Black Bear Group Campground: shaded picnic area
Black Bear Group Campground: shaded picnic area
Black Bear Group Campground: trash disposal
Black Bear Group Campground: entrance sign
Black Bear Group Campground: Gate Entrance

Featured amenities

Picnic Table Picnic Table

About Black Bear Group Area

Black Bear is perched atop the scenic Sacramento Mountains of south-central New Mexico, near Alamogordo and Cloudcroft. The site is surrounded by the aromatic pine trees and aspen groves of Lincoln National Forest. The group area is conveniently connected to a network of hiking and biking trails. Bring your camera and binoculars for the chance to spot elk, deers, birds, and even black bear. The black bears are arguably the most celebrated wildlife in the area due to the fact that the original Smokey Bear was found here. While battling a fire in 1950, firefighters rescued a burned bear cub clinging to a scorched tree in Lincoln National Forest. The bear was adopted by the US Forest Service and became the real-life mascot for forest fire prevention.

Seasonal information

2026 (Current year)

2026 Season availability

Current season
Upcoming seasons
Past seasons
Closed periods
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Currently closed

Campground Amenities

Most popular amenities

Picnic Table Picnic Table
Cooking and Fire

Cooking and Fire

  • Picnic Table
On Site Services

On Site Services

  • Pavilion
  • Dumpster
Missing information?

001, Loop: BLAC

🚐 RV
  • Pet Friendly
  • Gravel
  • Driveway entry: Back-In

Site Details

Up to 70 guests
Surface: Gravel
Driveway entry: Back-In
Campfire
Pet Friendly
View Site Details

Reviews (10)

What Guests Are Saying

The Black Bear Group Area offers a beautiful and well-maintained campground, ideal for families and tent camping, with friendly hosts and clean facilities. Guests enjoyed daily wildlife sightings and a quiet atmosphere. However, some experienced issues with a neighboring property owner, which slightly detracted from the overall experience.

Review Summary

4.8
10 reviews
5
80.0%
8
4
20.0%
2
3
0.0%
0
2
0.0%
0
1
0.0%
0

Ken P

Verified

August 25, 2026 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

4

Great host. Campground borders private land and takes a little away from the camping experience

Ray J

Verified

August 19, 2026 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

4

The site and the hosts were amazing. We saw deer every day and we felt secluded. The bathrooms were neat and tended to daily by the hosts. The amount of people who randomly came into camp to throw away trash or to stop and look at us from the street was strange. Also this site boarders private property and the owner is not friendly. He was chasing his dog and chased it into camp where our dogs were. My husband shooed the dogs back toward him and the guy was rude yelling at my husband because he was 10 ft onto the guys land to help him get the dog he was trying to catch for an hour. We had our dogs which were tethered and behaving. Glad my husband was able to keep the mans dogs away or it would have been a whole different story as we have large reactive dogs. The neighbor is the only thing that keeps this site from being 5 stars.

Rebecca B

Verified

June 1, 2026 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

The spot is very nice, difficult to get trailers in there, fits like 3 if they are 28 ft+
Excellent for tents, multiple spots for tents. We were able to get 3 trailers inside the gated area, we made it work. We love the spot, very nice and Hosts were awesome.

Raúl A

Verified

May 23, 2026 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

Cercano a Cloudcroft, baños limpios y espacio ideal para familias

Ernest G

Verified

August 18, 2025 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

The location is great. The campground guests are very friendly and they are very helpful. The campground itself was very quiet. The campground was extremely clean and very well maintained. 5 stars.

Greg E

Verified

June 22, 2025 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

This campground was the perfect location for our family reunion. The covered pavilion provided plenty of shade and there were more than enough picnic tables. Trash was picked up each morning and the bathrooms were very clean.

Albert J

Verified

June 18, 2023 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

It was great. We will be back!!

Madison S

Verified

June 5, 2023 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

My family and I have been coming here for years and we really enjoy our time at Black Bear Campground! The area is always cleaned before arrivals. Restrooms on site are attended to. There is always plenty of firewood laying around for our nightly fires. Plenty of space to house tents and enjoy the outdoors. There is plenty of seating to accommodate our party. Highly recommend camping here if you’re new! Cell phone will vary! We have T-Mobile and it was spotty to no service. Verizon was about 1-2 bars. ATT was about 1-2 bars as well. This was based of family members who had those services.

Ivan B

Verified

May 24, 2021 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

Excellent hosting, all clean and functioning, real nice secluded tent areas and LOTS of open space

Blanca C

Verified

January 15, 2020 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: BLAC

5

We have been camping at Black Bear for the past few years and always have an awesome experience. The camp host is so friendly and always so helpful. Beautiful campground!!

Location & Directions for Black Bear Group Area

Po Box 836, Cloudcroft, NM 88317 United States

Elevation: 2,622 ft

Getting There

In southeast New Mexico, approximately 20 mi east of Alamagordo.
From Alamagordo take US 82 east. Go 16 mi. Just before Cloudcroft,
turn right (south) on NM 130. Go 1.4 mi. Turn left (east) on Forest
Road 24B. Go .5 mi. Black Bear Group area is on...

Nearest town

Cloudcroft, NM - 4.6 mi

About 11 min to downtown

Highway access

The campground is accessible via US 82, which is approximately 16 miles from Alamagordo, and NM 130, which connects directly to the site.

Nearby National Park

White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park Entrance Station

Approximate driving time: 56 min

Policies & Rules

Arrival & departure

Check in time

2PM

Check out time

12PM

General

  • Black Bear Group Area accommodates up to 70 people.
  • Call 575-682-1518 prior to arrival to get the lock combination.
  • There is no public phone.
  • There is no water at this site; water may be obtained at Sleepy Grass Campground until Labor Day.
  • Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed. 
  • Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
  • Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
  • Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
  • For more information on the Lincoln National Forest, please visit Home | Lincoln National Forest | Forest Service

Nearby Campgrounds

Nearby destinations


Last updated: October 21, 2026

Message us

Need help?

Our team is here to help you find the perfect spot for your next adventure.

Message us

Replies within minutes

Explore Cloudcroft, NM

Population: 630

Nearby city: Las Cruces, NM

Approx. 74 mi away (straight-line distance)

Elevation: 8,665 ft

USDA Forest Service Logo
Managed by the USDA Forest Service