Best Equestrian Camping near Roswell, NM

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 & 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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I spent 2 nights here and while the sunsets are something to write home about, I clearly stayed in a place where locals use it as target practice. Shelf casings and garbage abound. I don't carry big trash bags with me but I picked up what I could. I would not discourage people from staying here. If I ever come back to the area, I will probably stay here again....I will just bring a bunch of trash bags with me.

We stayed for 5 nights--there's a spot immediately to the left off of Alamo road. We pulled in during a freak snow 😳, so went exploring in the truck the next day. That immediate spot was easy to pull into with plenty of space --didn't unhook the road. But --Alamo Road is pretty busy, so we then moved to a spot off the main road --we turned down the 2nd road to the left (toward a natural gas pump?) and enjoyed a huge spot there. The roads weren't suitable for our RV after that (bumpy) and with small ditches on each side to get through to get to sites, we couldn't make those but other campers did & were out camping. The roads need graded but...BLM land and gov cuts. 🤷🏻‍♀️ As another reviewer said, it's sad that in some places there's a ton of garbage--too much for one person to pick up. It seems that people use it for a city dump out where they target shoot. Our campsite had some trash but wasn't terrible, and we left no trace & cleaned up what had been left there. Plenty of places to drive our utv to explore a bit even though the Polaris app shows no trails in the 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& 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

$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& 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.

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.

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