Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Rest Area | Informal Campsite

As described except that vendors begin to arrive at 6am, very quietly but to be polite, it is best to plan an early departure. No bathrooms (which are very clean) between 5pm and morning, not sure of opening time as I left early. Plan to hike the rim trail, which begins at the rest area and has impressive views of the gorge. Very quiet at night, cannot hear road at all.

Report Check-In

Heated rest rooms! 😄 Shaded picnic tables! Friendly security guy! 😎 Hiking trails!

Report Check-In

Windy but quiet today. Beautiful views of the gorge.

Report Check-In

Nice place, plenty of spots. Echoing others, they do setup tables early in the morning for the market. Didn’t have any issues with any of them being loud next to us or anything of that nature. Bathrooms are locked from 5pm to 8am, which is a little weird for a rest area. 🤷‍♂️ Just practice good LNT.

Report Check-In

slept here in the back of my subaru on the night of friday 9/28. arrived at 12:30am after leaving karaoke night in taos. there is a large parking area that fills the shape of a loop, where the west rim trailhead starts. there were lots of other cars parked here and vehicles that appeared to be sleeping here for the night too.

feels quiet, safe, and reliable. there’s at least two potable water filling stations too. and large restroom buildings but when i tried to enter i realized that the women’s had a lock on the door. not sure if that gets unlocked seasonally or during the day or what.

the landscapes are incredible here — and became even more impressive as the sun rises this AM.

that being said, i was awoken to folding tables being set up right next to my car and eventually a guy knocking on my car window asking if i was a vendor for the market that they were setting up for. turns out i was parked right in the middle of where the pop up market usually gets set up (the pull offs along the right side of the road when you come in, lined by bushes on the right side and is right near the trailhead for the west rim trail). the guy kindly redirected me to park in one of the pull in parallel spots in the lot with the other cars likely doing the same thing.

honestly this worked out great because i wanted to do a sunrise hike but probably wouldn’t have had the motivation to wake myself up. now that i’m up i’m doing the west rim trail which i have read online is super popular, easy, and beautiful and the trail is literally right here. hoping that when i come back in an hour or so the market will be running and i can check it out!!

if you’re a light sleeper you might be awoken here if you park near where i was and if it is in the morning of a market day. but they were pretty quiet and especially if you are parked in one of the formal pull in spots (where i’ve moved to now) it should be pretty quiet and no one will likely disturb you!

super recommend this spot!!

Report Check-In

slept here in the back of my subaru on the night of friday 9/28. arrived at 12:30am after leaving karaoke night in taos. there is a large parking area that fills the shape of a loop, where the west rim trailhead starts. there were lots of other cars parked here and vehicles that appeared to be sleeping here for the night too.

feels quiet, safe, and reliable. there’s at least two potable water filling stations too. and large restroom buildings but when i tried to enter i realized that the women’s had a lock on the door. not sure if that gets unlocked seasonally or during the day or what.

the landscapes are incredible here — and became even more impressive as the sun rises this AM.

that being said, i was awoken to folding tables being set up right next to my car and eventually a guy knocking on my car window asking if i was a vendor for the market that they were setting up for. turns out i was parked right in the middle of where the pop up market usually gets set up (the pull offs along the right side of the road when you come in, lined by bushes on the right side and is right near the trailhead for the west rim trail). the guy kindly redirected me to park in one of the pull in parallel spots in the lot with the other cars likely doing the same thing.

honestly this worked out great because i wanted to do a sunrise hike but probably wouldn’t have had the motivation to wake myself up. now that i’m up i’m doing the west rim trail which i have read online is super popular, easy, and beautiful and the trail is literally right here. hoping that when i come back in an hour or so the market will be running and i can check it out!!

if you’re a light sleeper you might be awoken here if you park near where i was and if it is in the morning of a market day. but they were pretty quiet and especially if you are parked in one of the formal pull in spots (where i’ve moved to now) it should be pretty quiet and no one will likely disturb you!

super recommend this spot!!

Report Check-In

slept here in the back of my subaru on the night of friday 9/28. arrived at 12:30am after leaving karaoke night in taos. there is a large parking area that fills the shape of a loop, where the west rim trailhead starts. there were lots of other cars parked here and vehicles that appeared to be sleeping here for the night too.

feels quiet, safe, and reliable. there’s at least two potable water filling stations too. and large restroom buildings but when i tried to enter i realized that the women’s had a lock on the door. not sure if that gets unlocked seasonally or during the day or what.

the landscapes are incredible here — and became even more impressive as the sun rises this AM.

that being said, i was awoken to folding tables being set up right next to my car and eventually a guy knocking on my car window asking if i was a vendor for the market that they were setting up for. turns out i was parked right in the middle of where the pop up market usually gets set up (the pull offs along the right side of the road when you come in, lined by bushes on the right side and is right near the trailhead for the west rim trail). the guy kindly redirected me to park in one of the pull in parallel spots in the lot with the other cars likely doing the same thing.

honestly this worked out great because i wanted to do a sunrise hike but probably wouldn’t have had the motivation to wake myself up. now that i’m up i’m doing the west rim trail which i have read online is super popular, easy, and beautiful and the trail is literally right here. hoping that when i come back in an hour or so the market will be running and i can check it out!!

if you’re a light sleeper you might be awoken here if you park near where i was and if it is in the morning of a market day. but they were pretty quiet and especially if you are parked in one of the formal pull in spots (where i’ve moved to now) it should be pretty quiet and no one will likely disturb you!

super recommend this spot!!

Report Check-In

Quiet rest stop with plenty of space. Nice sunrise and sunset, a family of Bighorn Sheep came by for breakfast. If you park on the gravel you will need move early, some locals set up tables to sell stuff to tourist like us.

Report Check-In

Good rest stop to spend the night and go for a walk along the gorge. As mentioned, the bathrooms are closed in the evenings / overnight. Some people set up market tables in the morning but only a few and around 8 am (might be because it's winter and MLK Day though). Verizon service is very spotty - alternates between 0 bars LTE on Verizon and 2-3 bars on roaming

Report Check-In

Stayed a couple nights.

Friendly security guard on site. I pulled up and asked if it was cool to stay the night and he said "of course!"

He said you're allowed to stay for a maximum of 48 hours, then you have to leave the rest area (which could be as little as driving across the bridge, he said), then your time resets.

The second morning (a Friday) I was there, there was a lady setting up tables for what I assumed was the market around 6am. She was by the right hand side on the dirt portion, by the trailhead, in case you want to park away from there. There wasn't anyone there the first morning I was there.

Report Check-In

As described before there is now a market here every day, starting to pull out tables and shouting to each other all around our camper at 5AM. We were parked near the entrance of the rim hike. Maybe it gets better if you park far from there... but didn't get the chance to test.

Report Check-In

Good parking to stay overnight. Trails to Rio Grande gorge.

Report Check-In

The rest stop is as described. Plenty of parking. Beautiful views of the gorge. Friendly security guards packing heat. We had some friction with one of the vendors who seemed to be discouraging vanlifers from parking there overnight even though it is a rest stop. The market that sets up there every day seems to be taking over the scene and they don't like overlanders parking in their favorite spots. One guy in a white Chevy truck with tables in the back played loud Russian music at 530am to mess with us, which woke everyone up. It wasn't appreciated. We had fun perusing the market the next morning regardless

Report Check-In

great place, stayed just a short time for the view of gorge and saw wild bighorn sheep. also some jewelry sellers

Report Check-In

great place, stayed just a short time for the view of gorge and saw wild bighorn sheep. also some jewelry sellers

Report Check-In

Wow, what a stunning view of the Rio Grande Gorge. A must see if you're in the area. As previously mentioned, the security guard is very kind and told me which was the best parking spot to stay the night in. Just me, him and the stars here tonight! A great quiet place to spend the night, and good T-Mobile service as well.

Report Check-In

Bathroom open 8 am to 5 pm. Clean and heated. Employees were really nice. There is a security guard present 24 hrs a day. Beautiful location. Quiet!

Report Check-In

Rolled in here about 18:30. Beautiful place! The bathrooms were padlocked closed. Very quiet level spot to park our van overnight.

Report Check-In

Beautiful, comfortable, quiet location. Echoing other comments… Security officer was super friendly and helpful. Amazing lookout for sunrise and sunset. Good Verizon service

Report Check-In

Great place to stay the night. Gorgeous view to wake up to, lots of covered picnic tables, easy to park. Security guards on every shift are super sweet. Vehicles are welcome to overnight here but heads up the restrooms close at night and don’t open until 8am.

Report Check-In

Good, reliable spot for overnight parking. Crack the windows and enjoy the sounds of the winds out on the plains. Polite security officer watched the place all night, felt very safe. Beautiful sunrise. Gets a little cold at night tho.

Report Check-In

Spent a cold, windy night here. Very quiet and peaceful. Security officer was extremely polite when I asked if we could spend the night. Great overnight spot.

Report Check-In

Free, quiet, see the bridge. Restrooms closed for now because coronavirus. Light of the parking very strong.

Report Check-In

Amazing spot, spent the night and saw the 4th of July fireworks from Taos. Very quiet and peaceful. Amazing views. One of the best free rest stops. The toilets are closed due to covid-19

Report Check-In

As described, great place with beautiful sunset and sunrise. Toilets, water, picknicktabels, security and super clean

Report Check-In

Nice área total free e Parking lot and pic nice area! Feel safe for woman driving alone !!! Beautiful view of the bridge!! Just Don’t jump !!

Report Check-In

Plenty of parking space right next to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Safe spot to pull in for the night if needed. Restroom is not open 24 hours.

Report Check-In

Free parking with tables.
Nice canyon and bridge, also a good stop if you don't want to spend the night.

Report Check-In