Back in mid-August, we had a great time camping with the Flemings next to a stream up Forest Road 76, just past Tres Ritos, NM. There is camping all along that stretch of forest road, some in established campgrounds with toilets but plenty of “primitive” pull-offs between and past the campgrounds. Naturally we avoided the campgrounds and stayed well away from everyone else. There’s a stream that comes down the valley, so many of the campsites are right up along the stream. I recommend this as a destination for those interested in avoiding campgrounds, but aren’t looking for difficult driving. It’s a super easy dirt road (though undoubtedly closed once the snow gets deep). It can get quite busy during the prime camping season, but there are so many sites alongside the road that one ought to always be able to find a spot.
It rained on us super hard for half day or so, but we had plenty of canopy area under which to carry on playing with legos and sticks without pause. The Flemings brought along some distractions, e.g. a hammock and floaties for the foot-deep stream (though we had to labor for some time on a mini rock dam in order to be able to float anything). Jasper, in particular, took advantage of the hammock (messing around, never relaxing in it, of course).
Below is the forest-road portion of the drive.
