Mayhill · New Mexico

6,500 feetabove stress

RV sites, tent camping, glamping and cabins on the Rio Peñasco, about 20 minutes below Cloudcroft. Open all year.

Open all yearTrout in the riverPets on a leash welcome

Camp Rio4.5151 reviews · 151 GoogleOpen all year

Camp Rio is a family campground on eleven acres of mountainside in Mayhill, with the Rio Peñasco flowing right through it. Clay and Julie Speer bought the park, then The Camp at Cloudcroft, in 2020, and a vote in the local paper gave it its new name. It has 38 full hook-up RV sites, 15 tent sites, four glamping stays and four cabins, trout in the river, and in winter more deer and turkey than people.

A family boutique campground

A river through the middle of camp

The Rio Peñasco runs through the park, and the trout are literally in front of you at the riverside sites: an easy cast from your chair. Clay and Julie run Camp Rio as a safe, clean, relaxing place for families, and they are groovy with pets on a leash and group events too. Call or email and they will help make your trip happen.

Ask about dates

Four ways to camp

RV sites

38 full hook-up sites with 30 and 50 amp service, from the river up to The Cove.

Tent camping

15 tent sites: seven on the Rio Peñasco, plus mountain-view and private sites.

Bring the dog

Pets on a leash are welcome. The camp store even sells trucker hats for dogs.

Cabins and glamping

Six places to sleep with a roof over your head, each with its own page.

Cozy Cabin

A queen and a daybed for three, a covered porch and a hot tub out back.

Family Cabin

The old main office, remodeled in 2025: a king, sleeper sofas and a gas range.

Sweet Daisy

A vintage Shasta down by the Rio Peñasco, steps from the trout.

Gypsy Village

A painted wagon and a teardrop: two bedrooms, an outdoor kitchen and a hammock.

Band Camp

Three bedrooms in school buses, a big deck and a fire pit. Parking for three.

CTM: Chillin The Most

A former music hall turned glamping cabin, with a view of the mountainside.

Fall comes early at 6,500 feet

The cottonwoods by the office turn gold while the desert below is still hot.

Camp Rio by the numbers

Besides the gorgeous surroundings and wildlife (deer, turkey, ducks) the hosts and owner were wonderful. Clay was very present and chatted with the campers. All the hosts were so friendly and happy.

Julie P., September 2026, on Google

Glamping

Daisy, Prince and the Blues Brothers

Camp Rio's glamping has a sense of humour. Sweet Daisy is a vintage Shasta down by the river. Gypsy Village pairs a painted wagon with a teardrop trailer and an outdoor kitchen. Band Camp is three bedrooms in school buses: two blue ones, Jake and Elwood Blues, and a purple one that will be Prince, of course.

Meet Sweet Daisy

All year

Duck races, chili and Friendsgiving

The Triple Clown rubber duck races run on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day weekends. There is a chili cook-off and cornhole tournament, a motorcycle camping weekend with a fish fry, and Friendsgiving in November. The pavilion and the outdoor stage host weddings, reunions, church services and concerts.

See the year

What campers say

We love Camp Rio and the owners Clay and Julie. We’ve been camping here for more than 30 years with my Cousin Rick Cearley and his wife Maray. Great camp ground no stress.

Jeff C., May 2026, on Google

Day trips from camp

Drive times from Camp Rio. Photos courtesy of Google.

White Sands National Park

About 45 minutes: up 82 or 130 into Cloudcroft, then down through Alamogordo.

Bluff Springs

About 45 minutes: left on 130, then left again on the forest road to the falls.

Carlsbad Caverns

About two hours: right out of the park, east through Mayhill and south to Carlsbad.

Golf at The Lodge

About 20 minutes up 82 into the Village of Cloudcroft.

Osha Trail

About 25 minutes: up 82 through Cloudcroft, then right as you leave town.

Ruidoso Downs

About an hour via 82 and 244. Deer, elk, turkey and wild mustangs use that road: drive with care.

From Clay and Julie

We are honored to have you and your family and other guests stay with us, and we only hope you enjoy yourself here as much as we love being here and hosting you.

Clay & Julie Speer

Owners, Camp Rio

Camp Rio

Find us on Rio Peñasco Road

2180 Rio Penasco Road in Mayhill, about 20 minutes below the Village of Cloudcroft on Highway 82. Drone videos of the drive in, from Mayhill, Cloudcroft and Highway 130, are on the park map page.

Park map and drive-in videos

Around camp

View post

RV sites

38 full hook-up sites with 30 and 50 amp service, on a mountainside with the river at the bottom.

Full hook-ups at every site

All of our RV sites are full hook-up, with a mix of 30 and 50 amp service. They run in rows from sites 1 to 7 by the office (with EV charging) up through the 10s, 20s, 30s and 40s to the 50s row, and The Cove: RV sites 51 to 55, the CTM and the RV Gazebo Site.

Ask about a site

The Cove

The RV Gazebo Site

Formerly the Wall Tent, now the premier RV site in The Cove: a back-in 30/50 amp site with full hook-ups, a fire pit and electricity in the gazebo. A crown jewel for a small reunion. It can also be rented as a tent site, at the RV site price.

What comes with your site

The camp store

Hoses for technical difficulties, coffee, and whatever you left at home.

A river through the middle of camp