Even though the entrance to Guadalupe Mountains National Park is just off a busy highway, the park is still fairly isolated and there is no available in-park lodging. There are, however, three developed campgrounds open year-round for tent/RV camping.
The nearest source of brick-and-mortar respite after a day in the park may be found to the south in Van Horn, Texas, to the north in Whites City and Carlsbad, New Mexico, and to the southwest, in Dell City, Texas. Airbnb and Vrbo might offer lodging suggestions, as well. And, don’t forget to read any reviews of where ever you consider staying. Tripadvisor is a great place to start.
Guadalupe Mountains has three developed campgrounds for tent or RV camping, one of which can only be used by groups with horses. All campsites in the Pine Springs and Dog Canyon Campgrounds are reservable up to six months in advance through recreation.gov.
Below is a quick rundown of each campground. For more detailed information, click on the campground name. Each link to recreation.gov is specific to that campground. If you notice informational discrepancies between the park's webpage for a campground and recreation.gov's page, it's best to stick with recreation.gov since that is where you'll make your campsite reservation. For any site you are interested in, click on the View Details link to learn more about that particular campsite, including RV/trailer-vehicle length for that site.
Pine Springs Campground is open year-round and offers 35 sites (20 tent-only; 13 RV-only, and two group sites). Two standard sites (17 & 21) and Group Site #1 are designated ADA accessible. Standard sites are $20 per night (Senior/Access passholders receive a 50 percent discount) and group sites (each accommodating between 10-20 people) are $60 per night - no discounts - all reserved through recreation.gov. Tent sites are walk-in only (38 feet – 277 feet from parking) with parking along the short gravel road from which sites extend on either side. The RV/trailer sites are on a paved parking lot which shares a popular and busy trailhead accessing four major trails. Maximum RV/trailer length is 50 feet (15 meters). Drinking water and toilets are available. There are no hook-ups, dump stations, or showers. Only cooking stoves are permitted; charcoal, wood fires, and propane firepits are prohibited. There is not much in the way of shade - most of the trees there are small and the landscape around the campsites is shrubby.
Dog Canyon Campground is open year-round and offers 13 sites (9 tent-only; 4 RV-only), including one wheelchair-accessible site (#7), for $20 per site per night. Maximum RV length is 23 feet. There are no hook-ups, dump stations, or showers. Only cooking stoves are permitted; charcoal, wood fires, and propane firepits are prohibited.
One group site accommodating 10-20 people is available for $60 per night. And there are 4 horse corrals for an extra $15 per night in addition to the nightly campsite fee.
Reservations for both individual and group campsites and sites with a horse corral may be made through recreation.gov. All riders must obtain a Wilderness Use Permit at the Pine Springs Visitor Center to document your planned route, the number of riders, and the number of stock.
Frijole Horse Corral Campground is open year-round is designed for stock use, offering a single group site accommodating 1 – 12 people and one horse corral with a capacity of 10 animals. Reservations may be made up to 6 months in advance through recreation.gov for a cost of $60 per night. This campground has a large gravel parking area that is used as trailhead parking to access the Foothills and Frijole trails. It provides additional parking for horse trailers. The Frijole Horse Corral Campsite is approximately 100 yards from the very busy U.S. 62/180 highway, so expect traffic noise, including large trucks, 24 hours a day.
Backcountry Camping
If you really feel like getting away from it all, there are 10 designated backcountry wilderness campgrounds with a total of 60 campsites. All use of Wilderness Campsites requires a Wilderness Use Permit which can be obtained at the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Permits are a non-refundable $6 plus a $6 per person per night fee. Permit reservations through recreation.gov are encouraged but not required.
Each of the backcountry campgrounds requires a minimum of three miles (4.8 kilometers) and 2,000 feet (610 meters) elevation gain to reach. All water will need to be carried in—water weight is the primary factor limiting most backpacking trips to one or two nights.
- By Rebecca Latson - January 17th, 2026 8:15am
