Camping at Johnson Mesa Campground
Forest Road 156 takes you up to Johnson Mesa Campground. The road starts in the town of El Porvenir, where the road intersects with State Route 65 (also known as County Road A27 and Forest Road 263). The distance from Johnson Mesa Campground to Las Vegas, NM is 23 miles.
There is a campground road that runs the circumference of Johnson Mesa, and you can camp anywhere within 150 feet of this road. This road tends to stay muddy due to frequent cloud cover at 9,500 feet elevation. It is still suitable to tow trailers up here, but we recommend 4WD because the road here tends to be soft when wet.
The Calf Fire torched Johnson Mesa in 2022, and today the area remains damaged, but open. On a clear night, this is a great place to observe stars due to its distance from light pollution. Very few people camp here, you can always find an open space.
