Juniper Campground

April 27th, 2025

I had a 6 day reservation at the campground in Bandelier National Monument. This is a favorite campground in north central New Mexico near Los Alamos. I am not exactly sure why I like this campground so much, but it is the second time I have stayed here. When leaving the desert southwest, it is the first area I pass by on my way north that is at a high elevation, covered with grass, spruce trees, and Ponderosa Pines and is still relatively cool in April. It also has a number of very nice hiking trails.

I had forgotten that as you leave Interstate 25, passing through Santa Fe, you get your first glimpse of snow capped peaks. It caught me by surprise. I have to admit that my eyes moistened up a little, as this was my first sight of high forest covered peaks and snow, something I hadn’t seen in 6 months. I felt like I was coming back home, that the mountains were where I belonged.

I have never been much of a fan of the desert. The only reason I go there, is to escape the temperatures that would freeze my trailer pipes in the winter. I am a person of the high mountains, evergreen forest, and cold flowing streams. I feel best around mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep, not scorpions, tarantulas, and rattlesnakes. Now I was back in the environment I prefer.

Juniper Campground is not far from Los Alamos. The previous summer, I had seen the movie Oppenheimer. Much of this historic film was based on events that happened around Los Alamos (Atomic City) and the National Laboratory during World War II. Now you can visit the Manhattan Project National Historic Park and Bradbury Science Museum as a day trip from Bandelier.

What I have found to be most interesting, however, is the Los Alamos Nature Center. There you can sit in a glassed in room that overlooks a garden created for birds and small wildlife. The number of small, colorful migratory birds that can be seen in April, is outstanding.

A short drive from the campground, there is a visitor center in the park where trails diverge into the Frijoles Canyon. Old native American cliff dwellings are numerous. Other trails cross the tops of mesas overlooking the Rio Grande River valley. Along the area roads, an evening or early morning drive may reveal small herds of elk or mule deer. Wild turkeys may also be seen.