Exploring Cloudcroft New Mexico
We have family in Cloudcroft New Mexico so we find ourselves out this way nearly every year to enjoy the peace, quiet and the afternoon happy hours on the deck. When it comes to finding a place to stay we always end up at Lazy Day Cabins and RV Hideaway.
If you haven’t visited Cloudcroft, NM it’s this tiny town that sits high above the deserts of Alamogordo, NM. You drive 5,300 feet straight up the mountain as the surrounding terrain changes from hot desert to piney woods full of elk, wild turkeys and more deer than you can possibly count (and look out for the elk)!
The town is tiny but the main street is full of charm. The most unique place in town has got to be the Lodge; it’s a historic haunted hotel that serves up the best food in town and the spot where we spent our 2012 Halloween doing a crazy costumed golf tournament.
Cloudcroft is a mountain top village that’s covered in National Forest and I’m pretty sure we didn’t even scratch the surface of the trail system with our four days of exploring. From snow covered to warm sandy trails, you’ll want to be prepared for anything!
This is our 3rd time to visit the campground and each time it’s been perfectly quiet and relaxing. The Lazy Day Cabins and RV Hideaway is located between the tiny towns of Mayhill and Cloudcroft New Mexico, so other than people looking to escape the desert heat, or the hunters during the hunting season, it’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll be forced to kick back and relax.
The park has full hookups and all that stuff but the big bonus for us, and the cats, is it’s surrounded by National Forest! Each day we took a break from our computer work, grabbed the cats, walked up the hill and hit the trails. That’s right, there are two short trails right there at the campground…and keep your eyes outside just before sunset as you’re likely to have some unexpected furry friends stop by!
Since we’re “regulars” here we had the opportunity to hang out with the owners. Cody is a ‘yes’ guy. You want to know the best recipe for Dutch oven cornbread or the nearest 4×4 trail he can tell you. Better yet, get a group together and he’ll probably offer to teach a Dutch oven class or be your trail guide. Somehow we convinced him to cook us a yummy breakfast with his famous sourdough pancakes and fresh farm eggs from his neighbor (it might have been all the Breckenridge Bourbon we polished off the night before). The people we meet and making new friends like Cody, his wife and his furry family are what make this roaming life so incredible.
Anytime we’re passing through New Mexico we make a point to visit Cloudcroft, and with that we know we’ve got a place to call home where we can get work done, visit family and friends, hike some killer trails all while kicking back and escaping the normal campground scene. Can’t wait to visit again.
Debra
We have a 32 ft rv wondering if it would make it in the park
Curious Minion
That blog was published in 2014 so a lot could have changed. Probably best to give them a call & ask or look it up online.
Curious Minion
Debra
What size is your MoHo.
John Tucker
Hey Guys! Any thoughts on the silver city area? As far as a destination/exploration city? Any insights greatly appreciated! John
Marie Moore
We had the pleasure of meeting you both while you visited this year. You joined us our daughter and granddaughter along with an other couple around the fire. I agree it is beautiful, unfortunately we actually stayed in the cabins. I certainly would not recommend them. Rv’s yes cabins no!
Nikki Wynn
Well hello Marie! So glad to hear from you! I am sorry you didn’t like the cabins but at least the company was good 🙂
Dana Barrett
Interesting. My parents used to own Lazy Day Cabins and RV Hideaway. In fact, my father and uncle built the deck/kitchen. Spent many an afternoon watching the deer across the road from that deck. We were always cautioned about hiking up the mountain, though, because the land behind the cabins was private property and we were not allowed to go onto it. Also, the folks who lived in those houses right there had to watch their pets with the big cats that are known to traverse that area. Always good advice to keep your eyes open while enjoying the cool mountain air.
Annette
Would this be a good backpacking area? I know your blog is RV information but with the elevation, I thought maybe driving and backpacking would be better than taking our class c. It looked like we could stay in a cabin the first night and hike out with the national forest sitting right there it looked great.
Dan
We’re considering a trip to Cloudcroft this summer. I had a couple of questions:
1. We work from the RV, so need Internet connectivity. How’s the connectivity in Cloudcroft, including at Lazy Day?
2. The Good Sam trip planner notes “no propane” on the steeper (Western) route into Cloudcroft. Does this mean no RVs? Did you have to use the other route?
Nikki Wynn
Dan, the internet in the little town of Cloudcroft is good and the bakery has a nice upstairs area to work where it’s quiet and wifi is free. The wifi at Lazy Day was pretty good for us while we were there. It’s not blazing fast but it was good enough to get our work done and upload videos/photos. it only went down once, we went in to let Cody know, he reset the router and we were back on line.
As for the route, we have seen RV’s coming and going from both directions so I am not sure. We have the Good Sam RV GPS which always routes us around that kind of stuff so we have gotten a little lazy with knowing which routes are good and which ones aren’t. That RV GPS is a little too good, we pretty much never look at a map or anything else because it has so much built in.
Ron Marsh
Was there just a few weeks back. Spent a week at Holloman AFB Fan Camp. Checked out Cloudcroft, White Sands, and Trinity Site. Then over to Silver City for a week.
Jason Wynn
Great places, we’re always surprised the diversity of the NM deserts.
Nan
I love Cloudcroft and all NM. But I am curious about that sweater Nikki has on, is it a hand knit? Thanks.
Nikki Wynn
Nan, its not hand knit sadly. It was a random (and awesome) find at a little shop in Denver, CO.
MP Osborn
Love Cloudcroft. Used to go there when I was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo. Also when you come down the mountain to Alamogordo there is a pistachio tree farm. I dont like pistachios but love their pistachio brittle. If you go to http://www.cloudcroft.com you can see live video feeds from Burro Street.
Steve
It is hard to tear myself away from the Enchanted Circle, but I guess I will have to add another destination to google maps. You guys are the best, and make the cutest couple. Y’all are from Texas, like me, and we seek elevation whenever we can, also. Thanks for your store. And, you bet, I’ll support you any way I can. Y’all just make me feel good. Carol and I have had some glorious times on my motorcycles, and now we are enjoying good times with you. You do the work of finding great sites, and testing all the gear, and we will follow when we can. Thanks a million. BTW, learning what I don’t want to tackle myself is near priceless.
Steve
Nikki Wynn
Ha ha, thanks for the love Steve! The Enchanted Circle is lovely but I think you’ll find making your way to White Sands and Cloudcroft will be worth the trip. It would be spectacular on a motorcycle too! Jason and I used to ride and we do miss it sometimes. Hope to see you out on the road!