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  • Bottomless Lakes SP, NM

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    Bottomless Lakes State Park is located east of Roswell a few miles south of US-380. New Mexico's first state park, Bottomless Lakes was developed in the 1930's. The Bottomless Lakes are a chain of eight sinkhole lakes along the foot of a bluff. The largest of them is Lea Lake, where the developed campground is located.

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    An overall view of the camping area can be had from the top of the bluff across Lea Lake. This is also a very popular day-use area in the summer, with its large swimming area, beachhouse and picnic cabanas.

    Date of Visit: Oct 2013

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    Lots of empty sites when we arrived in late October. We selected site 12.

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    Sites 10-8 on the left, 31-28 on the right.

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    Site 31 in the foreground, 13 beyond.

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    Sites 28-29.

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    Sites 21-23.

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    Sites D-11 - D-13 are sites for tenting - no hookups, but water is nearby.

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    There are nine pull-through sites; these are 25-27.

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    Sites 4-6 are among the 6 FHU sites.

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    On the west side of Lea Lake is a large day-use picnic area, where tent camping is also allowed. There are 25 sites with roofs over the picnic tables.

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    The bathhouse is clean and modern with free hot push-button showers. Our only complaint was the lack of a bench or hooks inside the stalls.

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    There is a large open pavilion with a fireplace in the center of the campground.

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    The beachhouse was built by the CCC in the 1930's. The shaded wings on each side are filled with picnic tables. At the left is a dock where paddleboats can be rented during the summer.

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    There are lots of interesting things to explore at Bottomless Lakes. Across the road from the campground is a restored marsh; water flows from spring-fed Lea Lake into the marsh, making it a great place for birds.

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    The Bluff Trail is a one-mile path from Lea Lake northward along the foot of the bluff.

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    Along the way one finds some of the smaller sinkhole lakes - this is Lost Lake. And no, none of them are really bottomless - their depths range from 17 to 90 feet.

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    The flies are really a nuisance here! This shows just a few of them on our screen door. Somehow quite a few managed to find their way into the RV; Liz was busy with the fly-swatter.

    Amenities

    55 sites: 27 RV sites - 6 FHU $18, 21 W/E - $14, 28 tent sites - $10

    Dump station

    Showers

    Good VZW coverage, Good Wi-Fi in campground

    Latitude 33.316521, Longitude -104.330631