Looking for a place to stay within spitting distance of White Sands National Park, we found the Baylor Pass Trailhead off of Baylor Canyon Road in Las Cruces, NM. This was just a quick stop for us as we were rushing to get to Quartzsite in time for The Boy’s birthday. But it wasn’t too bad of a campground and we wish we could have spent more time there.
Camping at Baylor Pass
The Baylor Pass Trailhead is more of a parking lot for access to the trail system in and around Baylor Peak. However, being a BLM-managed area, it is open for camping up to 14 days. The lot is roughly divided into two areas. One side is nominally reserved for day-use parking, and the other is open for camping. While the lot isn’t huge, we managed to park our 40’ behemoth out of the way in the day-use area. The lot was mostly level, which made it easier. We saw a few more campers while we were there. However, most of the traffic was day trippers and locals hiking and jogging the desert scrub. We could have easily spent a week just exploring the trails and may swing by again in the future.
The Area
The Baylor Pass Trailhead is only about 20 minutes out of Las Cruces. This makes it very convenient for resupply and groceries. And of course our reason for staying there, the campground was only 30 minutes from White Sands National Park. We only made it into town once to get some dinner but saw the city was well-developed with lots of amenities for travelers.
Close by the campground are the Space Murals Museum and Gift Shop which we regrettably didn’t have the time to tour.
Overall, for a small BLM campsite, Baylor Pass Trailhead is a great location and well-positioned for hiking, touring, and general relaxation as one travels through the southwest.