Coal Mine

Was an awesome stay, restrooms were clean and the staff we got to meet we amazing and very friendly to everyone within our camp group. Thanks you All for doing such an Amazing Job!!!

Quiet, clean, not at all crowded when I traveled here in early June.

The previous campers had left some trash on the site. Overall the site is nicely situated but seems to be a place for RVers on the weekends from nearby towns. The neighboring three sites were occupied by one big group who were playing loud music into the wee hours of the morning and ran their generator all night and day. Not really a good place for quiet tent camping.

Excellent

Excellent

Coal Mine Campground is quiet, with spacious campsites surrounded by lovely trees, midway up the lower slopes of Mt. Taylor, just 25 minutes drive on good roads to the Gooseberry Trailhead that leads to the peak of the mountain. Pit toilets are clean, well maintained. There are several pull-through sites that work well for RVs that don't back up easily, and back-in sites are not awkward. We'll be back.

If you are looking for amenities, this is not the place. If you are looking for real peace and quiet and dark skies, this is it. The campground is right next to NM-547, but there is so little traffic the road is hardly noticeable. There is a ranch road bordering just to the east, but I think we saw all of about 4 vehicles pass through over 6 days. Weekdays there were just one or two other campers in the campground. July 4 weekend it was almost full, but the "crowd" was quiet and well-behaved. Elevation about 1,000 feet higher than Grants, and thus about 10 degrees cooler than in-town. Some of the sites have good shade from mature pine and pinon trees. Very no-frills camping, even by USFS standards. Sites are well spaced. The most desirable seem to be the back-in spaces, although they would generally be short for a long trailer or big rig. Our 22' trailer was fine. Expect to make use of your leveling blocks. Roads are paved, as are the sites, and the pavement is in good condition. Some sites are ok for a small tent, but it would be hard to find a level spot for a very big tent. Toilets are very clean, but toilet paper was not consistently stocked. There is no water. Picnic tables were in good repair. Verizon cell service is almost nonexistent. There were a few spots in the campground that we could get 1-2 bars of 1x and make a decent phone call. Texting is iffy. Most times we were able to get Verizon 4G internet using a Winegard hotspot and MiMo booster antenna. I measured 75-95 ms ping speeds, up to 6 mbps down and 0.4 mbps up. I was actually able to stream a YouTube video once. But there were a few times we could not get a signal even with the booster. We will camp here again.

BTW, while you are there, you must eat at El Cafecito in Grants. Wow! Excellent southwestern fare.

My son and I were split about the rating of this campground. I gave it a 5. It is everything I am looking for; remote, quiet, beautiful. The sites could be more private. The vault toilets were very well maintained and clean. While we were there there were probably only 2-3 other campsites taken.

But this type of campsite isn't for everyone. No ammenities, no activities and no cell service (Verizon).

I would definately use this again if I was passing through the area.

Quiet, clean, seems well kept. More than average fly population. Easy walk to the Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center (Prison) if you are camping in order to be near your loved ones. Grocery store costs in Grants NM are high, gas price is average, so plan for that.