Ponil Campground

Cimarron Canyon marks the boundary where the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains meet. Survey this unique coming together of two iconic landscapes and take your campervan rental on a 135-mile ride on the Cimarron Canyon, Taos and the Enchanted Circle Scenic Drive leaving the west end of town on Highway 64. Along the way, you'll come upon the route's highlights, which include the Pueblo of Taos, the Kit Carson Memorial State Park Cemetery, and farther down the road, the end of the Camino Real, or King’s Highway, from Mexico City. Half an hour's drive from your campsite at Ponil Campgrounds lies Maxwell Wildlife Refuge perched at an elevation of 6,050 feet. Encompassing nearly 3,700 acres of diverse ecosystems, the refuge is surrounded by high mesas and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Ducks, geese, cranes, and other migrating birds were the first to seek sanctuary here, but visitors now enjoy year-round sightings of hawks, owls, and eagles along with wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and black-tailed prairie dogs. Anglers may want to sink a line in the lakes for a haul of rainbow trout, yellow perch, and largemouth bass while birders can tick off American kestrels, wild turkeys, and Wilson's phalaropes on their list. The extinct volcano of the Capulin Volcano National Monument is only a little more than an hour's drive away in your Cimarron camper rental and yet transports you to a landscape that appears to be far removed from any worldly cares. Part of the bigger Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, the volcano beckons hikers with its seemingly accessible hiking trails. For invigorating exercise, walk around the rim of the volcano by following the paved, one-mile Crater Rim Loop with steep climbs and descents. To marvel at the surrounding volcanic topography, take the one-mile Lava Flow Loop instead. And if you want to go down to the volcano's crater, the 0.2-mile Crater Vent Trail will take you there.