Hyde Memorial State Park

New visit to this area by fairly fit seniors. Beautiful state park with trails and camping. We started on an early hike elsewhere but was too muddy so we came up here on a whim, parked in the campground lot away from the main road and walked towards the lodge where we found signage for east west circle trail. It was a nice cool morning fall hike -lots of trees, very few people, and a well marked/maintained trail- can’t ask for more.

We visited the park today on a whim and are so glad we did. The lady working at the visitor center was friendly and beyond helpful. I wanted to see the waterfall but have hip issues. She advised us which trail would be easiest to navigate and I was so excited I made it. The falls are half frozen so cascading at the top and then flowing under ice which was beautiful. Restrooms are available and parking was easy when she told us where to go. Definitely worth the trip.

My group stayed in the yurts. It was a beautiful area and the one employee we met was very nice. I had never camped in NM before, so the bugs (small caterpillar looking things) dropping from the trees and crawling ALL OVER us, our bags, our food, the tables outside, EVERYWHERE were a big surprise. There were countless of them and they were annoying to say the least. Seriously, what the heck are those things? Is it there spawning week? The yurts are clean, but be warned there are no tables in them and the beds are small. If you roll over in your sleep you will definitely fall off. We had an extra bed and ended up needing to use it as a table. Other yurts I’ve stayed in have at least one small table, so it’s kind of strange that these don’t have them. Also, two of the three windows in our yurt had torn screens. So I couldn’t leave the windows open to get fresh air without letting in a bunch of the devils spawn bugs. We did the waterfall trail which was more difficult than described online. Definitely not for hikers with balance issues. And I’m not sure I would describe it as a “waterfall”. “Water flowing down on rocks” would be more accurate (see picture). Overall, it was nice to spend time with loved ones and the views were beautiful. It’s unfortunate that the other issues made it so I wouldn’t go here again.

As a first time visitor we entered the park and the Visitor Center had a no parking sign on both sides of the Visitor Center. We looked at the Web page and thought we would be able to find the trail we wanted. The signage was minimal and miniscule so you couldn't see anything from the street. We finally parked where there were alot of cars. We were told by several hikers the no parking signs are always there at the Visitor Center. The trail we walked was nice and the views were beautiful. But the signage around the Visitor Center wasn't very welcoming. It was a disappointing trip in the park.

Good launch pad to explore and avoid crowds compared to more "popular" and perhaps easier access trailheads. I will be back again and will choose this spot again to go explore other trails for shurz.

Nice trails, and the camping spots look great-well maintained and with sturdy looking shelters for the picnic tables. As a first time visitor coming for just a day it was hard to figure out where to park (visitor center and lodge seem closed for renovations currently) but eventually we found a spot on the side of the road and a trail. Waterfall looks like it would be lovely after some more rain!

One thing to know about Hyde Park is the caterpillars/moths. I went to Hyde Park a few weeks ago (June 2025) and a lot of baby caterpillars had just hatched. They crawled over everything. We talked to the park ranger and while they are still small, half inch to an inch, they dont cause that much of a problem. But as they get older, they can cause rashes, itching, and respiratory issues if you breathe in their hairs. They will eventually turn into toxic moths, but those don't usually affect people. I am not trying to turn people away to the park. The caterpillars/moths only go through their life cycle every four years, and if there is a lot of rain when the caterpillars are small, they aren't even a problem. Chances are, you will never even see one. Hyde Park is still a beautiful place to go, I just wanted to let people know in case they see the caterpillars or the moths and dont know what they are. (If you have an air compressor, that can be helpful because you can usually blow them away.) No cell reception, but lots of great trails. I recommend it.

I went here for one night; it's on the VERY opposite side of New Mexico. It has a strong pine smell that I love! It makes me feel like I'm in North America. It’s very gorgeous at night, and I enjoyed photography there. The campsite is very clean, and although the bathroom can be smelly (which is unavoidable for any campsite), it is very clean and includes toilet paper. However, I would recommend bringing your own toilet paper anyway. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. I don't have kids, but they have a really nice playground. I'm very impressed with this area.