Photo Essay: The Bottomless Lakes State Park in Southeast New Mexico, USA.

The Bottomless Lakes State Park was the very first State Park in New Mexico. Dedicated in 1933, it’s located about 12 miles southeast of Roswell NM. The park consists of multiple lakes, hiking and bike trails, camping, and other public recreation facilities.

The “lakes” aren’t actually lakes though. Technically they’re sinkholes which were caused by the roofs of caverns collapsing.

The photo above was taken at Mirror Lake within the park. It’s named because of the wonderful reflections of the rocks and cliffs which can be seen in the water.

This particular lake is interesting because on one side - the one pictured actually - the water is too high in saline content to be able to support fish. The other side however, which is connected, can support it without problems.

This photo shows a White Gypsum rock on the other side of Mirror Lake. This rock is perched well above the lake, and it makes a wonderful spot to sit and view the surrounding area.

The Bottomless Lakes area is famous for what are known as “Pecos Diamonds”. Quartz crystals form inside of Gypsum, and when the gypsum crumbles away it leaves stones which look like Diamonds.

This photo shows a peek of “Lazy Lagoon Lake” in The Bottomless Lakes State Park. Despite the park’s name, none of the lakes are actually bottomless. They range from a depth of 17 feet to 90 feet.

The appearance and history of these lakes are how they acquired the name though. The clarity and depth of the water makes it seem as if there is no bottom, and back when cowboys drove their cattle across this area, the lakes was a popular stopping spot for watering the herd. According to the stories, these cowboys repeatedly tried to find the bottom of the lakes by tying their ropes together and dropping them in. It is said that the underwater currents kept sweeping the lines to the side, which made it seem as if they never reached bottom.

This photo shows an old stone tower at the Lea Lake Recreation Area. I suspect this may have been part of a fort or outpost of some kind long ago, but I’ve yet to be able to find additional details.

The Lea Lake recreation area is where most of the public activity opportunities are. There is plenty to do around this lake including camping, swimming, and boating.

This stone building sits close to the tower at the Lea Lake Recreation area. It was closed when we were there on a Saturday afternoon in early October, so I’m not quite sure what’s inside the building.

There are picnic pavilions attached to either side of the building though, and going through those around to the back brings you to the beach and lake itself.

The backside of the stone building at Lea Lake is where you’ll find the beach and the water. As you can see, there’s a nice sandy beach here for sunning, and usually there are lifeguards on duty for swimming too.

Nearby you’ll also find a concession stand, bathrooms, and a small boat dock where you’re supposed to be able to rent paddle boats for a small fee.

This photo shows part of the Picnic Pavillion on one side of Lea Lake. I loved the way the stone structure reflected off the water :)

The park was almost completely empty while we were visiting, which made it quite serene and peaceful. We also spotted some wild animal tracks in the sand of the beach at Lea Lake.

Just around the bend a mile or two from the Lea Lake Recreation Area, you’ll find a wonderful overlook which allows you to view a large portion of the entire park all at once.

Viewing from this area gives you the perfect scene of the Lea Lake Recreation area specifically. In this picture for example, you can see all of the picnic tables, volleyball sand pits, and a children’s playground too.

Off in the distance though, you can also see a number of smaller lakes and bodies of water, along with what appears to be scattered gypsum stones and sand.

For more information, visit The Bottomless Lakes State Park Website