Santa Fe KOA Holiday: A Review
Close to Santa Fe’s historic district, the famous Meow Wolf art experience, and Santa Fe National Forest, the Santa Fe KOA Holiday is a great choice for families looking for a convenient, safe campground in New Mexico.
Located to the southeast of downtown Santa Fe, this campground offers convenient access to I-25 while still providing a quiet, family-friendly atmosphere.
In the review below, you’ll find everything you need to know about this campground, including photos of the campground property and details about every part of our stay from check-in to check-out.
My kids walking from our campsite to the front office while we were at Santa Fe KOA
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Camping in Santa Fe, New Mexico: What to Consider
Before I got to Santa Fe, I assumed it was going to be a fairly large city, considering the cultural weight the area carries: Meow Wolf, the Loretto Chapel, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Palace of the Governors, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, to name a few.
But when I got there, I was shocked to see how compact everything was. The historic district is extremely walkable, and Meow Wolf is less than 20 minutes from that.
As a side note, if you haven’t been to Meow Wolf, it’s an interactive art installation that’s part cosmic field trip and part family mystery. It’s well worth your time and unlike anything else you’ve ever done. Buy tickets here!
Yet, for such a small city, there are multiple camping options here, and, honestly, picking a campground was one of the toughest decisions I had to make this entire road trip.
We ultimately picked the Santa Fe KOA out of brand loyalty (I had rewards points that I could use) and had a great visit, but I’d be interested in staying at another campground in the area just for comparison’s sake.
Other Camping Options Nearby
Since everything in Santa Fe is so close, much of your campground choice comes down to what amenities you’re interested in and how much you’ll willing to pay for them.
Rancheros de Santa Fe Campground
The Rancheros de Santa Fe campground is located on the same road, Old Las Vegas Highway, as the Santa Fe KOA is, though it is closer to exit 290 and the KOA is closer to exit 294 (the next one on I-25).
While it shares a similar location, I passed on this campground due to the overwhelming number of reviews that noted a sewer smell and broken items around the campground.
However, this campground is about half the price of the Santa Fe campground down the road, so you get what you pay for sometimes.
Santa Fe Skies RV Park
Santa Fe Skies RV Park was the campground that was the strongest contender against the Santa Fe KOA, thanks to its beautiful location on a hill overlooking the city and many amenities.
They have long lots, which are great for bigger RVs or people looking to spend a quick night on the way to their next destination and don’t want to unhook from their tow vehicle.
It’s also much closer to the shops and restaurants of Santa Fe, though there aren’t any within easy walking distance.
Pinon RV Park
Pinon RV Park is one of those campgrounds that only takes reservations by phone, which is not my favorite. I have to really want to stay at a place (and have few other choices) to call rather than book online at my convenience.
I also didn’t love that they have strict check-in times, only from 2-6 PM in the afternoon. Usually, we are able to check in around that time, but I didn’t like the idea that we could have car trouble, get delayed and then not have a way to get to our reserved spot for the night.
It’s also cash or check only, and you have to call to get a check-in time, all of which felt too fussy for my taste. When I’m booking more than a dozen campgrounds at one go for these longer road trips, I end up taking the path of least resistance which doesn’t have so many requirements.
If you’re more patient than I am, and you’re looking for a convenient spot near the south end of Santa Fe, this might be a good option.
It’s located across I-25 from Santa Fe Skies RV Park and south of the airport.
Santa Fe KOA Review
We stayed at the Santa Fe KOA in late May as part of our larger New Mexico and Arizona road trip. We stopped in Santa Fe briefly to go to the incredible Meow Wolf art installation and to have our truck worked on.
Our stop here was between our time at White Sands National Park and Petrified Forest National Park; we’d just left the fantastic Alamogordo/White Sands KOA, so I hoped that our time in Santa Fe would be just as wonderful.
It’s a short 15 minute drive from the campground to downtown Santa Fe, where you’ll find shopping, restaurants, the historic district, and Meow Wolf. There’s nothing within walking distance, so be sure to grab groceries and gas before you head back each day.
It’s also less than an hour to the Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos National Laboratory if you’re looking for a convenient home base in this part of New Mexico.
Here are some of my New Mexico planning resources to help you out:
Check-in Process
We arrived just about 45 minutes before the official check-in time began. Our truck, which had been working perfectly when we left South Carolina, inconveniently picked the road trip to start acting squirrelly.
My dad, who was acting as my co-pilot for this part of the road trip, and I both decided that we wanted to get to Santa Fe as early as possible in order to get the truck check out at the local dealership.
We were really far from home, and I didn’t want to risk being broken down on the side of one of the very remote roads in the Southwest.
(And, as an aside, that truck didn’t make it back home because, even after getting it looked at here, it continued to not crank at random times, thanks to a failure in the ignition. We traded it when we got to Dallas.)
I explained all of this to the desk agent at the KOA, who reminded me of the official check-in time again. I told them that I couldn’t haul the trailer to the car dealership and could we please check in a tiny bit early.
I’ll also note here that the campground was not full on this day or the second day we were there. I’d also had to wait for the lady in front of me in line to ask some questions, so it was closer to 30 minutes before check-in time at this point in our conversation.
The man at the desk told me that it would be a $15 surcharge to check in early because of the extra water and electricity usage. That felt really petty seeing as how we were down to half an hour (or less), and I asked if we could just park in the site and not hook up.
He ended up asking his manager, who allowed us to park in the site without paying the extra charge. I get that they don’t want people showing up super early in the day and taking advantage of hours and hours of water and electricity, but having us not hook up to save a few cents worth of electricity seemed like a weird hill to die on.
I guess a rule is a rule, and I was technically trying to check in early.
My son playing with his toys at our campsite
Individual Campsite Review
When I got the go ahead to park, we made our way around to our campsite, which was H2. It was the second to the last site on that row and paralleled a fenced in area that looked like a part of a water treatment area.
It is a pull-through spot, which made getting into our site extremely easy.
When we first got to the site, we just had to unhook and level the camper, and we were on our way to the truck dealership for our appointment.
When we got to the site later than evening, we were able to quickly hook into the water and electric. Site H2 doesn’t have a sewer hook-up, but there is a dump station near the front of the campground that is available.
We didn’t have a view of any sort from our site, but none of the sites really did.
The site was surprisingly wide for a KOA campsite, which tend to be very compact. We had a bit of landscaping for a buffer on both sides of the camper, and plenty of room to eat at our provided picnic table and set up our electric griddle.
Campground Layout
This campground has 2 main loops, one that circles that main office, and another one that stretches out to the east.
The one that circles the main office is more compact and offers easy access to the laundry, gem mining, playground, game room, outdoor patio space, and laundry.
All of the cabins and tent sites and the dog park are also in this first loop.
The second loop is long and skinny, and has a bath house at the end furthest from the office. There are some really nice pull-through deluxe spots in the middle of this loop.
It would be a hike if you were in this loop and your kids wanted to go to the playground or you needed something from the camp store, so keep that in mind when you choose a site.
U.S. Campground Reviews
Wherever you’re planning to go camping, be sure to check out our interactive map of kid-friendly campgrounds first!
Campground Amenities
My kids were really sad that this campground doesn’t have a pool, but the weather gets cold enough here in the winter that I can see why the owners chose not to have one.
Still, if you’re traveling with kids who don’t want to sit by the camper while you’re here, there’s plenty to keep them occupied.
All of the amenities that we saw and used were well cared for and up-to-date.
Bath Houses
There are 2 bath houses on the property, one for each loop.
The bath houses in the main loop near the entrance are attached to the office building, close to the laundry room.
This bath house was very convenient for us from our site, so if you want to be really close to the showers, ask for a site on row G.
The second bath house is a free standing building and serves the second loop. This building serves more campsites, but I imagine that it is used just about as much as the one by the office since so many of the campers in this second loop are really nice RVs that have their own showers.
Hunt Brothers Pizza
While it’s not the most gourmet of meals, the Hunt Brothers Pizza served at the camp store is much more convenient than driving into town to get a quick bite.
We’ve had Hunt Brothers Pizza in various places around the U.S., and it’s always filling and pretty tasty.
You can order by calling or stopping by the front desk. If the desk is open, which is is 7 days a week, you can place an order (even at 8 AM if you need some pizza for breakfast!).
In addition to pizza, the Hunt Brothers menu also has wings.
Gem Mining
The activity that helped my kids get over the lack of pool here quickly was the gem mining.
There’s a small trough that runs along the front of the camp office, so be prepared for your kids to start asking you about the gem mining immediately upon arrival.
You can buy bags of rocks and sand in the camp store, and then you take it outside to use at one of the stations along the trough.
The treasures that my kids found while mining became some highly valued souvenirs.
Camp store
For a quick snack or drink, you can head into the on-site camp store.
You’ll also find small souvenirs like postcards and magnets, as well as RV essentials.
You won’t be able to do a full grocery shop here, but you will find enough to keep you from having to drive to town.
The Camping Kiddos on the Santa Fe KOA playground
Playground
Located near the entrance, the playground at the Santa Fe KOA was quite the social meeting point.
My kids were here just about every spare moment of our stay, and they met a new friend every time they arrived.
The playground has enough equipment to keep any kid happy with slides, bridges, climbing areas, and more.
It was great for hide and seek, pretending to be pirates, and much more.
There’s a bench for parents to sit on, though it’s unshaded, so bring sunglasses.
If you have kids that would like to use the playground during your stay, I’d recommend getting a site in the first loop near the front office for convenience’s sake.
Game room
Another great way to spend some time with your kids is by heading over to the game room, which is a large enclosed building in the main loop area.
Here, you can play vintage arcade games, air hocky or ping pong.
If you’re looking for something a bit more low key, there are also tables for doing the available puzzles and board games.
Laundry Room
I am always doing laundry on our multi-week road trips, so I love it when we’re close to the laundry room.
Since the laundry room at the Santa Fe KOA is in the same building as the main bath house and camp office, it was just a short walk from our campsite.
There are coin operated washers and dryers with a table for folding your laundry. There were a couple of people who were also doing laundry at the same time as I was, but the room is big enough that I didn’t feel crowded.
Final Thoughts on the Santa Fe KOA Holiday
The Santa Fe KOA is open year round, which makes it convenient for summer trips to the historic district and wintertime ski adventures.
While there are closer campgrounds to the main tourism areas in Santa Fe, the KOA offers an excellent balance between family friendly amenities and easy on-and-off from the nearby interstate.
The amenities weren’t as robust as some of the other campgrounds we’ve seen, but we’re more than happy to have a handful of clean, well kept amenities rather than a whole host of poorly managed ones.
My kids were more than happy with the playground, gem mining, and game room options, and they were great diversions when we were at the campground after sightseeing each day.
Definitely give this one a try the next time you find yourself in the Santa Fe area. You won’t regret it.
