Gila Cliff Dwellings NM

We stayed at Lake Roberts - very nice NFS CG, with power and water ... and dump.

The ruins an easy reach from that CG... a great drive too, although a little tight in places. I'd camp and drive it - so you enjoy the ride. Worth it!

We have stayed at Rose Valley and also KOA in Silver City. And you can do the Cliff Dwellings from there for a day trip; not sure with the moho's though....hilly and twisty.

Sorry to hear about the catwalk; was neat.

You'll definitely want to take Hwy 35 to the Dwellings, not Hwy 15 from Silver City.

Hwy 35 is a nice gentle drive and a couple very nice forest service campgrounds have sites for 40' RVs. Then it's a short drive to the Dwellings in your towed vehicle.

loved the cliff dwellings. we stayed at Manzano RV and it was fine. I wouldn't tow a very large rig down that road unless you plan on staying for a while to make it worth it, its a bit windy and difficult.
worth it to go.

We went several years ago but we were tent camping. It was the kind of road where my husband did the driving and I prayed. Coming down was not anywhere near as bad.
I also remember that there were two roads up and the second was much better. I also do not remember where the second road started out.
We liked the dwellings as we could go thru at our own pace and were not part of a large group.

The Gila Cliff Dwellings are very well maintained and interesting to see. You do have a fairly steep ascent, but it is not difficult. You walk thru the ruins on your own with no time constraints. When you get down to the Gila River, there are 3-4 other small dwellings to explore if you are so inclined. I used to live in W. Texas and camped often near the cliff dwellings. It is very peaceful, with lots of deer and turkeys, plus good fly fishing. Take the road from Mimbres to Lake Roberts, and then on up on hwy 15. Lake Roberts also has a couple of USFS campgrounds, a store, and fishing.

agesilaus wrote:
...If you are in that area I'd certainly do the Catwalk Trail...

The catwalk trail was severely damaged by the heavy rains and flooding this Fall. The Forest Service Website still has an alert that the entire Catwalk Recreation Area is closed.

Desert Captain wrote:
For a base camp you might want to check out City of Rocks SP about 24 miles north of Deming (about half way to Silver City). Amazing rock formations and while most of their sites do not have electricity they do have about 10 or 12 with full hook ups and as I recall the fees were very reasonable. Google it and you will see what I mean. :C

That's where we stayed. Great park especially if you have kids. Plenty of rocks to climb on for them and you.

BK

rocmoc wrote:
We have stayed at the Rose, http://www.rosevalleyrv.com/. Very quiet and easy.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Great place to stay and very much worth the trip, one of the highlights of our many stops in NM last winter. You are required to take the tour as they are trying to protect the site. Actually the drive up is part of the experience. Nothing up there so pack a lunch.

There are several RV parks with FH's in Silver City. Rose Valley RV is nice. The road from Silver to the cliff dwellings is rightfully limited to smaller vehicles. A series of hair pin curves and steep drops off on both sides of the narrow road. It is a scenic drive for passengers. I was staring at the road afraid to take my eyes off it so did not see much detail. There is another, round about and longer route to get to the dwellings. I heard that the Cat Walk was basically destroyed by floods this past summer so check before you head up there. The Cliff Dwelling is approximately a mile walk each to and from the visitor center. The area and Dwellings is Well worth the visit.