Best Tent Camping near Dexter, NM

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!

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.

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...

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.

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).

Brantley Lake State Park Campground offered a pleasant camping experience. The spacious sites, complete with picnic tables and shade shelters, provided a comfortable base for our explorations. We appreciated the clean and well-maintained facilities, especially the hot showers after a long day of hiking. Our dog enjoyed the pet-friendly environment, and the proximity to the lake was a huge plus, offering a refreshing escape from the New Mexico heat. The sunsets were indeed breathtaking, and we made sure to catch them every evening. While the wind did pick up at times, it wasn't a major deterrent. The campground's location made it easy to access Carlsbad Caverns and other nearby attractions, making it a convenient choice for exploring southeastern New Mexico.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Overall a good campsite, some minor drawbacks. Site is close to highway, so lots of road noise throughout the day and night. Contained tent hexagon shelter structure was nice, allowed for contained and divided campsites. Marginal shade and pretty dusty.

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.

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.

There’s a store in the office with RV supplies, snacks, drinks, toiletries, and other necessities. A restaurant is located in the office that will deliver to the sites. Someone escorted us to our spot when we arrived. They were mostly pull through slots with full hookup. It was a huge space with a lot of amenities: a community room, dog park, playground, etc. There are also cabins for rent and tent spaces. We paid about $53 per night.

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).