We often use Trinidad Lake State Park as a jumping-off point to begin or a last stop on our journies to and from Texas to Colorado.
Campgrounds
The state park has two campgrounds. We have never camped at the South Shore campground. This campground has ten sites with no electricity. They also have a group campground for up to 60 people.
We have chosen to camp several times at one of the sixty-three sites in Carpios Ridge. All of the sites have electricity. Most of the sites are electricity only, with only seven sites (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 62, and 63) with full hookups. Water faucets to fill up your trailer are scattered around the campground.
The sites close to the overlook are beautiful; however, if I had small children, I would not have been comfortable with those sites. There are no rails or barriers to keep children from just falling off the cliff. Make sure you look at the map to see the sites. We love site 52, which is one of the sites on the overlook.
Here is a nice pdf from the state park listing qualities of each of the sites in Carpios Ridge. Again, the ones they mark as nice sites back up to the overlook, so keep that in mind if you have small children.
Facilities
There is a nice visitor center, with a small display area, bathrooms, items for sale, and of course, the best part: friendly, knowledgable Rangers!
They also have a huge bathroom with showers and a laundry that is open from mid-March to mid-October.
A dump station is located inside the campground. They also provide a nice ampitheater for ranger programs and playground nearby for children to play.
Activities
Archery
There is an excellent archery range in Carpios Cove. The range is open from sunrise to sunset year-round, equipped with bathrooms, a shooter shelter, and picnic tables. You can find out more information here.
Boating
Boating is very popular here as well. Make sure you check out the requirements as well as the conditions of the lake before you go.
Hiking
You have over ten miles of trails to choose from, two of which are ADA-compliant. I will be sharing information about Long’s Canyon Trail, Levsa Canyon Self-Guided Trail, Park Trail, and Sunset Trail, as well as information about nearby Fischer State Park in future posts. For now, you can get an overview of the trails here.
Final Thoughts
Just 3 1/2 hours from Amarillo and only 30 minutes from Raton, Trinidad Lake State Park is a convenient place for us to begin or end our trip from Texas.
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