Mystery ruins at Head of the Ditch Campground in Luna, New Mexico

Camped April 12th, 2021

Just before we crossed the border of Arizona, we stayed one night at Head of the Ditch Campground in the Gila National Forest near Luna, New Mexico. It was completely empty on the Monday we drove through, and since we're suckers for both water access and privacy, we pulled right in. The San Francisco River runs through the campground, and is used for irrigation in nearby Luna Valley. The name came from the campground being located at the head of that irrigation ditch. 

The dispersed campground was free, spacious, grassy, and very quiet (except some distant highway noise from trucks climbing the nearby mountain). We scouted out a few sites near the water, and found there was a separate area with more campsites and even a few trails across the river. So, across we went.

There were a few small pit toilets, some fire rings, and a long picnic table in a larger open area. We found a big skull near that table, and more large bones on a hike down one of the trails.

The coolest thing we found on that hike is still a mystery. We noticed this bright yellow sign on a tree along the trail.

Behind it was a very interesting rock pile. We haven't been able to find any information on it, so I can't say what it is. The rocks seemed to have been shaped into separate rooms or maybe old fox holes. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Since we only stayed one night, we left our dining room table folded into a daybed for the dogs. They love window watching, and a soft place to nap makes it that much better.

The next morning, we drove across the border to Arizona to check out our next potential site - Luna Lake. It ended up being perfect and almost empty, so we packed up that same day and moved right over.