What’s there to do near Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico? And are the lakes really bottomless? We have those answers and more.

Bottomless Lakes State Park

Bottomless Lakes State Park is situated in the Pecos River Valley of New Mexico.

The park was established in 1933 and covers over 1,400 acres of land and featuring nine different sinkhole lakes. These lakes were formed when the limestone rock beneath the surface of the earth collapsed, creating the deep holes that we see today.

Camping and RV sites

The park offers RV and tent camping sites with 26 of the RV sites offering power and water and six with full hook-ups. There is a community dump station as well.

Showers are clean and well kept and park staff and volunteers do a good job of keeping everything tidy. We really liked that each RV site had a metal picnic table on a concrete pad which was covered. There was also a community gathering area in the RV park so this would be a great place to come if you’re coming in a group, which is exactly what we did.

There are also 32 first-come, first-served, dry camping sites near Mirror, Devil’s Inkwell, Pasture, an Figure Eight lakes.

The Bottomless Lakes

One of the most popular activities at Bottomless Lake State Park is swimming. The park has three different swimming areas: Lea Lake, Devil's Inkwell, and Lazy Lagoon. Lea Lake is the largest and most popular of the three, with a beach area and a diving platform. Devil's Inkwell is a small, deep lake that is perfect for diving. Lazy Lagoon is a shallow lake that is perfect for families with small children.

The Bottomless Lakes are said to have gotten their name from Vaqueros (cowboys) who would tie two or three ropes together and drop them into the lakes to try to reach the bottom. The ropes were not long enough, so the vaqueros thought the lakes were bottomless!

Lea Lake at Bottomless Lakes State Park where there is camping as well as plenty of water-based activities.

The Geology of Bottomless Lakes

Of course all lakes have a bottom, so the name is a bit of a misnomer. Bottomless Lakes State Park contains eight lakes of various size and depth.

The geology of these lakes is largely influenced by the underlying rock formations and the hydrology of the region. Blue Hole, and the lakes at the state park, are located in areas of karst topography, which is characterized by soluble rock formations such as limestone and dolomite. These formations are prone to sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems, as well as these small, deep lakes.

In other words, over time, the water on the surface eroded the limestone creating the lakes. The unique geology here means that these erosional patterns can be localized so you get lakes.

The clarity of the water along with reflections from the plants around them is where they were originally described as bottomless.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed most of the original facilities, many of which are still being used. The popular park has been remodeled several times since its opening. Facilities at the park include covered tables, group shelter, bath house with showers, playground, volleyball areas, primitive camping sites, and sites with full electrical hookups.

During the summer, the park operates a gift shop and concession at Lea Lake where paddle boats and pedal-boats are rented. The sandy beach at Lea Lake is open all year; lifeguards are on duty only during the summer. Picnicking, camping, hiking, swimming (only at Lea Lake), scuba diving, and fishing (November through March only) are popular activities.

More geology can be found in this PDF

Check out our article on things to do near Bottomless Lakes State Park

The visitor’s center at Bottomless Lakes State Park has a lot of interesting and interactive displays including this relief map of the area.

Trails

In addition to swimming, Bottomless Lake State Park offers a variety of other recreational activities. You can bring boats, kayaks and floats and use those in the lakes. There are also several hiking trails in the park, including the popular Lakeshore Trail, which offers stunning views of the lakes.

In fact there are almost five miles of trails in the park including some that are interpretative/accessible. One of those trails is Skidmarks mountain bike trail (seriously, you’d think I had named this thing) with just over three miles of trail. There are also the Bluff trail at just under a mile and the Wetlands trail at about half a mile.

If you're interested in fishing, Devil’s Inkwell and Pasture lakes are home to several different species of fish, including bass, catfish, and trout. You'll need to have a New Mexico fishing license to fish in the park, but you can purchase one at the park's visitor center.

The park is open year-round, but the swimming areas are only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

One of the beautiful sunsets we enjoyed at Bottomless Lakes State Park

Night sky

Bottomless Lakes campground is absolutely located in a dark sky area and the views of the stars at night is well worth staying up late for. There is almost no visible light wash so stargazers will absolutely love it here.

We were very fortunate to have outstanding tour guides with us who have spent a lot of time in the area, so we have a separate article about all the things you might want to visit when camping at Bottomless Lakes State Park.

Oh, and the lakes are definitely not bottomless. In fact the deepest ones are about 90 feet deep so they’re not even all that deep. We were pleased with the water temperatures in Lee Lake when we visited in April.