy Thursday, but no rain, and then sunshine all day Fri. The nights were chilly, sweatshirts and a strong fire. Mummy bags in the tent with the hoods pulled tight. Skunk entered the site on the last night and threatened a dog, but then left without incident. Lots of friendly chipmunks and hummingbirds. Vehicles packed with gear will stalk your site as the weekend approaches. We look for bumper stickers that share our views and then let those campers have our sites when we leave. Maybe we are jerks, or maybe we are just looking out for each other. Not a place for solitude, but a great location for mild socializing and launching off onto trails.

On Fri Aug 13 09:40:02 2010 Frank from Albuquerque said:
We camped on Friday, August 6 arriving in mid-afternoon. We got the last tent site at the very end of the campground. These sites are not good as they are on a side hill. Toilet vaults are old and not real pleasant. Sites near the entrance are on the stream and they look very nice. Many of these good sites emptied on Sat morning so if you get there early your chances may be good. Great meadow hiking through group camping area which is at the end or the camp site. Fantastic area for hiking and fishing. We will stay at Jack's Creek when we visit again.

On Tue Oct 19 10:34:55 2010 Chris from Oklahoma City, OK said:
I had heard the urban legend about the murders before I ever visited Holy Ghost campground, but was unable to verify in any published source so I dismissed it. Since 2008, I've stayed at Holy Ghost Campground and traveled Holy Ghost Trail and the trail up to Lake Stewart on four occasions. Each trip was a backpacking excursion lasting 2 to 3 days, complete with dehydrated food, camelback hydration, hammock-camping well away from the car-campers and flyfishing. The most recent trip was 3 days in early June 2010.

I don't know about the whole murder thing, but this is what I can say from my experience:

1. The entire area is absolutely gorgeous, similar to what you see in southern Colorado but with fewer bugs.

2. The hike to Lake Stewart is mild to moderate difficulty and very doable as a day hike, with excellent views and abundant water from multiple stream crossings.

3. Nights are cold at altitude, even in summer, and you can count on rain most afternoons. Still, with the proper gear you can have a great trip.

4. The trails are well-maintained and marked.

5. I've asked at least a dozen locals about the urban legend and while some have heard the story, none that I've talked to believe it.

6. I've slept at the campground two nights and on the trails many more and I've never heard, seen or felt anything supernatural (and I HAVE seen, heard and felt some unexplainable things elsewhere in years past). I even descended the last 5K to the campground by LED headlamp one night; no spookies. The closest thing to a scare I ever had there was a close call with a local skunk late one night. He felt like we shouldn't be approaching his den. We came to an agreement, changed course and went about our respective business.

In all seriousness, we all need to keep our eyes open in any environment but I've seen no reason to believe Holy Ghost Campground is any more dangerous than any other open, public place. Don't let campfire stories prevent you from experiencing this beautiful, unspoiled wilderness.

On Thu Apr 7 10:05:03 2011 Henry from Santa Fe said:
There over the weekend- light snow, slow fishing- nearly empty- very quiet. Heard some weird screeches over night, and when we got up, we found a TON of small bare-footed footprints all around our tent trailer- we tried to follow them, but they were just around the site- no trail in or out... talked to a ranger, said he is tired of people asking about the slaughter/ kidnapping in 2005. He said that by now people should just ignore the stuff on the site and the stories from down in Pecos at the store. I beg to differ, seems odd to see bare foot prints, no trail in, and weird noises. We'll camp in Jacks Creek next time.....

On Wed Aug 24 22:31:23 2011 Juan from El paso tx said:
Was at camping ground wed and thursday quiet and very relaxing with my son. All people nice and just a few parties with no loud music, but very hard to start a fire due tu Rain and wet conditions but managed to start one. Anyway recommended.... Thanks pecos people very nice all of you!!

On Wed Oct 5 22:02:40 2011 DanK from New Mexico said:
The Holy Ghost murder stories are entertaining. There's no way such an event could happen in the State of New Mexico without being all over the papers and television. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if locals near the Pecos Wilderness enjoy repeating the story to out-of-towners.

We spent a day at the campground in Early October 2011. The aspens were starting to change color and drop their leaves. The campground was about half full. There was work done to improve the bathroom facilities. The hiking trail was in great shape, and several different groups of people were coming and going. Overall it was a nice place.

On Sun Oct 9 18:40:59 2016 Becca from Albuquerque, NM said:
We camped here over the Columbus Day weekend 2016. Friday was chilly and Saturday evening we had rain. The camp sites were huge and half are along the river. The river sound is great and your dont hear your neighbors. The sites near the river are pretty open, so bring a picnic shelter to cover your table. The sites near the hills have more trees for hammocks or tying a tarp up. The road into the site is very narrow and there are some pot holes, so go slowly. The bathrooms were clean and maintained daily. There were some bottle caps in our site, but we picked them up. If you want wood, the gas stations on 50 and 63 sells some. We were lucky to find some logs at our site to split for a fire to keep us warm. If you like to fish, this place is for you. The hiking trail starts near the group sites, which is just beautiful. We look forward to going back when it is a bit warmer. Just beautiful!

On Mon Oct 14 18:00:12 2019 April Lopez from El Paso TX said:
Great campsite! The reasoning for my 1 star stems from being overcharged by Ranger Tony Jr. Lopez. My group arrived the campsite at 4am in the morning yet we were charged for the prior day.

Not only that, we were charged 32 dollars for only 1 day with 2 cars. Tony was extremely unprofessional and when we explained the situation he remained adamant that we pay.

As to not make a scene, we complied and gave him a 40 dollar bill. He explained that he had no change and pocketed the extra 8 dollars! We will never return to this campsite due to the unprofessional staff.