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  • Datil Well - BLM, NM

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    Datil Well Campground is located about 60 miles west of Socorro NM on US-60. It's a small, 22-site campground with minimum amenities. Datil Well was one of a series of water-stops every 10 miles along the Magdalenna Livestock Driveway. The cattle trail ran 120 miles from AZ to a railhead at Magdalena. The peak year was 1919, when 150,000 sheep and 21,677 cattle made the journey.

    505-835-0412

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    Entering the campground one finds a small office and a self-pay Iron Ranger station. It would appear that the office is open only during the summer when there is a Campground Host on site.

    Date of visit: Nov 2011

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    We arrived at sunset on a mid-November day and there was only one camper there, so we had plenty of sites from which to choose. Being on a slight hillside, most sites are rather tilted, but there were a few on the far side of the loop that were reasonably level. Here we are on 17.

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    In general, sites on the inside of the loop are back-in sites while those on the outside are pull-throughs. This is site 20.

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    On site 21 was the largest pop-up camper I've ever seen.

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    Site 3 is a pull-through.

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    Site 7 is a large pull-through site with a shelter over the table, but it is quite uneven.

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    Back-in site 9 was one of the more level sites.

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    Site 13.

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    Site 16.

    Amenities

    22 sites, no hookups, central water (not in winter), vault toilets, no dump station

    Verizon National Access (1x) service - improved with antenna and amplifier

    Rates: $5 (50% discount with Golden Age Pass)

    Coord: 34.153095 N, 107.857644 W

    Activities/Nearby Attractions

    Hiking

    VLA Radio Observatory

    Village of Magdelena