How to Camp in Monterrey: A Complete Guide to Spots, Permits and Gear

Camping in Nuevo León is one of the best ways to get to know the Sierra Madre Oriental. Waking up high on the mountain, with the pine forest coming alive and the city hidden behind a ridge, is a completely different experience from hiking up and down the same day. And the best part is you can do it less than an hour from Monterrey.

But camping here does not work like the national parks in the United States, where you book a numbered site and that is it. In Mexico almost no mountain land is public, the weather swings dramatically between day and night, and the water sources you see on the map are often dry. None of that is a problem if you go informed; all of it is if you improvise.

In this guide we cover how to ask for permission and why it matters, when to go, what to bring, how much water to plan for, and where to camp —from paid spots you can drive to, all the way to remote corners of Cumbres de Monterrey National Park—. All with our usual approach: safe, responsible and respectful of the people who live in those mountains.

This is the most important point in this whole guide, and the one almost nobody explains. In Nuevo León —and in Mexico generally— almost no mountain land is public. When you camp in the sierra, you are most likely on private property or ejido land, even if you see no fence and no sign.

That means you almost always need to ask permission. When you run into an ejidatario, always be kind: that land is theirs. And if they ask for a fee, however symbolic, pay it without haggling. It is not just good manners: paying keeps you on good terms with the owner and gives you the certainty that you are allowed to be there. It is the difference between sleeping soundly and being woken up at midnight.

At La Cumbre Cotidiana we take it one step further. Instead of carrying all our breakfast and lunch, we like to arrive, talk with the people of the ejido and ask whether they can cook us a meal, paying them for it. Everyone wins: they get income, you carry less weight, you eat far better, and above all the community starts seeing hikers as something good happening on their land rather than a nuisance.

Worth keeping in mind: ejidatarios are usually the ones rebuilding the roads you drive up, with no help from anyone. Supporting them is not charity, it is keeping mountain access open.

The good season runs from September to March or April. In those months the heat does not force you to carry extra liters, the nights are cool without being brutal, and the forest is at its best.

We do not recommend camping in summer if it involves a long hike. A five, ten or more hour route in summer becomes very hard purely because of how much water you have to carry. If you still want to go out in those months, make it somewhere you can drive to with a short walk in.

What surprises beginners most is the temperature swing. It can be 40 °C during the day and drop to 10 °C at night. And if rain or hail comes in, the temperature can crash to 5 °C in half an hour. In winter the mountain can be freezing even when the city feels mild: it can be snowing up there. Pack your clothing and sleeping bag for the worst-case night, not for the weather you felt leaving your house.

One detail that changes all your planning: it rains very little in this region, so the rivers and creeks where you planned to refill may be dry. Never head out counting on a water source you have not confirmed.

Shelter. You have three options, and in this region all three are worth considering because there are plenty of trees:

• Tent: the safe option and the one that works on any terrain.
• Hammock: works very well in and around Monterrey precisely because of how many trees there are. Light and comfortable, but you need insulation underneath.
• Bivvy: the lightest and the most exposed. For people who already know what they are doing.

For sleeping. A sleeping pad makes a huge difference, especially if you struggle with back pain. Add ground insulation: even when it is not cold, some nights and some areas get very cold and the ground steals your heat. And pick a sleeping bag rated for the real night temperature, remembering the swing we mentioned above.

Light and power. Bring two headlamps, not one: if the first one dies in the middle of the night, the second stops being a luxury. Keep your phone charged —it works as a compass, a flashlight, a way to find things and to follow your track if there is signal— and carry a power bank. If you pass through an ejido, they will often let you charge it.

Protection. Sunscreen is one of the most important things going into your pack, even if you will be under trees. Add a water filter —essential, see the next section— and layered clothing so you can adjust to the temperature swing.

Water. Always carry a water filter and calculate your intake based on how long you will be walking. Our rule is simple:

• Normal weather: about 1 liter for every 2 hours of walking. A 10-hour hike means around 5 liters.
• Hot weather: 1 liter per hour.

And again, because it is the most common mistake in this region: rivers can be dry. If your plan depends on refilling at a creek, have a backup.

Food. Bring enough, but do not overpack without checking first. Almost every ejido has a store where you can buy food, and you can often offer money to locals to refill your water or cook you a meal. It is cheaper than you think, weighs nothing in your pack, and the money stays in the community.

This is where camping in Nuevo León really gets good. Everything in this section is more remote, almost nothing is a designated site, and in practically every case you need to ask the ejidatarios.

• La Cañada / La Guaya, at the entrance: there are camping spots right at the start. You just need to ask for permission.
• Cañón de las Escaleras: there is usually plenty of space and you can drive in by car or truck, though expect rocks against the paint. Careful: this road is busy with racers and trucks, especially on the climb. At night there can be accidents if you are in the middle of the road, so pull over to the edge, tight against the wall. And one thing that is non-negotiable: never camp in the riverbed. Even if you cannot see a single cloud, if it rains higher up the mountain a lot of water can come down and sweep you away.
• Road to Presa Rompepicos: people do camp along the sides. It is unusual, but it happens.
• La Ratonera: further along the road there are small spots, none of them designated. Go carefully and ask the ejidatarios whether there are any.
• El Pajonal: our pick for this area. These are old croplands, so it is a very wide and very beautiful place to camp. We already asked for permission and the ejidatario granted it to hikers. If you run into him, support him: they are the ones rebuilding that road with no help from anyone.
• Santa Cruz: higher up there are small spots beside the river. All the precautions about camping near water apply.
• Llanitos: you can camp by asking the ejidatarios for permission. Even if you arrive at night and have to knock on doors, people are very kind; if you ask politely they usually charge between $50 and $100 pesos, and often offer you water too. It is a beautiful place.

There is one rule in Nuevo León that admits no nuance: lighting fires is completely illegal in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park. It is not a recommendation or a grey area. If you need to cook, bring a stove.

The rest matters just as much, even if it does not come with a fine:

• Pack out all your trash, including peels and cigarette butts. In busy places like Cerro de la Silla, pick up whatever else you find too.
• Leave no food scraps. This is not about tidiness: getting wildlife used to human food is what eventually makes a bear or a coyote dangerous, and the animal is the one who pays for it.
• Go to the bathroom away from water. Move at least 60 meters from rivers and creeks, bury it properly and pack out the paper.
• Respect the vegetation. Do not cut branches for the fire you are not going to light, or for your hammock: use wide straps that do not damage the bark.
• Keep the noise down. Many people come up precisely for the silence, and wildlife needs it too.
• Respect ejidatarios’ land and their communities. In the end, tomorrow’s permission depends on how you behaved today.

If you take only one list away from this guide, make it this one:

• Do not camp beside roads used by vehicles. At night they cannot see the tent and there have already been accidents.
• Do not camp in a riverbed. It can rain higher up the mountain without you noticing and a flash flood can come down.
• Avoid river areas during the rainy season, Río Ramos included.
• Carry two headlamps, a charged phone and a power bank.
• Pack clothing and a sleeping bag for the worst-case night, not for the midday weather.
• Watch out for severe weather on high summits like El Potosí.
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and when you plan to be back.

And the usual one: if the place or the weather feel above your level, turn around. The mountain will still be there another day.

If you want to keep exploring the mountains around Monterrey, we invite you to visit our route catalog, ordered from the easiest options to the most demanding ones:

Hiking Route Catalog near Monterrey | La Cumbre Cotidiana

You can also learn how we rate physical effort, technical difficulty and exposure on each route in our difficulty classification page:

Difficulty Classification (lacumbrecotidiana.org)