Ponil Campground

The Great Outdoors

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.

Exploring the Area

Campgrounds in Colfax County put you close to the Santa Fe Trail, the main transportation route linking Franklin, MO to Santa Fe, NM in the 19th century until the railroad bypassed it. Just a mile outside of Cimarron along Highway 64, you can still see the ruts and swales made by passing wagon trains.Cimarron is not only rich in history but also in local and regional art. Browse paintings and sculptures at the Old Pass Gallery and at the Philmont Museum, which also houses the National Scouting Museum. If you like to watch folk and country acts, rent a camper near Ponil Campgrounds and plan a trip around the ShortGrass Music Festival held in the summer.For a more intimate experience of Cimarron, a walking tour of Old Town is highly recommended. The tour takes you to the 1858 Maxwell House, whose owner, Lucien Maxwell, maintained a staggering land grant close to 1.8 million acres. The Maxwell family graves are also included in this tour, along with the 1872 Colfax County Courthouse, and the Schwenk’s Hall originally built in 1854 as a brewery and later became a place to win - or lose - a lifetime of savings. Today the complex is open for tours where visitors can admire antiques, ranch art, and scouting memorabilia, among the hall's many collections.A starkly beautiful landscape that greeted weary travelers on the Santa Fe Trail awaits you on this journey. There's so much ground to cover, and as with anything, starting somewhere gets you going. So book an RV rental in Cimarron, New Mexico now, pull out the map, and find out where your sense of adventure takes you.