Juniper Campground (NM)

Juniper Family Campground is the ideal place to camp on the Pajarito Plateau. Located just inside the main park entrance, the campground is a short drive from the Bandelier Visitor Center, the Frijoles Canyon shuttle bus system (mid-May to mid-October), and the adjacent towns of Los Alamos and White Rock — the perfect "home base" to explore the Pajarito Plateau, the Jemez Mountains, and all of north central New Mexico. The campground is divided into three loops: Abert's Squirrel Loop (Loop A), open year-round as first-come, first-served only and also home to the group campsites; Black Bear Loop (Loop B), open year-round and reservable up to 6 months in advance; and Coyote Loop (Loop C), open seasonally, March 1 – October 31, and also reservable up to 6 months in advance. Some sites in Loops B and C may open on shorter booking windows (7 or 14 days in advance), and you may also book campsite reservations in Loops B and C on the day of arrival, subject to availability. Group campsites are available by reservation only up to 12 months in advance until the day before arrival, subject to availability; same day reservations are not available for group campsites. Cell service and data are not always reliable in the park and no public WiFi is available, so the park highly recommends booking your reservation from the neighboring towns of Los Alamos and White Rock before heading to Bandelier. Each loop offers its own comfort station with restrooms and running water, plus centrally located spigots with potable water. No hookups are available at any campsite, and shade is limited in most campsites. Each individual campsite has a paved pull-in or pull-through parking spot — driveway sizes vary by site, and many can accommodate larger RVs and trailers — with picnic tables, fire rings with grills and food lockers provided. Group campsites are for tent camping only, with ample space for multiple tents, room for 10 to 20 campers, and only one RV or trailer permitted per site; they also have picnic tables, fire rings with grills and food lockers. There is an RV dump station on the road into the campground, however water at the dump station is completely turned off from mid-October to mid-April, so campers will not be able to fill water tanks or dump. A camp host is present during the summer months, when interpretive programs may be offered during the day at the Visitor Center and in the evening at the campground amphitheater. The Frijoles Canyon shuttle stops at the amphitheater parking area in the campground and may be ridden free of charge into Frijoles Canyon; private vehicle traffic into the canyon is prohibited while the shuttle is in service. Bandelier is home to over 70 miles (113 km) of hiking trails, most of which are located within federally designated wilderness, and two are accessible directly from Juniper Family Campground. The Frey Trail follows the historic route into Frijoles Canyon and descends down the canyon wall to the Visitor Center and the Main Loop Trail. The Tyuonyi Overlook Trail leaves the amphitheater parking area for a 3/4-mile (1.2 km) hike across the open mesa top to an overlook providing breathtaking views of Frijoles Canyon and of Tyuonyi, an ancestral Pueblo village. The Bandelier Visitor Center houses museum exhibits, the park film, information and ranger programs. Rock climbing is prohibited within Bandelier National Monument, however many popular climbs are within a short drive up Route 4 into the Jemez Mountains. Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres (13355 ha) of rugged, beautiful canyon and mesa country which features evidence of human presence going back over 11,000 years. Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities. The monument sits at the southern end of the Pajarito (Spanish for little bird) Plateau, formed by two eruptions 1.6 and 1.4 million years ago, and ranges from 5,340 ft (1628 m) at the Rio Grande to the south to 10,199 ft (3109 m) at the summit of Cerro Grande to the north — almost a mile of elevation change in just under 12 miles (19 km). Piñon-juniper woodlands dominate the southern parts of the park, transitioning through ponderosa pine savannahs and forests, finally reaching mixed conifer forests at the highest elevation, with desert grasslands, montane meadows and riparian areas scattered in the canyon bottoms. The park is home to over 55 species of mammals including mule deer, Abert's squirrels, mountain lions, black bears and 16 species of bats. Birds such as Steller's jays, canyon towhees and mountain chickadees stay year-round, whereas turkey vultures, western tanagers and black-headed grosbeaks are summer residents. The town of Los Alamos has shopping, museums, amenities, a movie theater, ice rink, ski hill, and is home to Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Nearby Department of Energy and US Forest Service lands provide trails which accommodate pets. Valles Caldera National Preserve is 16 miles (26 km) west of Bandelier, Jemez Historic Site is 37 miles (60 km) west, and Pecos National Historical Park is 70 miles (113 km) southeast. Santa Fe, 40 miles (64 km) south of the park, is home to the New Mexico state capitol, museums, historic districts, art galleries, food and accommodations.