Are you considering Elephant Butte Lake State Park, but wondering if the hikes in the park are worth your time? This is the tenth post in our series about visiting state and national parks in New Mexico and our second about Elephant Butte Lake State Park.
The major trail in the park is the Lakeshore Trail. This 10.5 mile trail is somewhat misnamed. Because the lake has retreated, the trail is nowhere near the lake. You cannot even see it in most places. Also, this trail is out in the open with very little shade. What we chose to drive to the different viewpoints and just walk small sections of it.
The beginning of the trail began near our campground. We walked maybe 1/3 of a mile, but then turned back because the scenery was the same as far as we could see.
Three Sisters
You turn off the main road, and then you will have to pass through a small residential area, where they warn you about javelinas and nude sunbathers! (We saw neither.) Supposedly, they have primitive camping available in the area.
Club Cove
We did not drive very far down the road to Club Cove because the sand was very, very loose and we were afraid we were going to get stuck. They do offer seasonal primitive camping at the end of the road.
Highlands
Next was North and South Highlands area. We drove down to the South Highlands section. You could see the marked part of the Lakeshore Trail off of the side of the road.
Lost Canyon Cove
Another place you can do some primitive camping if you wish is in Lost Canyon.
Rock Canyon Marina
As you can see, this marina is no longer open as the water has receded too much.
Other
We did not take every little side trail. Here is a map so you can see all of the options. Again, the trail is out in the open. Other reviews I read said the trail was hard to follow in sections. I would not recommend walking this particular trail.
Choosing Our Own Trail
We had fun just exploring the area around the South Monticello Campground. We could see some kind of ruins in the distance and set off on our adventure.
We had to climb in and out of several arroyos. As we climbed out of the first one, we had some nice views of the the mountains and our camper in the distance. We also found evidence that people enjoyed campfires and perhaps camping out here at some point.
After crossing one more arroyo, we made it to what turned out to be some kind of abandoned house. We also had some nice views of the river.
We decided to go a different way and were able to head back to the camp without going in and out of the arroyos. We loved this fun adventure.
Next week, we will explore some fun day trips you can take from this state park.