2025 11 04 - State Park, Elephant Butte Lake, Elephant Butte NM

Groomed path

NOTE: THIS IS BEING WRITTEN UP FOUR MONTHS LATER.

We had spent the night in Truth or Consequences. My wife found this free park a few miles away. Paved parking lot, the trail along the river is a real trail. Not paved, but six foot wide with surface rock on it. Once we decided to turn around, there the trail was actually the old paved driveway.

This area used to be a fish hatchery. There are still some buildings, good repair, and some fish ponds, being used by wildlife.

This area is below a dam on a river bottom so it is very flat, likely not three feet difference on our whole walk today.

Just because, we decided to drive up stream to see the dam itself. Not sure what it was the day we were there, but today it is at 10% of capacity. Having a dam in a desert is challenging.

The dam was built back in the 1910's and once it filled it was the largest man made lake in the world. Now there is a lot more demand for the water and it is rarely full. The highest water level was in the 1980's.

We didn't see a place to get out and walk, so we didn't walk again here. There were car trails down to the water and peoples travel trailers, but they were all below the high water mark and are not maintained roads so we didn't drive on those.