Pine Springs Campground

Nice campground for $20 a night ($10 if you have a park pass). You can reserve online. There is no electric or water at the sites. There are flushing restrooms down by the RV parking and vault toilets by the tent camping. Gorgeous views of the Guadalupe mountains. Some of the sites require a small walk. Trails are off limits to dogs except for the paved trail around the visitor's center. Beautiful sunrise and moon rise views of you happen to be around during a full moon.

Pine Springs Campground is the primary spot for camping within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. For all you adventurous tourists and National Park gurus out there...I would think it'd sort of be a right of passage that after exploring around Guadalupe Mountains...you'd spend an evening or two here at Pine Springs.I'd say the best aspect to this campground is the location. It's unbeatable! Just next door to this Pine Springs Campground (literally within walking distance) is the Pine Springs Trailhead.From here at the park's chief Trailhead...you have access to the paramount hikes within Guadalupe Mountains! So when you complete your day filled with desert hiking among the remote and desolate surroundings of Western Texas...simply walk on over here to the campground to rest for the evening. It's so convenient!!It's $15 per night to camp at Pine Springs. What I did...or what the Park Ranger instructed me to do was...choose from any of the 20 Pine Springs campsites offered, then set up your tent and belongings, and even back your car into the site. Now on your own accord walk on over to the Pine Springs Trailhead area where you'll approach an instruction board on how to pay.And it's pretty much like any other campground. You'll fill out an envelope with payment and your information and then drop it into a security/safe box. Next take the receipt from the envelope and hang it beside your campsite as proof of payment. It's that easy and now your campsite is reserved for however many nights you plan on staying.Campsites are offered on a first come, first served. So...if you arrive at Guadalupe Mountains in the morning...you're good to go for the rest of the day to start enjoying hiking.If you arrive in the late afternoon time, you can still set out on a hike, or just relax at the campsite for the remainder of the day.Btw, you can pay with a credit card for your campsite. It's not always the case at other places...but here there is a convenience.I liked how this Pine Springs Campground was surrounded by all the mountains and arid terrain. It's really scenic with Guadalupe Peak, El Capitan and Hunter Peak situated in the backdrop.Although I stayed here for only 1 evening, I happily would have remained longer had I been interested in seeing more sights. Ultimately I used 2 full days at Guadalupe Mountains and this 1 and only evening.Just relaxing at night back over the summertime with the sun setting...I really enjoyed and admired the very quiet and still setting. I felt like I was able to connect with nature. In all, it was a fulfilling overnight.I will mention a few sort of drawbacks to Pine Springs Campground. Nothing major...just a few items which sort of prevented me from giving this place 5 stars...The ground where I set my tent upon was so hard...it was borderline solid concrete. I had to use plenty of padding to make my rest comfortable. Basically, there was no grass here.There weren't showers either. Back at the trailhead were bathrooms with faucets though. It said there was no RV Dump Station here. The closest one was back in Carlsbad.Finally, due to the very dry conditions, no wood or charcoal fires were allowed. Only containerized camp stoves were permitted. Overall, these weren't the biggest deterrents...but they didn't make for the most efficient conditions.Overall, I still much appreciated my time staying here at Pine Springs Campground. For me it was the perfect way to not only end my first day at Guadalupe Mountains Park...but it set the precedent for getting started on the right note the following day when I walked over to the Trailhead section and began climbing epic Guadalupe Peak Trail to the "Top of Texas"!!