Camping at Brantley Lake State Park in New Mexico: A Review
Remote enough to feel wild, but close enough for a Carlsbad Caverns National Park visit, Brantley Lake State Park is a great option for camping in southwestern New Mexico.
The spacious sites, large bath house, and incredible views make this a memorable stop along your road trip or as a destination unto itself.
My family and I stayed in this year-round campground as a base for exploring the national park and town of Carlsbad, and, while it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of a private campground, it is incredible quiet and beautiful.
In the guide below, you’ll find everything you need to know to determine if this state park campground is a good fit for your New Mexico vacation, including photos, tips on the sites, and my honest thoughts.
The sunset over our camper with Brantley Lake in the background
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Camping near Carlsbad, New Mexico: What to Consider
The first thing that you need to know about Carlsbad is that it isn’t really on the way to anywhere.
You’ll find Carlsbad Caverns National Park nearby, which is well worth veering out of your way for. There’s only backcountry camping at Carlsbad Caverns, which wouldn’t have worked for us as we were towing our Winnebago Micro Minnie travel trailer.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is on the other side of that, and the rest of the area is either vast, incredible desert landscape or oil fields. There are 3 campgrounds at Guadalupe Mountains, but they’re a long way from stores.
Surprisingly, for such a remote area, there are several campgrounds in and near Carlsbad.
I ended up going with the Limestone Campground at Brantley Lake State Park because of the very affordable rates, large sites, and location near the highway.
But, if this state park doesn’t work for you, here are the ones that almost made the cut for us.
NOTE: I do a lot of research before settling on the campgrounds we visit. This process is made much easier thanks to the helpful reviews, charts, road trip planner, and location finder in RV Life Pro.
The Limestone Campground from a distance
Other Camping Options Nearby
Other than the state park, there seem to be 2 types of campgrounds available in the Carlsbad area:
Private campgrounds that have lots of amenities and are clearly aimed at the tourism market. These are nice, but expensive.
Private campgrounds that are little more than dirt lots that are aimed at oil workers and people looking for a deal. These are cheaper, but are much rougher around the edges.
Honestly, you will NOT find a nicer, cleaner campground for as cheap as you will at Lake Brantley State Park. (As of 2026, a nightly stay at the Limestone Campground will set you back $20.)
But, if you just wanted to compare things to make doubly sure you’re making the right decision, here are a couple of other options I considered.
Campground Reviews from a mom who’s been there.
Check out my complete directory of campground reviews from across the U.S. There’s an interactive map to help you choose one near your destination, and each review has detailed information on just why you should consider it for your family.
Carlsbad KOA Holiday
If you browse through my campground reviews, you’ll see that we like staying at a KOA and have booked these across the U.S.
However, they do tend to be pricey, so I have to balance the location and the focus of our stay against the cost.
The Carlsbad KOA is on the northern side of Brantley Lake, making it even further from Carlsbad Caverns.
Since we were staying in this area for just a couple of nights, and we had a jam packed schedule while we were here, I couldn’t justify paying 3 times more per night over the site at the state park.
Carlsbad RV Park and Campground
PIN ME!
This former KOA is located on the southern end of Carlsbad, New Mexico, making it slightly more convenient than the state park for visiting Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountain National Parks.
The Carlsbad RV Park and Campground also has full hook-ups, a pool, and camp store.
But even though amenities weren’t enough to deter me from the incredibly reasonable pricing at the state park. I might have driven a little further each day, but I more than saved enough gas money in staying at Brantley Lake.
It is cheaper than the KOA, though, so it might be a good option if you want amenities and a better location.
White’s City RV Park
I also considered White’s City RV Park, which is the most convenient of my final options to the national parks.
It is located right at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns, which is definitely a pro.
However, it’s only slightly less expensive than the Carlsbad RV Park and Campground, but offers very little in the way of amenities. Plus, the lots are super close together.
Brantley Lake State Park’s Limestone Campground Review
Lake views from the campground
Brantley Lake State Park is located about 20 miles north of Carlsbad, New Mexico, and it has 2 entrances along Highway 285 (also known as the Guadalupe Backcountry Byway).
The first entrance when you’re coming from Carlsbad is the entrance you’ll use to access the campground.
The second entrance is for the Seven Rivers day use area along the highway-side of the lake. You cannot access the campground from this entrance.
To get to the campground, take that first entrance by turning right onto Capitan Reef Road after you’ve left Carlsbad.
Continue on this road, which is 2 lanes and paved, until you reach the state park sign on your left. Turn by the sign onto East Brantley Lake Road, passing the small entrance kiosk in the process.
Once you’re in the park, take the 3rd left turn. We took a bit of a gamble here since there isn’t a sign specifically noting the Limestone camping area, but we could see other camper vans and RVs across the shrubby landscape.
From here, you can easily find your campsite on the large loop.
We stayed here for 3 nights as part of our road trip from South Carolina to Arizona, where we made stops in Grapevine, Texas, Petrified Forest National Park, Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia, and, of course, Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Here are some of my New Mexico planning resources to help you out:
Check-in Process
We arrived in the late afternoon after a long day of driving across (neverending) West Texas from where we were staying in Abilene, Texas.
The previous 3 days had been nothing but driving for as long as we could and then stopping to sleep and eat at night.
We were so excited to park our rig for a few days and start the exploration in earnest. This was also our first real stop with sightseeing on the road trip, which added even more to our arrival.
Because we arrived later in the afternoon, the welcome kiosk at the front of the park was already closed. There was a note on the window indicating that campers should continue to their assigned site and check in the following morning.
We did just that, and stopped by after the rangers had arrived on our way out to Carlsbad Caverns. It was a very quick and easy check-in process that took no more than 5 minutes.
NOTE: Some of the sites at the Limestone campground in Brantley Lake can be booked ahead (which is what we did), but there are others that are first come, first served.
Individual Campsite Review
There are 48 campsite in the Limestone campground, and we were in site 3.
This is one of the first sites on the loop if you turn right at the entrance of the campground.
It is a back-in site, but it is angled to make for an easier entry. We didn’t have any issues getting into the site, and were hooked into the provided water and electric in no time.
There are no sewer hook-ups in the campground, but there is a provided dump station as you head from the campground to the park entrance.
Our campsite was just steps away from the playground and bath house, which we liked.
It overlooked a rolling section of New Mexico desert, which was pretty, but the best views can be found on the opposite side of the loop (specifically sites 18, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 33, 35, and 38). These can unobstructed views of the lake down below.
Our site was flat, so leveling our trailer was easy.
Campground Layout
My kids scoot around the campground loop
As I mentioned earlier, the campground is laid out in a large loop, which is bisected by the campground’s entrance road.
This makes finding your campsite very easy, and, if you miss it, it’s a simple loop to get back around again.
All of the amenities are centrally located on that entrance area to the campground.
There are a couple of hiking trails that start throughout the campground, too. This is a wonderful way to see other parts of the park without having to drive anywhere else.
It’s a smaller campground that’s extremely well kept.
Campground Amenities
While we stay at state park campgrounds to try and get away from it all, it is nice to have some creature comforts available.
Limestone Campground at Brantley Lake State Park does a good job of walking that line.
Covered Picnic Tables
The covered picnic area at our site
Before this trip, we hadn’t done much camping other than on the East Coast, so I’d never had the need for a covered picnic table.
But all of the sites here have a small covered area with a concrete pad, stone half walls, and a metal picnic table.
This was great for eating or grilling throughout the day as that desert sun is unforgiving.
Bath Houses
There is one central bath house for the entire campground, but it is so big that the campground doesn’t need another.
The shower stalls are some of the largest we’ve come across with plenty of room for hanging up your towels and clothes.
The tile floors, sinks, and toilet stalls stayed clean throughout our stay.
I liked that the door to the bathroom was a screened door so that the steam from showers easily vented.
Playground
If you’re visiting this campground with kids, as I was, you’ll be glad to know that there is a small playground outside of the bath house.
Each of the sites on the inner loop (like ours) had a dirt path to the bath houses and the playground, so it was super easy for my kids to run to the playground while I still watched them as I worked on dinner.
You’ll find standard playground equipment here, including swings, a slide, and play tower.
Hiking Trails
My son was so ready to get out on the trails after being in the truck for days as we drove to New Mexico from South Carolina!
There are a couple of trailheads throughout the campground.
One trail runs between the campground and the visitors center, crossing East Brantley Road in the process. Pick this trail up between sites 16 and 18.
A second trail runs from the campground down to the lake’s edge. There are 2 trailheads in the campground that intersect closer to the water. These trailheads are located between sites 19 and 22, and then between the bath house and site 30.
The third trail runs between the campground and the East Side day use area. Pick this trail up between sites 39 and 40.
Final Thoughts on Camping at Brantley Lake State Park
The only thing that would’ve made our stay better? More of this!
This campground gave us the best introduction possible to New Mexico (and it only got better from there!).
I still cannot believe that such a beautiful location with huge lots and clean restrooms has such low pricing.
Seriously, the New Mexico state parks camping system is THE best kept secret in U.S. campgrounds.
There’s absolutely nothing that I would have changed about our stay here, other than giving us more time to just hang out at the campground more.
It’s truly a gem in New Mexico campgrounds.
On your next trip to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, or anywhere in southeastern New Mexico, be sure to consider this campground!
