El Porvenir
| A pleasant campground in an open ponderosa pine forest. With access to trails, this campground would also make a nice base for day hikes or longer backpack trips. A small stream runs through the edge of the campground. This campground has many great tent sites, as well as some sites that work well for RVs. The altitude makes for a pleasant stay in the summer. |
| Campground data | Waypoints | Maps | Getting to the campground | About the campground | Plants around the campground | Comments |
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| Date: | 2011-06-05 |
| Cleanliness: | 9. Our campsite had only a few small pieces of litter, but some were broken glass. Overall, we only saw a couple of large pieces in the whole campground. |
| Waypoint | Type | Description |
| El Povenir CG | Campground | El Povenir Campground, near water pump |
| Map name | Cartographer | Year | Scale | Topo map? | Online access | Notes |
| Pecos Wilderness, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests | US Forest Service | 2004 | 1:54000 | Y | from Amazon (purchase) | |
| Santa Fe | BLM | 1996 | 1:100000 | Y | from Amazon (purchase) | |
| Santa Fe | USGS | 1954 | 1:250000 | Y | from sar.lanl.gov (free) | |
| Santa Fe National Forest | US Forest Service | 2004 | 1:126720 | N | from Amazon (purchase) | East half |
| Wildernesses of New Mexico | US Forest Service | 1981 | 1:1000000 | N | No online copies. | Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways. |
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From I-25 in Las Vegas, NM, take exit 345. We were northbound and set
our odomoeter to 0.0 at the stop sign from the northbound side of the
exit ramp. Head into Las Vegas (left if you are northbound) to the stop
sign or stop light (it was under construction) at Grand Avenue. Turn right.
Go to the stop light at Mills Avenue, 1.0 miles from the freeway. Turn
left.
At 2.5 miles from the freeway, turn right on Hot Springs Road.
At 6.7 from the freeway, you pass through the town of Montezuma, where
the Armand Hammer United World College is located. You can see the
"castle" on the right.
After Montezuma, the road becomes narrow and has lots of tight turns.
Drive carefully; there are not always guardrails, and you will
meet people coming the other way. Not all of them are driving safely.
At 15.3 you come to a sign indicating Gallinas canyon is to the left and
El Porvenir is to the right. Go right. The road ends in the campground
at 17.4 miles from the freeway. In spite of this seemingly short
distance, it will have taken you over half an hour to get here.
Note that there are two signs for the campground. One near a parking
area for the Hermit's Peak trailhead and one a little farther down the
road that is more of a real campground entrance. In between is a
turn-off for a church camp.
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 | Campsite 10 is similar to most of the campsites that are open to RVs (as
well as tent people). You can see that the campground has plenty of trees.
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The most isolated campsites is located on the other side of this bridge.
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 | This is the campsite on the other side of the bridge. You get to place
your tent on a bed of ponderosa pine straw.
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The tent-only campsites have plenty of flat places for pitching your
tent.
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 | This stream runs along the side of the campground.
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Plants we saw around the campground:
Reader comments about this campground:
Add your comments about the El Porvenir campground.
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I became interested in El Porvenir after an online search concerning the best camping sites in New Mexico. El Provenir was ranked number one. I was sadly disappointed. I chose to stay at Black Canyon Campground first, so my expectations for El Porvenir were high. Both campgrounds are owned but the USDA Forest Service so they have basically the same amenities, except that EP no longer has any running water. EP is less developed with no host. There are only 13 sites, not 19 as previously mentioned. The only positive is Hermits Peak hiking trail, but one does not need to camp at EP to hike the trail. I stayed at EP the first week of June and when I returned for more NM mountain camping in July, I went to Black Canyon with no desire to return to EP. This campground is remote, but families congregate and get very loud. When I stayed, three families took up seven of the sites. On Wed Apr 19 19:01:35 2017 A from Santa Fe, NM said:
I stayed overnight on Tuesday April 18-19, 2017. I had the entire campground to myself, allowing me to move my tent for the optimal location :). The vault bathrooms are in good condition. There was a faucet for water but the water is not yet turned on (or no longer is available?). Litter was above average, but maybe this was due to Easter/Passover weekend having just occurred. I dug out two fire pits, where the ash had built up very high. Some dude in camouflage gear and an odd looking gun appeared in mid-afternoon and asked for water. No one else was around, and it scared me. I took a hike and found some residences at the church camp 30 yards up the road, with cars parked there and looking inhabited, and so felt safer. At night, the wind noise surpassed the river noise, but I had earplugs and was fine. It is a nice location among the pines. The 10 or so mile drive along the country road is gorgeous. Love the creek. I think Jemez Falls is as beautiful, and I have felt safer there. Still, I recommmend El Porvenir for someone wanting a change of scenery.