Bottomless Lakes State Park Campground, near Roswell, New Mexico, is a unique spot that offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor fun. With its striking red rocks and clear blue lakes, it’s a picturesque place to set up camp and unwind.

The campground features spacious sites that provide a good amount of privacy, making it feel less crowded even when full. Many visitors appreciate the well-maintained facilities, including clean restrooms and showers, which add to the overall comfort of your stay. As one camper noted, “The sites are roomy enough that even when full it doesn’t feel crowded.”

For those who enjoy water activities, the lakes are perfect for kayaking, canoeing, or paddle boating. The beach area is a great spot to relax, but don’t forget the bug spray for those pesky mosquitoes that come out at dusk. If you’re looking to explore, there are nearby trails for biking and hiking, offering a chance to soak in the stunning scenery.

While some campers mentioned the bumpy drive into the area, the peaceful nights and beautiful surroundings make it worth the trip. Whether you’re here for a quick stopover or a longer getaway, Bottomless Lakes State Park Campground has plenty to offer for a memorable outdoor experience.

Located just 14 miles southeast of Roswell, Bottomless Lakes State Park is your place for bottomless fun! Enjoy non-motorized boating in your kayak or canoe, camp, fish, picnic, swim, hike, go birding or even scuba dive! The unique lakes at this park are sinkholes, ranging from 17 to 90 feet deep. The greenish-blue color created by aquatic plants is what gives the lakes the illusion of great depth.

Lea Lake Campground — Bottomless Lakes State Park

Looking for the best campgrounds near Dexter, NM? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Dexter camping trip.

Dexter

The Best Camping Near Dexter, New Mexico

This place has quite a few campsites to choose from. Where I stayed we had our own picnic table and steel awning with a concrete patio. The main recreation area is soo pretty. The beach is nice and there are plenty of picnic tables and awnings. The orange rock is just beautiful.

Very unique and beautiful! 

Very pretty. Not a lot of hiking. Decent campsites. Really hot in the afternoon in May, but still cool at night. The staff does a pretty good job at trying to keep up with visitors' messes but there's still trash in a lot of places... i.e. bathroom, Lea Lake, shower, campsites. Might be better for winter camping. The night sky has some light pollution but it's still very pretty. There's shelters at the sites but the sun can be brutal so bring an extra tarp and rope for shade. Lots of bunnies, hawks, other birds, lizards and some tiny fish were seen on our trip. 

Dexter and Roswell are close enough for resupply if need be. 

The lake in natural spring fed so it's very cold. Even a shocker in 100+ degree temps.  Totally worth it though. 

Bringing your own grill might be better especially with the wind and common drought environment. 

 Hot but beautiful!

Nice lake for swimming, they rent paddle boats, bathhouse, sun shelters, it’s hot here but lake was very refreshing, lots to explore in area

Loved it here!

Arriving late into the night it was unclear if we would have a spot. When we read the signage at the front we followed the directions and eventually found a space which wasn’t so clearly marked.

Because of the rain we set up underneath the awning of the picnic area hoping we would be ok. The next morning we were greeted by the camp host who told us someone had in fact purchased that site the night before but never arrived so though we had set up in the wrong space it was ok.

Sites were simply not clearly marked for late arriving guests.

Otherwise showers were hot, restrooms were clean and facilities looked nice had it not have been so rainy with recreational areas.

A bit hard to settle late at night

There are some really beautiful sights at this campground. Be prepared for a rocky and long drive in. You won’t have much signal and there might be an echo of voices from all the open space. The stars are great and the lakes are really neat. Lots of bats! 

Gorgeous

The state park boasts several lakes, a mountain bike trail, views, playgrounds in the day use area, and many campsites. There is a RV area at Lea Lake, which is half reserved and half first come. There are tent pads in that area also, showers and flushing toilets are there also. If you are tent camping you are missing out if you stay at lea lake, camp in the primitive areas around the smaller lakes. They are isolated, and have abundant wildlife. Vault toilets are nearby, nasty venomous spiders hide in the vaults but like all unpleasant creatures they dont like the light, so take a flashlight. If you come with pops you should consider footwear for them, the goat heads prevent them from going off road otherwise.

Secluded

Plenty of level sites, all within walking distance of the lake. Great wifi! Iffy AT&amp;T service.

Interesting geography 

This is by far one of my favorite places to camp. We got here late at night and the people were so nice, even willing to help set up our camp. The lake was absolutely beautiful the water was perfect we got to see a lot of wildlife and our campsite was really close to the water. The weather was perfect and we were only about 15 minutes outside of Roswell. Can't wait to do it again.

My favorite place

A fun lake to snorkle! Not many trees at the sites. Great wifi with a booster (at&amp;t and verizon). Pets allowed. A lot of places to walk. 

One of my Favorites!

Beautiful desert landscapes littered with deep lakes ranging from small to rather large.  Public swimming area in one of the lakes, and it has saltwater in it...  the water is ice cold and super refreshing, once you get acclimated to it, lol. There’s hiking trails, ports-johns, and RV hookups. Be ready for flies in the summer though.  At night, make sure you take the time to see how many stars are really up there, because the light pollution is very low at this sight.

Just go, nevermind the UFOs!

Fun place to spend the weekend, we tent camped at D4 and it was quite and peaceful, great bike trail leading to the big lake too! 

Great weekend getaway 

Super fun day trip with friends. You can rent paddle boards for cheap, and the water is surprisingly clear and blue. It’s a kind of oasis for people surrounded by dirt and cacti. Also have covered picnic tables to eat and outdoor shower heads to rinse of the salt water. 

Fun group trip!

Summer is hot out here bring sunscreen. Watch for snakes as well but overall safe.

Very clean. Nice dessert atmosphere. Lots of water and places to adventure.

It rained the whole 3 nights I was here in October, but that isn’t the campgrounds fault! It was beautiful and not terribly busy which I liked. I got the bejeezus scared out of me by what appeared to be maybe a bobcat walking back from the bathroom to my campsite—never saw it but it sounded like a crying baby?! Which, honestly, just made it all more awesome. 

Loved it

The sites are nicely spaced, close to the water, tables and shade. okay bathrooms and visitor center. It's a place that locals visit frequently. I went on a Saturday, both the campsites and lake were packed. There was litter EVERYWHERE. I usually bring a trash bag and pick up items along my hikes. Not something I could of done here. It's such a shame to see a beautiful park trashed. It made it really hard to enjoy the park. There was a hiking trail that went out the the other 'lakes'. Doesn't seem like anyone goes for the hikes, cause I didn't see anyone the whole time. The 'lakes' are just small murky ponds. Some have campsites next to them. Several folks have died jumping in the smaller lakes, so please refrain the urge! It's an okay place to stop if you are just passing thro and it's the only other thing available. I wouldn't recommend it as a weekend trip. 

Crowded and unkept

We decided to take our girls tent camping for the first time here. Had a nice spot (D4) and some shade. Was too hot to stay the whole night so we went home. Saw some cool animals and had a raccoon raid the garbage can. Definitely will camp again..during the week of winter in January or February...

Kind of boring but not busy

It was hot but not much humidity. Only flies were a nuisance, not many mosquitoes or anything. Campground hosts were a very friendly elderly couple. Price was $14 a night or $40 a week. Older, reasonably clean bathrooms with showers. Water and electric hookups. We could not use the charcoal grills on our visit due to a *no burn* advisory. Water was cool and amazing, great cliff side scenery, we even hiked. Clean beach to swim at as well.

Tuesday July 9th 2019

Camp ground is nice. Not much shade but the lakes are really cool to explore. Very nice facilities. 

So cool

Nice small lake,but has a Big Racoom troubles.  


Ok but 

We had Bottomless Lakes on our radar to stop for the night as we left Santa Fe to head to Carlsbad Caverns. Looked like a nice enough place, but no campfires were allowed due to a burn ban (didn't even look to be rings) so we opted to continue heading south to see what we could find. Turns out not a lot as we ended up at the Carlsbad KOA, but it was an hour closer to the park the following morning AND they allowed campfires!

Beautiful Area, but no campfires! 

Nice campground, well spaced spots, #19 was especially good, Pasture lake and Inky Wells both stocked with trout and we caught our dinner on 2 nights. Sign says no alcohol which is a negative in my book, glass of wine with dinner? Coming from Northern NM we’d come back during the winter months. 

Good winter camping

Traveling back from Texas, I had planned an overnight in this State Park. Due to weather, I ended up staying 3 additional days. And, so happy I did! It was a short and easy ride into Roswell to tour the alien paraphernalia.  And, I also took in Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge. The sand cranes were arriving and it was interesting to see them create line formations in the valleys. The bottomless lakes were mesmerizing and the sunsets beyond compare! Being winter, there were only a few in the campground. It made for a nice, relaxing experience.

Gorgeous place to get stopped by weather!

Great scenery here, and luckily New Mexico now allows camping again at its state parks, but... there are about a trillion sandburs on the grass here. We have 4 dogs and have spent an inordinate amount of time saving their paws from the burs. Love the looks, wouldn’t bring pets. 

Beautiful park, however...

About 300 feet from the Lea Lakes RV camp/hookups is a gravel/dirt road heading west into BLM land. There’s a small parking lot at the end where one can post up for the night with lake and sunset views. 

Good AT&amp;T service. Watch out for mosquitos. 

BLM land turnoff 

I wanted to stay longer than 3 days. Had the pleasure of experiencing the Super moon. Site 15 is a great spot. 

Beautiful Park

Bottomless lakes has the best sunset views. It’s only 20 min from Roswell. The sites have enough room between each other. There is a large swimming area as well. 

Great swimming area

I can't say enough about this park. Full hookups. Great views and the lake is fabulous. 

Views are amazing

Our expectations of this place were low for whatever reason but it turned out to be pretty awesome.  The lake at the Lea Lake CG is awesome for swimming or floating around in.  Can walk to it right from the campsite which is a bonus.   The bathroom has flush toilets and hot showers that don't cost to use (unlimited shower time after boondocking for 5 weeks was heaven!).  Small campground overall.  Tent sites are $10 (plus $4  reservation fee if booking online)/night.   Each site has it's own water access, covered picnic table, and grill (which in May there was a fire ban so use of it was prohibited).

Great swimming hole!

It is really beautiful out here. We love the views around our campsite. I would love to come back here. 

Quiet 

We stayed right next to Lea Lake and enjoyed swimming in the cold blue waters. There was no attendant to check in with so it was an "on your own feel". Also the biting flies were pretty bad. 

The camp was very spread out and easy to set up in. I would definitely stay here again. 

Beautiful Lake

We stayed here 3 nights.  Our campsite #28 was very level. Views of the Caverns. There was a picnic table with roof.  No trees for shade so it was pretty hot!    However, the beautiful lake was within walking distance. We enjoyed our time kayaking.  Short drive into the town of Roswell. Campground had a good mix of tents and RVs. Would stay again!

Campground with gorgeous lake!

Bottomless Lakes State Park is a clean, quiet, and breathtaking slice of heaven. Sites were level, separated by bushes/trees, with covered picnic tables. Bathhouses are conveniently located. Lake is cool and refreshing. Close to Roswell and your next UFO or alien encounter! Rangers are friendly and helpful. The Bluff Trail is a nice easy hike. Definitely would visit again. 

Beautiful lakeside CG, level spacious sites

We loved it had a great time, would definitely stay again. Park Ranger’s where friendly and helpful 

Beautiful place

We wanted to visit Roswell to say we have been there and found this campground! The host was awesome! We got there late and all of the spots were full, he allowed us to stay in the day area for the night as we were dry camping anyway! The lakes were amazing and beautiful! Nothing like we have seen yet! Full hook ups there and a shower house! 

One of the best!

Bottomless lakes is a nice place to camp. I stayed at one of the campsites away from the main lake. The campsite was the only one in the location and it was quiet. The people who work there are friendly and helpful. Lea Lake where swimming is allowed has a nice view and the area is kept clean.

Nice Lake Camping 

The mosquitoes are awful. Also, as I sit here leaving this review my neighbors have been running two cars in order to provide light on their campsite table. It’s 9:00pm and they’ve been running their two cars for almost an hour. I guess they must have forgotten their camping lanterns. Thankfully I camp out of the back of my truck. If I was in a tent this would be a miserable experience. 

Skeeters and noisy neighbors 

Pull thru site with water and electric. They have a separate dump area for RV.

Nice lake view 

It’s not $5. It’s $14, plus $4 reservation fee…so it’s $18. (can *only* be reserved/rented online, not in person at site, but can be done same day…I made reservation driving to the site from Roswell).

I took infamous site 24, closest to the lake and the bathrooms. Large pull-through site w plenty of space for a rig much larger than my Prius with a rooftop tent. I’m pretty sure anything you can drive here will fit here.

Bathrooms are a short walk across a small stream feeding off Lea Lake where rabbits and mosquitos roamed free. Men’s room was large but dark until you get about 12 feet inside and motion activate lights. Toilets were…not clean. There was TP. Early am, some crawly bugs (roaches?) came running toward me from different directions and I had to stomp them before they got to my feet/clothes. Gross. There were what looked like shower heads along one wall and floor drains, but I couldn’t tell how to operate them or if that’s what was going on.

Outside bathroom building are shower poles for cleaning off after swimming/beach (beach is also located next to bathrooms), which were operating in mid-September. Felt kind of warm, but prob because it was cold early morning air.

Did I mention mosquitos? They’ve got ‘em. A bunch made it into the tent. Ugh.

Overall? Fine place to stop for a refreshing night or two.

Pull through campsites (Lea Lake location) w concrete pad/power/water/cover/table/grill. NOT $5.

Great  spot. Beautiful sunsets.
Some skeeters. 

Beautiful sunsets not far from roswell.

Awesome natural landscape,  good hiking trails,  SO MANY STICKERS,  OUCH but a great place to stay

Beautiful lakes

What a nice surprise to find this delightful campground just outside of Roswell. The pull through spots are all the way at the end of the drive by Lea Lake. They are divided by some bushes which provide a decent amount of separation. We stayed in November so it was very quiet, exactly what we were seeking. Watch out for bugs though! We thought we would be spared the mosquitos that so many other reviews mention but alas they’re still around in Nov. If you have a reason to find yourself in Roswell, NM you can’t miss Bottomless Lakes!

Lovely Little Stay

We pulled in about 7 pm. It was dark due to shorter days. Easy directions via most nav maps. Three mi. Onto the Bottomless Lakes Rd we were excited to see the sign for the park visitor center, which was closed. It was difficult to tell where to haul my 27ft converted horse trailer now camper... we made a circle. Ended up back at the visitor center only to read a state park sign stating "you are here" I pulled up the reservation &amp; map realizing we hadn't gone far enough. Lea Lake RV campground is 7 mi from the turn onto Bottomless Lake Rd. The Visitor Center and day use it at mi. 3. The camp host Al was extremely nice, directed us to site 17 and the easiest route to get my rig backed in. We managed to the settle in just in time to see the full moon rise over the mountain. Sunrise was just as beautiful. Quite pleased is an understatement! Roswell proper is a short 20 min drive with a beautiful vista overlooking the camp area and lake. Great place to watch the sunset! 
Clean, warm restrooms with flush toilets. The showers are a bit of work. Press press press to keep it going but it was the perfect temp and definitely appreciated! Drought consciousness in action. 
Biggest disappointment was the nasty little burrs/ cackle buries/ prickly / spiky little devils I kept pulling out of my poor Vizsla's paws. If you can get your pooch to wear protective booties you're golden. My girl Pearl enjoyed ball as long as it was on the shaded, cement area with picnic table. Definitely a dog friendly campground. 
At 10 pm I heard Taps being played on a bugle. What a great sound to wind dow a wonder day! 
Don't know if we'll be able to swim this trip, however, I can see how fun it will be on a return trip in the summer! We'll be back! 

Bottomless Lakes, Endless Beauty

Bottomless Lake State Park is a gem of a campground.  Nestled 12 miles from RT 380, this campground has to be one of the quietest we've ever stayed at.  There are 7 lakes here for all to discover and enjoy.  The camp hosts are awesome, as well as the rangers who drive through a couple times a day.  Also the local sheriff drives through!  The RV sites are level with 50/30/15amp electric service, and with water and sewer at each site.  There is wifi here and we had good Verizon service too.  We'll return for a visit here next!

A Sweet Spot!

Bottomless Lakes State Park is the most relaxing place that I have stayed thus far. It is very spacious and the campsite loops are quiet and clean.

My site, #22, had electric and water hookups—which I use at my own convenience since I have a Jeep/Rooftop Tent Setup, and is close to the restrooms.

The site lists showers, but they are far from it. Instead, you push a button and water runs for a few seconds and then it shuts off. The sink water runs longer and you have  to press and hold the button for it to work, plus no soap is stocked for washing your hands. Restrooms are clean, and park rangers come in to clean them regularly. 

The lake is very close by, I carried lunch and my chair to it to sit and relax during the day.

The weather is nice and warm during the beginning of December (and gets cold at night). 

Overall, the park is nice and great for solo travelers (and families—there were a few there and I still had peace and quiet time to myself). 

Very Relaxing!

There's not much privacy anywhere at this campground, but the tent sites were so close to each other that we decided to pay to switch to a site with hook-ups that we didn't need. We really liked our new site and would definitely stay here again--just not at the tent sites. The bathrooms were clean and convenient, but the showers were luke warm and push button style with very little pressure. The whole campground seemed very well maintained. Our site had easy access to water and trash cans. The park is nice and it was fun exploring all of the lakes.

Lea Lake Campground

It is a very nice campground. Plenty of room between campsites. Very beautiful surroundings. 

Bottomless lakes

Arrived about 4pm and the place is really nice.  Long pull through spaces and easy to get into.  Road coming in is a bit narrow but very little traffic so not a problem.  Has water, electric and a dump station. Each site has a covered picnic table. Friendly and helpful camp host.  Beautiful sunset. Only an overnight so didn't check out the showers or public bathrooms.  

Really Quiet

The campground was very quiet, and although being pretty full it was peaceful.  The showers were very warm and the water pressure was great.  

Quiet, great amenities 

We have stayed here in November as well as summer.  November was the best, ducks and geese flocks fill the skies in late afternoon.   Summer, so hot and most sites only have 30a, only 5 sites have sewer but we carry a rhino tank so if no sewer, we still do not have to move to dump.  The lake is nice, really crowded in summer.  Most of the rangers are really nice.  We have watched a power player but only one time, rude.  
We use this place while traveling west to East and 12 miles from Roswell,  fun place.  The host are always great, very nice and helpful. 

Great stop but watch....

I bought a year pass during covid for New Mexico State park in 2019. I only used it 2 times and parks shut down. Now due to fires many parks have had to close.  I do not recommend buying a year pass . I received no notification of any compensation for not being able to use the parks.

Problems with year pass

Easy to find and get to. The park is quiet, and has a few nice trails.

Cool area

Fine site, but the flies were outrageous. More on that later. Cheap at only $14 per night and a $4 booking fee.

Site had WiFi which worked well enough so that was awesome!  Cell service for ATT&amp; Verizon worked fine. 

Not all sites had water hookup— make sure to check when booking. 

There is lake access for swimming and paddle boating, and other activities where you’d need to bring your own gear.

Bathhouses we’re fine. No soap while I visited—and push button showers without warm water. But, showers and toilets worked well enough!

Site was not level, but with the help of levelers we got there. 

Covered picnic table at sites. Enough space to not feel squished. Not particularly scenic, but not a crummy gravel lot on the side of the road either. 

I saw this in other reviews but did not really understand the extent of flies and horseflies at this site. If I stood outside for more than 1 minute I was bitten multiple times by horseflies. Opened the door the get in and out do the trailer and literally had seven flies inside within the seconds it took to get inside.

Solidly okay 

Beautiful location! A bit of a drive off the main road, but well worth it. A bit buggy when we visited (July) but there are hiking trails and beautiful views and Lea Lake is open for swimming. Our site had trash in it from the previous campers. We went ahead and cleaned up after them. We only stayed for a night, but it was quiet and beautiful. 

Beautiful 

We stayed in the D section. I have included a video. Very quiet, no one else was back here. Beautiful sunsets and night sky.

D Area is great for views of the sunset

No complaints here.  The roads and gravel sites were level.  Some of the sites were out of commission due to maintenance as was the campground bathhouse.  Facilities in the adjoining day use area were up and working.  Well spaced sites, would stay here again.

Another quality campground !

It’s twisty roads getting to the park and no where is made for anyone with a trailer. Tight spaces, gravel, covered picnic tables. Water and power, surprised booking fee. Makes it not on the cheap side anymore. Haven’t found the dump station, but it’s got to be close, 

8 dollar book fee

Very  nice little state park. We used it as a stop over. Lots of scenery, quite the change from most of Eastern NM. Would be a nice place to spend a weekend in the summer when it's warm enough to use the lake. 

Nice state park

We are full-timers in a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow. We were in site 5 for 4 nights in late March. The campground is nice, well maintained and quiet CG. It was quite windy the day we arrived with wind speeds of 25 mph and gust up to 45 mph, which kicked up a little dust from time to time, but the weather was beautiful otherwise. Lea Lake is deep blue and crystal clear.

  

AT&amp;T coverage was excellent, with 1-3 Bars of 5G service and speeds up to 12 MB/s. We had an unobstructed view of the sky and so we were able to receive all 3 SW Dish satellites and Starlink had up to 20 MB/s. We didn’t try to load any OTA channels.

Nicely spaced campsites, well maintained CG and near the lake

Fine campground. Geared mostly for RVs. Not very big so books up quickly. Reservations online. $14 + tax and fees = $18ish for the night. Nice lake area. Outdoor beach showers.

Small but nice

The red rocks and contrasting blue lake make it a beautiful place to camp. The sites are roomy enough that even when full it doesn’t feel crowded.

Lovely location and people

$14+$4 ReserveAmerica Fee  This is a local park for us. We were in Site 19 which is a Handicap site with a concrete pad (RA did not specify that this was a handicap site). Other sites are packed gravel. Site was a "short" site and close to the bathhouse which we did not use. Sites are 50/30/20 with a water hookup. Only a few sites have sewer. Dump station is at the entrance of the campground. The deer flies were not a problem during our visit (they are worse around the salt cedar trees). We were only bit twice and we did not use insect repellant. Since we could not check in until after 4PM, we parked over in the picnic area by the lake. We knew this and had planned it. Dogs are not allowed on the "sand beach" but there are plenty of access points around the campground&amp; picnic area edges of the lake that pets can use. Goat's Head stickers are a problem here, as they are in most of the desert. Our dog wears "shoes" to protect her feet from the stickers and from hot pavement. Wifi was available in the park but we could not connect. We stayed in a Truck Camper 7/4 - 7/5/2023.

All sites are reserve only (7/2023).

Hasn't changed much in the 7 years between visits. Very little shade but neat to see the lakes. Water is clear and I bet feels really great in the summer heat. Still pretty full considering the time of year. Local sites are just down the road at the Bitter Lake Rec area. There is also a 3 mile bike ride.

Very nice state park

Room between sites. Most sites are gravel with shaded picnic tables. Peaceful nights.

Reservations are needed and can be made online through the NM State Park website. The drive into the camp area was a little bumpy. Watch the curves! At the time we arrived the water was a beautiful aqua color with a clear sunny sky. The rest of our time there was overcast which gave us a nice break from the heat. The beach area was not crowded at all during our time here. Bring your kayak/canoe/SUP. They rent pedal boats. The mosquitos were out around dusk, so be sure to have bug spray! We would definitely stay again. 

Thoroughly enjoyed! 

Reservations only, but we were able to reserve online while surveying campground to see what was open: https://newmexicostateparks.reserveamerica.com/ (on way north so stopped for a night, getting there late afternoon).  

Pretty basic. Most sites have no shade except for over picnic table. Lots of flying things: flies, mosquitos. Many stickers (so walk dog carefully). 

\---&gt;At 02:30 in morning a drone very noisily buzzed us and sounded like it circled us for what seemed like 5 min. Not sure what that was about.... Racoon walked up to door screen and pawed at it while we were making dinner.

Unless boating, a place to stay on way to elsewhere

Three womens showers, 1 locked, 1 a trickle and 1 barely a trickle.

Mens showers: 3       Water was not warm.

  

The park is nice...bathrooms need work and cleaning.  There is a host getting a free site.

Nice walking trail. some nice long sites. Other than showers park is nice.

Nasty bathrooms, especially showers (nonfunctional womens)

Campground is very close to the lake. Sites are pretty close to each other more like an RV park but well equiped with shaded picnic tables. Clean and good facilites and funny host. During our stay there were many dogs around and unfortunately not every owner picks up the dog business. The lake and the beach are a true highlight. 

Photos of Lea Lake Campground — Bottomless Lakes State Park

Real photos from real campers