santa rosa lake state park

Unbelievably beautiful place with wonderful facilities. Heated restrooms and showers. Everything sparkly clean. Kelly, the camp host was super welcoming, friendly and helpful. We scored a completely private spot with perfect weather to enjoy the silence and stars under the crystal clear sky. Thank you, New Mexico!

I really enjoyed a recent visit to Santa Rosa Lake, including the areas managed by the Santa Rosa Lake State Park. The visitor center staff at the Army Corp of Engineers office was very helpful and friendly, with tips on hiking the park and even local restaurants. Then picked up an annual State Park pass from the state office.The Army Corp has a nice two-story lookout for viewing the lake, and a good view of the dam can be found at their visitor center parking lot. Whether it was luck, timing, or by the lake's design there was no motorboat noise and the lake was perfectly peaceful. The scenery around the lake is lovely open desert grassland, as opposed to the blight (trailer parks and boat storage sheds) of the other lakes in the region. And unlike the other lakes, this one is close to a decent town with good restaurants and other activities.Wish we could have had time to explore the lakeshore more and use some of the other hiking trails. Instead we were limited by time and chose the Los Tanos Trail for some exposure to the native scrub land and scenery. I was hesitant at first because the Los Tanos Trail is marketed towards equestrian use, but there was no need to worry; we didn't encounter any manure or even hoof prints. There were no other vehicles even at the Los Tanos area. We hiked a graded road to the right, which followed a fenceline to the Reilly Ranch site, our destination. The ruins were photogenic and historically interesting.One thing the park should work on, the Army Corp and State Park together, the maps. The Army Corp has a nice printed folding map that shows most of the facilities very clearly. However, it doesn't show the Reilly Ranch, nor the trail we were on. The state park map is a one-page printout that shows all of the hiking trails quite well, except the Los Tanos trail goes off the map. Even Google Maps doesn't show the Los Tanos area as being part of the park. The only map found that shows, accurately as far as I could tell, the Los Tanos area is Saddle Up New Mexico, a guidebook to horse riding trails.

The campground was really nice. the only thing we did not like was the area had lots of stickers everywhere. we had a hard time finding a spot for our dog to potty. the view is great.

I'm giving this place 5 stars, only because there is so little to do in Santa Rosa and this offers many different activities for all ages. The spot has a playground, making it ideal for families on the road who want to let their kids run and burn off some energy after long car rides. They have charcoal grilling stations and picnic stations also great for families who want to have a little cookout. The grocery store called T&D Food stores located just further down the road sells charcoal, hamburgers, and hot dogs, so a cookout is totally possible if you don't have an RV or your own food. The lake part is really great if you are looking to cool off. I thought the lake was very clean, and they have at least 4 life guards on duty. There is a diving board, and even paddle boats available, complete with life preservers. There are few lounge chairs, but many of them have not been used. I found this to be the perfect spot to sunbath in, especially if you are staying in a hotel that only has an indoor pool in Santa Rosa. Plenty of parking, and lots of places to walk. There are also shaded/covered areas for larger groups if you wanted to gather - many were having small birthday parties out there. They have bathroom/changing facilities as well.

My husband and I made a short visit to the park to walk a trail or two and do some birding. The park doesn't seem to be set up for hiking or birdwatching, but focuses mostly on camping. The park office was closed and no bird species list or similar information was available. We found one trail by accident, when we saw hikers emerge from the trailhead; the marking sign was almost invisible. The trail itself, through a mostly wooded area, is lovely, but we didn't manage any significant sightings that day. This seems like a great area for camping, but if you're planning a nature walk, I'd suggest looking up a map of the park in advance.

We tent camped overnight. Campground and bathrooms were clean, good water and flush toilets. Be advised this is a local fishing hole and would not be a destination for most other visitors. However, the tent camping is a deal for only $10.

Our site at the Santa Rosa State Park is large with paved pad. Electric only at the site, but a convenient dump station is just down the road. Views are nice. Pleasant, quiet, and enjoyable. Lots of walking trails.

I had no problem maneuvering my 26' travel trailer into a back-in spot. Water and electricity were available, and the campground was really pretty. A huge storm system nearly filled the reservoir in 70 hours last fall (Sept. 2013) and the waters are still a silty red color from that. The trails are lovely, the stars incredible, and the bathrooms clean. The showers on the women's side were always warm, but on the men's side, they remained cold. The Ranger at the visitor center was very helpful, and also explained the shower situation. The hot water hits the women's showers first, but has to travel through 42' of pipe before making it to the men's showers. So, a lot of men need to take a lot of cold showers before the hot water stays hot for them!

Very pretty desert landscape all around the lake. Good facilities. When we were there on a cool Saturday in early October, there were only two other cars and two cyclists in the whole place.

The lake is park is right across the road from the Super 8. There is a nice little playground for smaller children, and a nice dock for use.

Auf dem Weg von Amarillo nach Santa Fe haben wir in Santa Rosa am Lake State Park Halt gemacht. Es war zwar etwas bewölkt und windig, aber wir haben trotzdem am Ufer gepicknickt. Es gibt dafür mehrere Plätze am See. Lustig ist das Schild "Road Ends in Water". Das ist typisch USA.