ABOUT BOTTOMLESS LAKES STATE PARK: We did not get a State Park brochure, as usual; do they even print those out anymore? But we stayed here in 2018, so the information we have from that visit, and the one we just completed is what we are using.
Located along the Pecos River about 15 miles southeast of Roswell, NM, this Park has many sink holes of different sizes, most of them have water in them, and colorful red cliffs surround the area. There are four designated campgrounds. Two of them have tent sites only.
Our first visit to this State Park we stayed at the Lea Lake Recreation Area Campground, the main campground with all the amenities. This was the most popular campground. There were only a few tent campsites; the remaining sites had hook-ups (approximately 6 had full hook-ups; the other 20 or so had water & electric hook-ups. There was a dump station. There was plenty of parking and lots of picnicking areas. One of the larger, water-filled sink holes was Lea Lake, and some of the campsites are near the lake with good views (#25 & #26). The campground was clean and well maintained. Most of the campsites were reservable. The cost in 2018 was $18 per night for full hook-ups and $14 per night for water & electricity.
This visit Lea Lake Campground was almost full due to the timeframe we were visiting (the Christmas Holiday weekend). We decided to take a look at the Devil’s Inkwell Campground, and it was perfect; we’d definitely stay there again. Although it was supposedly for tent camping only, almost everyone staying there had a camper of some sort. There were several campsites that wouldn’t have accommodated anything but a tent, but there were at least 5 or more campsites that were great for RVs and trailers. We had site #D3 and we loved it. Nestled off the road with no other sites around it, facing the cliffs, and with a small water-filled sink hole next to us, we had complete privacy. There were no hook-ups in this campground. Our solar panels served us well. Because the campsites were somewhat primitive, this campground was never full. We stayed 5 nights at $10 per night.
The State Park has many hiking opportunities. You can swim in Lea Lake. The city of Roswell is close by for errands. It does get windy and along with the wind, you can have dust storms. Still, we enjoyed our time here both times we were here, principally because of the campground’s proximity to the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is excellent with a very good Wildlife Drive. Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and Waterfowl winter at the refuge. For additional information: www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/ or (575) 625-4011; Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, address – 4200 East Pine Lodge Road, Roswell, NM 88201.
Bottomless Lakes State Park, address – 545 Bottomless Lakes Road (a.k.a. Route 409), Roswell, NM 88203, http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/bottomlesslakesstatepark.html, (575) 624-6058.
- 2018 – 02/21-02/23 (Lea Lake)
- 2021 – 12/22-12/27 (Devil’s Inkwell)