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Pristine High Desert Wilderness

96%

· San Antonito, Socorro, New Mexico

160 acres hosted by Thomas L.

10 motorhome/tent pitches

Nomadic camping

Best for self-contained campers. There are no toilets, showers, or potable water at this Hipcamp.

Thomas is a Star Host

Star Hosts are highly rated, responsive, and committed to providing incredible experiences.

Off-lead friendly

Pets can be off-lead at this Hipcamp.

Here is a beautiful wide-open 160 acre site in the Socorro High Desert with wonderful scenic views of the Magdalena Mountains to your West and the Rio Grande Basin to your East. ⛰🚵‍♀️ A small circular road has been carved onsite with plenty of cleared out camping spaces along its length. Excellent terrain for ATVs and Jeep’s! 🌵🏍 Feel free to bring wood and start a fire. 🔥 Please don't harvest wood onsite as I am in the process of regenerating the land through permaculture and need all the organic material I can spare. Amazing Stargazing Opportunities! 🌌 Perfect for a Peaceful Trip in Nature. 🍄 Plenty of safe space to do whatever you want, just be mindful of the Land and your Neighbors. ⛺️ Bring shade! Brief Directions for Those Without Internet: Exit the I-25 at San Marcial onto Highway 178/Willow Springs Ranch Road. At the end off the off-ramp you're going to turn right at the stop sign and drive West towards the Magdalena Mountains. You'll pretty quickly cross over a cattle-guard and then be on a dirt road for the remainder of the drive, but it's very well maintained by the county, so don't worry! Keep going West towards the mountains for about five miles until you cross over another cattle-guard. Shortly after this second cattle-guard you'll come across a four-way intersection where Sunset Vista bisects Willow Springs Ranch Rd. A lot of the signage gets blown over out here, so this may or may not be adequately marked. Turn left at the intersection. Drive about 2600ft and you'll cross over one last cattle-guard and quickly notice three cairns on your left. These sort of notate the upper Northwestern corner of the property. The next 2600ft beyond those three stacks of rocks is the Western face of the property. If you pass a big-wash you went too far. There's two dirt driveways leading into the property, making it pretty navigable in virtually any vehicle as well as dozens of cleared out sites.Here is a beautiful wide-open, mostly flat, 160 acre site in the Socorro High Desert with wonderful scenic views of the Magdalena Mountains to your West and the Rio Grande Basin to your East. ⛰Excellent terrain for ATVs and Jeep’s! 🌵🏍 Nice compact soil great for mountain bikes. 🚵‍♀️ Feel free to bring wood and start a fire. 🔥 Amazing Stargazing Opportunities! 🌌 Perfect for a Peaceful Trip in Nature. 🍄 Plenty of safe space to do whatever you want, just be mindful of the Land and your Neighbors. ⛺️ And PLEASE Take Pictures! 📷 This property is also the future site of Happy Castle Art Camp, our festival-based intentional community building project on Kickstarter, so check us out. You’re actually helping build the commune just by camping on our land since every dollar funds the mission. People often have difficulty finding the property. Unfortunately, many of the signs have been knocked down in the area. Here are what I hope are non-confusing, step by step, directions. Take the I-25 South towards San Antonio Take Exit 124/San Marcial, you’ll hit a Stop Sign at the end of the offramp and a perpendicular dirt road called Willow Springs Ranch Road, although you might not see a sign. Turn right and travel Northwest down this road for five miles. Along the way you’ll pass a four-way intersection (the crossroad is called High Lonesome) and a big sign that says “Information Center” - pass it and keep going. Soon you’ll come across another house on your left that has a sign that says “Information Office” - Google identifies this place as this “The Brook Companies - Highland Springs Ranch” Further ahead, a small road shoots off to left, pass this too. Even further ahead is a road that shoots off diagonally to the right called “Coyote Springs Dr” pass this too. Continue past ANOTHER road to your left Next, you’ll see a road sign on your right that says “Mountain View”… pass it. Keep going until you pass over metal grate on road. This is called a cattle-guard. You’ll see a road on your right, it’s actually someone’s driveway so pass it. You’ll come across a final four-way intersection, but it’s offset so that it bisects Willow Springs Ranch Rd diagonally. This crossroad is called Sunset Vista. This is my street. You might see a sign that says “Shsh-shhh Antelope Grazing”. Take the left turn. Keep going until you pass over another grate/cattle guard on the ground. Soon you’ll see three small cairns/stacks of rocks to your left. Everything beyond these rock stacks is my property. The approximate coordinates of this upper corner are 33.79001, -107.06958. If you continue down Sunset Vista another 2500ft or so, you might see a big white survey pole sticking out of the ground. This marks the far upper boundary of my land. Beyond this is no longer my land.

Activities

Biking

Hiking

Horseback riding

Off-roading (OHV)

Natural features

Desert

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96%

14 Ratings · 10 reviews

James Y.recommends

November 1, 2024

Happy Castle Art Camp

WE were the only ons out there in the middle of nowhere, quiet, peaceful , stars, dogs loved it . I do not want anyone else to go there because I want to keep this a secret for myself. 4.5 miles down a dirt road but not that hard to find just follow the written instructions. We will be going back.

Jose J.recommends

October 30, 2023

Happy Castle Art Camp

A Stellar Weekend Getaway

Our trip to Pristine High Desert Wilderness during the weekend the Trinity site was open in October was nothing short of exceptional. This site, conveniently located near the north gate, was a perfect match for our adventure, offering wide-open spaces, serene silence, and exceptional stargazing due to zero light pollution. The mountain backdrop added to the beauty. Be aware of roaming cows and cow manure, bring your water, and keep an eye on the weather. In our group of 7, we had a fantastic time.

Logan C.recommends

September 6, 2023

Happy Castle Art Camp

I’m from out of town, came in at dark and suck with directions so I really struggled finding this place. To anyone who’s in a similar situation keep searching, the land is worth it and Thomas will help you the best he can. I’ve never seen so many stars, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

James W.

May 29, 2023

Happy Castle Art Camp

Gorgeous Sunset

Lots of space, but not too much flat area. Was kind of hard to find, but after asking the host, the site was found easily. The sunset and sunrise were both some of the most gorgeous I’ve seen.

Kylie C.recommends

January 18, 2023

Happy Castle Art Camp

An amazing trip. Felt like I was standing in a globe overflowing with stars. The most beautiful spot for stars and mountain views. Definitely recommend!

Kiah M.recommends

June 10, 2022

Happy Castle Art Camp

Great desert views. Beautiful night sky.

Location

San Antonito, Socorro, New Mexico, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Pueblos, Mescalero Apache, and Piro First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking