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Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Centered around Santa Rosa Lake, the state park is the best way to experience the beautiful desert scenery. Veer off the historic Route 66 to reach Santa Rosa Lake State Park, where you’ll have to camp lakeside.

Santa Rosa Lake is a man-made lake formed by the Santa Rosa Dam. The system creates a large reservoir with a surface area of 26 square miles. Visitors have plenty of room to explore the natural sights and wildlife living within the region.

There are a lot of things to do at Santa Rosa Lake State Park, including:

  • Outdoor recreation
  • Stay overnight

Outdoor Recreation

One of the main reasons for visiting Santa Rosa Lake State Park is for outdoor recreation – it’s much more than a lake, so you’ll have plenty to see and do around it. Some of the favorite activities include hiking, horseback riding, fishing, sightseeing, and swimming.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park has several hiking and walking trails. Visitors can walk through the desert landscape and grassland plains to see the flora and abundant wildlife. The trails are well-marked, making it easy to reach the points of interest, including incredible views of the lake and other natural scenery.

If you’re looking for something more laidback, you can go fishing in the lake. Although man-made, it’s a popular fishing spot for locals and visitors. Take a boat out into the lake or stand on the shore to find the best place to catch fish. It’s home to a variety of species of bass, catfish, perch, and more.

Check out the visitor center when you arrive to get more information about the park, details about the hiking routes, etc. It’s open all year long.

Stay Overnight

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is fun during the day, but you don’t have to cut the experience short by leaving when the night falls. It has one of the top campgrounds in Santa Rosa, thanks to the lakefront sites.

The park operates on a first-come, first-served basis to get one of the 48 designated campsites. The campsites feature modern facilities such as toilets, drinking water, a dumping station, and electricity. Visitors can arrive with everything from big RVs or pitching a tent – it has sites available for all types of camping.

Address: NM-91, Santa Rosa, NM 88435

Phone: (575) 472-3110

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