We pulled into a dispersed site on the edge of a 16,000-year-old lava flow and did not see another vehicle for the rest of the night. Then the sun went down, the moon never came up, and the Milky Way lit the whole basin.

This is the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, roughly 25 miles southwest of Las Cruces inside the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. It is 27,673 acres of black basalt, collapsed lava tubes, pressure ridges, and coppice sand dunes sitting in open Chihuahuan Desert. There is no water, no services, no trails, and almost no one out there. That is exactly what makes it one of the best dispersed camping spots we have found.

WHAT MAKES THIS SITE WORK:
???? Genuine isolation with no neighbors and no road noise
???? Wide open views across the lava field toward the Potrillo volcanoes
???? Some of the darkest skies in southern New Mexico, with naked-eye Milky Way
???? Easy access from a county-maintained dirt road
???? Free dispersed camping on BLM land

THE HISTORY OF ADEN CRATER AND THE ADEN LAVA FLOW:

Aden Crater is a small Icelandic-type shield volcano in the Potrillo volcanic field, part of the Rio Grande Rift system. Helium-3 surface exposure dating puts the Aden flows somewhere between roughly 15,700 and 24,000 years ago, making them the youngest lava in the entire field. The eruption produced thin, fluid basalt that spread across about 75 square kilometers and built a low shield topped by a crater around 1,400 feet across. That crater once held an active lava lake. When the lake drained, it left behind a spatter cone and a collapse pit that are still visible today.

Then there is the sloth.

In 1928, three young men exploring a roughly 100-foot-deep fumarole on the southeast rim of Aden Crater found the remains of a Shasta ground sloth, Nothrotheriops shastensis. The animal had fallen into the gas vent and died there around 11,000 years ago. The dry volcanic environment preserved it so completely that patches of skin, hair, and tendon were still intact, and it had broken no bones in the fall. It remains one of the best-preserved Pleistocene ground sloth specimens ever recovered in North America and is now held at the Yale Peabody Museum. Coprolites from the same site went to UTEP's geology department.

The lava flow also has a rougher chapter. Its broken terrain and hidden tubes reportedly served as shelter for outlaws and people avoiding the law in the territorial era. Standing out there, it is easy to understand why. The ground swallows you.

The Aden Lava Flow was managed as a Wilderness Study Area for decades before the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act designated it full Wilderness on March 12, 2019.

IF YOU GO:
Motorized travel is not allowed inside the wilderness boundary, so dispersed camping happens on BLM land along the perimeter roads. Bring every drop of water you will need. The access road handles 2WD in dry conditions but turns difficult when wet, so check the forecast. The lava is sharp and hard on boots and tires. There are no marked trails, so carry offline maps and a GPS. Watch for black-tailed rattlesnakes in the rock. Pack out everything.

???? Where is the darkest sky you have ever camped under? Drop it in the comments.

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???? Location:
BLM and near the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness - An isolated location that was amazing to experience!

V I D E O S T O W A T C H N E X T :

North Georgia Camping and Off-road Adventures: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsYrnjLTA45iQrZkMV3xZf3ZahKXftOJ&si=oidcr6fF4-jW_kY8

Campsites and Campgrounds to plan your trips: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsYrnjLTA47Y1gpt3RV_F4u-KYefvJK8&si=rQuI_w9OgQtvEUN0

How we, and others, built out their rigs!: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsYrnjLTA46KDPxwbjEz7c26rEgM8plL&si=YmKE-TWBQlRH6Cbw

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