Horseback Riding

Coyote Keeth's RV Park

Just off Highway 87 at mile marker seven in Clayton, New Mexico—in Union County in the northeastern corner of New Mexico where the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field's basalt flows, the Kiowa National Grassland's shortgrass prairie, and the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail's historic wagon route create the specific high-plains volcanic landscape that Clayton Lake State Park's dinosaur trackway and Gold-certified International Dark Sky Park status have made one of the most geologically and astronomically distinguished rural campground destinations in the southwestern United States—Coyote Keeth's RV Park provides full hookup 30 and 50-amp sites with large pull-through capability, a shower house with handicap access, free WiFi, horse stalls, a dog park, and the Clayton, New Mexico gateway access that Clayton Lake State Park's 500-plus dinosaur tracks and the Rabbit Ear Mountain landmark make the northeastern New Mexico destination for the outdoor traveler crossing the Texas-Colorado-New Mexico tristate corner. The dinosaur trackway within minutes and the dark sky designation that the Union County high plains produces at this specific geographic remove from urban light pollution define why Clayton, New Mexico is a destination campground stop rather than a simple overnight highway position. Full hookup sites with 30 and 50-amp electric, sewer, and water in large pull-through configurations accommodate big rigs, fifth-wheel combinations, and the horse trailer setups that the equestrian guest population brings to a campground with on-property horse stalls. A shower house with handicap access provides the hygiene infrastructure. Free WiFi handles the connectivity need. Horse stalls on the property serve the equestrian traveler who needs overnight accommodation for horses at a Union County address that places the horse stalls within a reasonable drive of the Clayton area's hunting, trail riding, and rodeo circuit. A pet area and dog park accommodate the traveling canine. Clayton's Ranch Market—the local grocery store described by the park as "just around the corner"—provides the resupply convenience that the rural Union County location would otherwise make an inconvenient chore. Clayton Lake State Park—accessible from the campground within minutes—contains the most extensive accessible dinosaur trackway in New Mexico: over 500 individual tracks left approximately 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period when northeastern New Mexico was the shoreline of the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow inland ocean that divided North America from north to south. The tracks—representing multiple species of theropod, ornithopod, and sauropod dinosaurs—are preserved in the Morrison Formation sandstone exposed at the lake's edge, with an interpretive trail and viewing platforms that make the trackway self-guiding for independent visitors. Clayton Lake State Park also holds New Mexico's first International Dark Sky Park designation, awarded in 2010 by the International Dark Sky Association with a Gold-level certification—the IDA's highest rating—earned by the absence of significant artificial light within Union County's sparsely populated high plains. The park's observatory, equipped with a 14-inch Mead telescope operated by volunteer astronomers on Thursday through Saturday evenings from March through November, provides the public stargazing program that the dark sky certification makes possible. Coyote Keeth's RV Park is open year-round in Union County's four-season high-plains climate. The dinosaur trackway and observatory are the year-round anchors; fall hunting season for mule deer and pronghorn antelope in the surrounding Kiowa National Grassland brings the November hunting camp population. Reserve the pull-through early for elk season, plan the evening at the Clayton Lake observatory on a new-moon weekend, and let the Cretaceous trackway and the Gold-certified dark sky earn the northeastern New Mexico experience that the high-plains volcanic landscape makes genuinely singular.

from $25/night

Weeping Willow RV Park

Conveniently accessed from Interstate 20 at Exit 263 in Trent, Texas, positioned between Sweetwater and Abilene in the rolling post-oak and mesquite savanna of Nolan County, Weeping Willow RV Park offers a quiet country retreat with a genuine Texas rural atmosphere for both overnight I-20 travelers and guests looking for a comfortable full-hookup base in the open-sky cattle country west of Abilene. The park's distance from urban ambient light makes it a genuinely dark-sky location for guests who want to observe the full star fields that define nighttime in west Texas, and the property's quiet country character gives it an unhurried atmosphere appropriate to guests who want to decompress from highway travel rather than arrive at a busy commercial campground. Full hookup sites with electrical, water, and sewer service accommodate big rigs without the maneuvering constraints common at compact campground layouts, and the park's amenities include clean restrooms and showers, laundry facilities, a dog park, and horse paddocks that make it one of the few campgrounds in the Abilene area equipped to accommodate guests traveling with horses alongside their RV. The Wi-Fi infrastructure supports guests who need connectivity during an extended stay, and the property's pet-friendly and equestrian-accommodation combination gives it a practical appeal for the substantial population of Texas travelers who move horses between events and need proper overnight equestrian facilities. Abilene, approximately 25 miles east of the park, anchors the regional day-trip roster with a range of cultural and heritage attractions that give the city more visitor substance than its size might suggest. Frontier Texas!, a high-tech history museum using holographic presentations to interpret the settlement of west Texas in the frontier era, is consistently recognized as one of the more creatively executed frontier heritage experiences in the state. The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, Paramount Theatre, and the museums associated with Abilene Christian University and Hardin-Simmons University extend the city's cultural profile. Dyess Air Force Base, home to B-1B Lancer bombers and a heritage aircraft park, operates an open-air museum visible from the highway. The Sweetwater area to the west is home to the annual Sweetwater World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup—an early March event that draws tens of thousands of visitors for a celebration of western heritage that is unique in scale and character to the Texas plains culture. Lake Sweetwater and Lake Abilene State Park provide regional fishing and outdoor recreation access for guests who want water-based activity beyond the highway corridor. The Big Country landscape of Nolan and Taylor Counties, defined by windmills, mesquite flats, and oil field infrastructure, represents a west Texas visual experience distinct from the Hill Country terrain to the south and the Panhandle plains to the north. Weeping Willow RV Park is open year-round, with the west Texas climate delivering warm and dry conditions across most of the calendar. Spring and fall are the most comfortable seasons for outdoor activity in the Abilene area, with summers bringing the intense heat characteristic of the Texas plains and winters occasionally delivering cold fronts that sweep down from the Panhandle. The park's I-20 positioning makes it equally suited to a single overnight stop during a cross-country road trip and a multi-night base for regional exploration, and the horse paddock availability makes it a practical choice for guests covering the Texas show and rodeo circuit with horses in tow.