Ruidoso is a quaint small town in south-central New Mexico. In fact, it’s so small, it’s considered a village. Ruidoso gets its name from the Rio Ruidoso or “noisy river,” which runs through the village. Since we only live about three hours from Ruidoso, I plan to start reviewing campgrounds in the area. This weekend we stayed at Riverside RV Park.

Our first impression of Riverside RV Park

My husband made the reservation over the phone, and when we arrived at our destination, we were disappointed to find that the campsites were extremely close together.

The part of the river along the campground is narrow and shallow, and no one was fishing along its banks. Keep in mind, we picked a frigid weekend.

On a positive note, the camp host was welcoming and friendly, as were our fellow campers.

Unexpected nightlife

Shortly after we arrived, we began to hear music. By nightfall, it was clear that people were singing karaoke in the party building or clubhouse, which we could hear from inside our trailer. If we didn’t have the kids with us, I probably would’ve dragged my hubby in there so I could sing a song.

That said, we’ll probably try a quieter, more spacious campground next time we head to Ruidoso. We didn’t come here to party, but if you’re an adult who is as into karaoke as my dad was in the early 2000s, Riverside RV Park in Ruidoso is for you.

Note: Riverside RV Park is an adults-only campground during the peak season when the weather is nicer. Visit their website for more information.

A little about me

Before I get into our RV camping experience in Ruidoso, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Janine, which is actually my middle name. I’m a married mother of six, four of whom still live at home. I’m working part-time teaching at my kids’ private school this year, but when school gets out in May, I’ll go back to working exclusively from home as a content writer. My husband retired early due to medical issues, so we will be a “stay-at-home family” soon. I’ve only recently heard that term and have been dying to use it.

We’re originally from California and lived in Fort Worth, Texas, for many years. However, due to my husband’s job, we ended up in Southeast New Mexico, which is why we’re within easy driving distance of Ruidoso.

By the way, welcome to my new RV camping blog. We purchased a Keystone Springdale 266RL travel trailer less than a month ago. So we’re still in the experimental stage with our RV, and we learn something new with each trip.

Our family’s experience camping at Riverside RV Park in Ruidoso

Since my youngest three kids are the ones with us on this campout, it’s probably time to announce their blog nicknames: There’s “Bowie,” our fifteen-year-old son, “Peanut,” our twelve-year-old daughter, and “Lovey,” our ten-year-old son.

For our New Year’s Eve dinner, I made beef stew and served it with dinner rolls. We also snacked on sweet peppers dipped in Ranch dressing.

The kids did some hiking but got bored at times. Here’s a sketch Peanut did of the RV that was parked right next to us.

And here’s a pic Bowie took when he and Peanut hiked up a mountain. I think reaching the top was the highlight of the trip for them.

Fails of the trip

As I mentioned previously, we learn something new on each excursion with the trailer. We always have fun, but every trip has had its minor disappointments, and here are the ones we’ve had so far this weekend:

• The obsolete DVD player we brought doesn’t seem to be compatible with the TV we have, and we couldn’t get any local channels up there.
• We forgot to stock the trailer with board games.
• Our dogs take forever to “produce” when there’s not a patch of grass for them to do their business on, which for us is a major drawback of this RV park.
• It took a lot of work to get the snow and ice off off the top of the slideout in freezing weather.

Even though it was too cold to spend much time outdoors, I enjoyed cooking in the trailer and driving around town with my hubby, taking in the sights. We had a few hours to ourselves Saturday night when we dropped the kids off at the small movie theater in town to see “Spiderman, No Way Home.”

Final thoughts:

Although Riverside RV Park wasn’t the perfect fit for our family, it’s a welcoming place that would be ideal for adult extroverts looking to socialize with total strangers. Your neighbors are right next to you, and there’s a party going on at night.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to this blog or bookmark the page, as I will be reviewing other random camping spots and discussing all things RV-related. Happy New Year and happy camping!