Reviews from Good Sam members

Drove up from El Paso, Texas and visited for four days/three nights with another couple and all of our dogs (four total). We made reservations for two sites which the staff worked hard to place us side by side. Though the park is still recovering from a devastating fire last year, the owners make this park a great choice. The staff is working hard daily to recover and is gaining ground on getting back to ‘full force’. Everyone associated with the park went out of their way to accommodate us and make sure we were happy with our sites. Their presence around the sites kept a full house in order and at peace. The newly renovated bathhouse, which includes washer/dryer is first class. Construction continues on the cabins which were lost in the fire and it’ll be great to see the projects completed. We are loyal fans of this site and will continue to frequent the site. Stream is almost at full flow and the developed walkway is a nice area to let the dogs play. Only complain of this park is the abundance of dirt and dry grass areas, however, that is attributed to Mother Nature not providing any rain. Thank you to the wonderful staff at BH for making us feel welcomed as you always have in the past. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Bonito Hollow is a great place. It is a campground and not just a parking lot for RV’s. The owners and staff are very friendly and helpful and always available. We have been going to this same campground every summer for the past 5 years. The campground now has a brand new bath house with nice showers and restrooms. The new pavilion was going up while we were there and should be complete now. We heard about a lot more improvements that will be occurring this summer. There is a big playground area for the kids with a volleyball pit and other games. We always take bicycles for our kids and they love riding down to the river or to the playground or just around the “block”. They always make friends and we love that aspect of camping at a campground like Bonito Hollow. We set out a hummingbird feeder and enjoyed watching our pet hummingbird guarding “his” feeder and trying to run other hummingbirds off when they tried to drink “his” nectar. We will definitely be back and I’d recommend this campground for families that have anything from a tent to a big motor home. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

Our first RV adventure ever was a stay in the Bonito Hollow RV Park. We had a great time and will return. We had a stream-side space with shade and plenty of room. This is a large spread out campground with friendly people, lots of shade and a big park-like space for walking the dogs. Very nice staff, they helped us back in and delivered some firewood. WI-FI was spotty, but with the beautiful location we didn’t miss it. There is no local TV reception or cable, but there is a nice trail along the creek so who cares! We camped here in a Motorhome.

We were really pleased with the looks and condition of the park. The sites have plenty of shade and are easy to enter. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We checked around several other parks in Ruidoso and could not find a better value. The park is recovering from a fire about 1 year ago and the owners are doing a very good job in rebuilding. You could not tell there was a fire. We would definitely return to the park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

Owners are doing a great job of updating this park. It is a clean and quiet park. Owners and employees very friendly and helpful. We camped here in a Motorhome.

This is an older campground under new owners who are working hard to refurbish it. Expect improvement with each visit. There are pine trees throughout the park. A stream runs through the park. Sites are gravel and level. It is about 1/2 full hookup and 1/2 water+electric. Deer and turkey roam around the park. A mountain fishing lake is nearby. Downtown Ruidoso is about 7 miles south. The town of Lincoln where Billy the Kid roamed is nearby. Since the park is in a valley there is no phone service until you are back out on the highway. There is free Wi-Fi. We spent 11 days here and it was a pleasure getting to know the owners and camp workers. This will be a destination campground for us. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

We were looking for a nice place to spend our 1 year anniversary and we definitely found it. We had never been in the area before and chose Bonito Hollow basically because it was pet friendly. I was not sure what to expect, but from the time of booking our reservation throughout our stay the customer service was great. They were willing to do a romantic getaway package for us at our tent site even though they normally only do them in the cabins. We arrived a little after they closed, but they were still more than willing to help us get settled in and brought us firewood to get us going for the evening. One of the owners let us borrow a deck of cards without hesitation and even insisted I take it. The grounds itself are really nice. It is nestled in a really pretty area surrounded by the beautiful mountains and trees. My favorite is how clean they keep the bathrooms and showers! The tent site was perfect and the owners were awesome. I am a customer service guru and they really hit the mark here. I would recommend this campground to anyone. We camped here in a Tent.

Review Rating

[ 9 / 10 ]

from (TBD) 8/20/2011
What a wonderful group of folks!! The ownership and staff go out of their way to assist their customers. The park is well kept and clean. The location is ideal–not in the city and buffered from the nearby roadway. We met several couples who had been coming here for years–we will be joining that group! We would recomend this facility to anyone!

Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]

from Stowaways2 (TBD) 9/14/2011
Stayed for one week the second week in September 2011. This is our second trip in two years. Wouldn’t stay any place else in Ruidoso. The scenery can’t be beat! You have your pick of a site up against the mountain, backing up to the creek, or a spacious pull through overlooking the middle of the lush park. There isn’t a bad spot in the campground. It’s not a “paved parking lot,” but there’s easy access for even the biggest Motorhomes. Aside from a super clean park, beautiful scenery, wifi, room to spread out and amazing wildlife, the owners; Gary, Terry, JoAnn and Jackie make the place feel like a home away from home. If you want a trailer park or paved parking lot with all the perks, this isn’t it. If you want a campground with all the amenities — including the charm of a real campground, this is your place!

Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]

from Scherman (TBD) 8/20/2011
My family stayed for two weeks this August. I worked remote the first week and vacationed the second week. During this time I got to know the owners: Gary, Terry, Jackie and JoAnn. These are some of the finest people I know. The kids just loved this campground and already want to return. I enjoyed the 79 degree temps versus Houston Texas.

 

Reviews from other guests

A return trip for mom, myself, and the dog. We really enjoy this camp ground for it’s beautiful scenery, and for the nicest owners and employees you could possibly ask for. Always there to help, always working to improve and beautify the place. Very clean and well stocked rest rooms with showers and washers. A handy store on premises, picnic tables and fire rings at each site. Nice area to walk your dog, and pick up bags conveniently provided in the walking area. Security drives around after 10pm to be sure everyones right to a peaceful night is enforced. Short drive into Ruidoso. Unfortunately due to the drought, the stream was completely dry, but there are always the mountains and the occasional deer meandering through. We camped in a tent trailer, so I can’t speak to the ease of leveling one of those houses on wheels. We will return as often as possible. Best place in the Ruidoso area. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.

 

We spent the long weekend here, and were treated royally by the friendliest staff we have ever encountered during our 53 day road trip. We did not miss cable TV nor cell phone signal availability. As well as us Canadians, it appeared all of the residents of this wonderfully cozy camp were considered friends by management. It is a beautiful area, just far enough away from the tourism of Ruidoso, but conveniently close enough for shopping and browsing around. The climate was refreshing compared to the heat wave ravaging the rest of the state. We’d recommend this park to anyone. Thanks again to Bonito Hollow for a great holiday experience. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

 

You MUST visit Bonito Hollow!!! The owners and staff will blow you away with their hospitality, attention, flexibility, and friendship. We live in Roswell, NM and were looking for an escape close to our hometown due to gas prices. Bonito Hollow is just 1.5 hours from our front door, but it is a WORLD away! The park is tucked against a hillside in a wooded (pines, cottonwoods, oaks?) canyon just a few short miles from Bonito Lake. The view from the park is 360 beautiful mountain views covered in trees. Access to the most beautiful hiking in a 200 mile radius is just up the road: streams, meadows, challenging or easy trails, signs of bear, deer, etc., and beautiful! The park is laid out kind of like a big oval with a road that circles the perimeter. There are large, flat, full hook-up spots all through the middle and small cabins, tent sites, and unique hook-up sites around the edge against the treeline. We stayed in one of the treeline sites tucked between a few of the cabins. Amenities include the “bath house” with showers and laundry facilities, playgrounds for the kids, volleyball court, and a beautiful stream that wraps around the “front” side of the entire property. There is also an office with a small store stocking some basics for your convenience. There are a lot of improvements taking place at Bonito Hollow. This is the first full season for new owners. They have been investing lots of time (and money) to make the park a place that my family will return to again and again. During our entire stay there was constant, quiet, park improvement activity going on. About the people: from the moment we showed up, the owners and staff took us under their wing. Our original site wasn’t quite set up for our hook-up arrangement so they helped us find a spot that worked. My daughter’s bicycle needed air in her tires and the owner happily aired them up for her (her hero!) Dumb Dad (that’s me) forgot the fishing gear: no worries! they lent us some gear so we could spend some quality time at Bonito Lake watching everybody else catch pretty trout. Owners would drop by from time to time with “Tango” the resident labrador to check in on us. the “artist in residence” at Bonito Hollow is transforming the park into a magical land with amazing and humorous wooden bears, huge mushrooms. We spent a wonderful evening with this artist as our guest for dinner as he regaled us with tales of his adventures in life! We have our reservation already in for Memorial Day 2011! Can’t wait to get back. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We chose Bonito Hollow after staying two previous nights at another Alto campground (Ruidoso area). I had so many memories of camping in the area as a child, and so wanted to relive those moments. We stumbled onto Bonito Hollow after visiting the lake and can honestly say the owners Gary and JoAnn and the whole crew at Bonito were icing on a cake that was perfect in every way. Our site was nestled under tall pines at the base of a gorgeous mountain and within steps of a crystal clear stream. The grounds were tidy, the campsites allowed for plenty of privacy and elbow room and the store was stocked full of goodies and useful staples…not to mention some great rental movies and illustrated apparel by none other than Newbern Taylor. what a gentle soul and great conversationalist.. We arrived as total strangers to this slice of heaven and left feeling like family. After driving around the area and eying every campground within ten miles of Ruidoso, we knew we lucked out. if you’re in the area, nothing comes close. By the time we headed back to Texas, every spot was filled! We look forward to seeing all of our new friends again soon! thanks Bonito Hollow. You have officially stolen a piece of our hearts! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

We live in El Paso, Texas and have been regulars to Bonito Hollow Campground for approximately seven years visiting three to four times a year. We had heard that it had changed ownership and we are pleased to announce that the new owners and staff are just as wonderful as the past staff. We visited in June and July of this year. Our July trip also included our family which included four trailers, a small family reunion for a week. One of the owners was wonderful and made us feel like family. His staff and family are good people and after hearing their plans and projects for this park it will definitely be one of the best family oriented campgrounds in Ruidoso. Park host have wonderful events set up during the weekends for kids and adults (boat races on the stream for kids with boats made of recycled materials, bon fires, washer tournaments and even karaoke). It is a wonderful place for kids to explore and be kids and for adults to be kids again. We took full advantage of the volleyball area, horseshoe pit and fishing in the stream. We enjoyed all the wildlife in this area (Deer, Hummingbirds, blue jays and even Tango). Nights around a camp fire is definitely a must, to include snores and campfire games. This campground is only a couple of miles from Bonito Lake and about twenty minutes from the main town of Ruidoso. Cafe Rio a must for good pizza and salads. This campground has pull thru spots and also more secluded spots against the forest area some are steep and four wheel drive will sure help especially if it raining. Wonderful tent sites near the river and forest area, clean restrooms/showers and washer and dryers are also available to all campers. Bonito Hollow is the definitely the best family campground. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

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