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Camper submitted image from Lower Ridge Road — Elephant Butte Lake State Park - 3

Water

Camper submitted image from Lower Ridge Road — Elephant Butte Lake State Park - 4

Roads

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Facilities

Established Camping

Lower Ridge Road — Elephant Butte Lake State Park

29 Reviews

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About

This state park has 173 developed campsites, beach camping and boat-in camping. If you like camping, fishing, boating, or just being outdoors, Elephant Butte is for you. There is plenty of water and plenty of beach room and this is New Mexico's largest State Park. Besides sandy beaches, the State Park offers restrooms, picnic areas, playgrounds, and developed sites with electric and water hook-ups for RV's. Park Elevation 4,527 ft

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Location

Lower Ridge Road — Elephant Butte Lake State Park is located in New Mexico

Directions

From I-25 South or North take exit 83, turn onto NM State Rd 195 South. North bound traffic goes 4.2 miles and turns left off 195 to the Visitor Center. South bound traffic goes 4.6 miles and turns left off of 195 to the Visitor Center. After the Visitor Center go right to the end of the boat parking lot.

Coordinates

33.18831482 N
107.20278982 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Good
Verizon
Fair
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Good

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Yurts

Features

For Campers

Market
ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Phone Service
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Sewer Hookups
Water Hookups
Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Lee D.

Legend

Reviewed Nov. 1, 2023

HUGE state park with many camping options

General: There are many different camping options at this state park from dispersed (especially on the beach) to those with electric/water hookups. We stayed in the Lions Beach campground with the w/e hookups.

Site Quality: Lions Beach is laid out much like an RV park with little to no separation between sites. Each site has a fire ring, and covered picnic table in addition to the hookups. The driveway was paved and level.

Bath/Shower: Only vault toilets close to the Lions Beach campground. They are ADA accessible complete with a ramp but although clean, there was no hand sanitizer in any of them. The only restrooms with running water, flush toilets, and showers are located about a mile from Lions Beach and IMO, not adequate for the crowds this park attracts, especially on the weekends. The showers looked sketchy, and I decided not to use them.

Activities: If you like to fish or have a boat, this is the place for you! There is a marina. Some hiking trails. We enjoyed Riverbed Hot Springs a few miles down the road in Truth or Consequences. We don’t have a boat or fish so although we stayed for two nights, we chose this campground because it was on our route.

Because dispersed camping on the beach is allowed, it is very popular, especially on the weekends but be warned the sand is soft and deep – I’m not sure how vehicles without 4-wheel drive can navigate it without getting stuck. We were told there were wall-to-wall RVs on the beach on the weekend before our arrival (third weekend in April) so thankfully we were not there on a weekend! If we were to return, we would select the sites overlooking the lake on Ridge Road with no hookups but generally, not our preferred camping vibe but for others, it might be different.

Site92

Month of VisitMay

(20) View All

Rick P.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 17, 2023

Good State Park campground

Site is typical for state campground, well maintained, clean with water, electricity, RV dump, and showers (had hot water!). Sites are fairly level on asphalt pads. Childrens' playground on site. The lake is very low during my visit but still had some boating going on. Nice trails adjacent to campgrounds. Great reception for Mint. Internet is available for $8/day. Fair connection, I was able to watch movies and football without too much buffering.

I stayed at the Desert Cove campground. It was quiet and well maintained. Stayed a couple of nights on long trip to rest up. I would stay here a again.

Note: Seems every park is going the way of private booking for reservations and NM is no different. Had to book on line or phone. Used both methods and was fairly easy.

SiteDesert Cove 15A

Month of VisitNovember

(4) View All

Eric L.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 18, 2023

A place to stop and take a load off.

Very friendly crew running this massive place. Very clean and well maintained roads. A little fishing, boating, hiking and dog freindly. We had a great time.

Sitesite 79

Month of VisitFebruary

Brittany M.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 19, 2022

Amazing Views

Boondockers Galore! Plenty of spots with hook ups or right on the beach. I stayed at a spot with water and electric and had everything we needed. There is only one shower house in the off season and it's not the best in terms of temperature or pressure, but it's a trade off for the views imo.

Site2

Month of VisitDecember

Jillian B.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 23, 2022

Desert cove loop

Only $18 for the night, able to reserve online same day. There’s tons of sites here. The desert cove loop has a bathroom with showers. Each site has a cement pad with fire pit and picnic table. Our site has electric and water. You have neighbors on each side but there’s a good amount of trees and space to walk around in behind the site.

Site7

Month of VisitNovember

Leslie M.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 15, 2022

Nice scenery

Beautiful scenery and nice sites. Had a power outage for a bit, no running water or lights in restroom was a pain at the time. Obviously camping there are critters, but when my daughter saw a large black widow on our tent she had a little freak out. Just check your picnic table and keep an eye out.

Month of VisitAugust

Thomas E. T.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 18, 2022

Great Beach Camping with your vehicle.

Large campground with marina and most all the water sports. The grounds are clean and temps were good with the breeze helping.

SiteRock Canyon

Month of VisitJune

(4) View All

Dave G.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 12, 2021

Lower Ridge Road Sites

When we first arrived, we were surprised by the size of this park. The signage could be improved to help direct first timers, but once here you'll soon learn the layout of the park. We stayed on Lower Ridge Road, site 2. It was a nice sandy spot, with ample room to park our 34' travel trailer. All sites have a picnic table, shelter, and fire pit. Our site also had electric and water. The public restroom was conveniently located nearby. Full signal for Verizon. It's on our list to return!

Be sure to visit Truth or Consequences, NM while here.

SiteSite 2 Lower Ridge Road

Month of VisitJanuary

(7) View All

wanda R.

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 4, 2021

Clean and beautiful

This is a fantastic campground. It’s desert cove in the elephant butte campground. There are other campgrounds but this is the one I chose. It’s a short walk to the lake and there is a teal nice trail to walk my dogs. Sites are water and electric. $14.00 per day.

Site16

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All

Don D.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 25, 2021

Very clean

Lions Beach Campgroud was very clean. The view from our spot was very nice and the site had water and electricity. Only a couple of minutes to the lake. October is a great month for this lake. The weather is great however the lake is pretty low. The sunsets were beautiful!

SiteA60 in Lions Beach

Month of VisitNovember

RnP D.

Guide

Reviewed May. 22, 2021

Camp ground is nice peaceful. They really take care of the areas

WWe mad reservations online. Came out here in March 2021. Very beautiful the lake is so big you cant fish it all in one day. Kayaks are allowed. But around the lake is very sandy you will get stuck or bring towing cables. They have rv sites for over might sleepers. They had showers there but theure not open just yet. They keep their areas there clean. Its beautiful. Fun. And a great place to bring family. Walmart is like 8 minites away. Its a small town. Very chill and people are friendly

Month of VisitApril

(7) View All

Joseph W.

Ranger

Reviewed Feb. 20, 2020

1st time stay. 💖

This was my first time stay here. I found staff very friendly and helpful. Location was very clean and very easy to back into. I used my NM state park pass on this stay and for only $4 a night includes 30Amp and water. I have about 20 channels available, wifi works well and no problems with my Verizon service. I would most definitely stay here again.

(6) View All

Lora H.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 20, 2019

Love NM state parks

We stayed here twice. Once in April, Loop C lot 88 and once in May, Lower ridge Lot 2. April was more pleasant due to the cooler weather. Lake has been low for a while, but it's still very pretty. It's hard to give NM State parks a bad review. They have some of the best and they're only $14 for water, electric, pavilion, firepit & wifi. Lot 88 we got better wifi and lot 2 was more secluded. We were there during a fire ban, which I think they have most of the time, but fires were not allowed. You could have a propane portable fire pit, but you have to be within 30 feet of water, which was not a problem with the RV sites. Bathrooms were clean. However the dump station and bathroom near lot 88 was closed. Dump station in Quail Run was open for use but that bathroom was a hike. This SP will always be our go to, when driving through NM.

Site88 & 2

Month of VisitMay

(9) View All

Jonathan M.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 16, 2019

Great Campsites, far from Lake

The campsites and facilities were excellent. Wildlife: Qual, Dove, Lizards, Rabbits, Deer and more. The lake front was crowded with campers and people. Water was clear and cool with lots of carp. Didn’t get to do much other fishing.

Matthew K.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 14, 2019

Clean dessert

We just picked a random spot next to the lake to camp and fish was a great time. Watch for snakes

Month of VisitMay

Mike M.

Guide

Reviewed May. 24, 2019

Convenient spot when driving sales in New Mexico. Nice campground. The wate

Convenient spot when driving south in New Mexico. Nice campground. The water level on the lake was pretty low. There is some good hiking nearby and also a bike trail that goes around the lake which is quite long. We were there early in the season so there was a lot of accessibility for campsites.

Month of VisitFebruary

Thomas B.

Legend

Reviewed May. 5, 2019

So great!

Exactly what we needed!

Great spots to camp right on the lake, beautiful scenery and water.

Only issue was the amount of trash everywhere. In the water and all around the shore. Pretty disgusting that people can do that to the nature they are pretending to enjoy.

Marina was open for an ice refill, but did not have any firewood in stock. Seemed to be just opening for the season. Friendly, nice folks, lots of lake to get away for yourself too.

(5) View All

Dave S.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 28, 2019

Great Location

A little confusion at the park enterance sent us to the incorrect loop, discovered shortly after we were in place. But camp host made a few calls and as it worked out we were able to remain in location. The helpfulness of each person along the way made this an excellent spot. We used this as a base to explore south central New Mexico.

Month of VisitJune

HOLLY

Guide

Reviewed Feb. 22, 2019

Beautiful site, inexpensive

Pets are allowed, everyone is friendly. I work on the road, so internet is important to me. Great Verizon and AT&T coverage. I love walking on the beach here. One loop is getting a new bathroom, so doesn't have one right now

Ken M.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 1, 2019

Low water levels

Great visit, excellent sites.

(5) View All

Rick B.

Scout

Reviewed Nov. 10, 2018

Excellent close to home campground

The lake is way down but the entire park is well maintained. Campsites are level and clean. Shower house at Lions loop is closed as is the dump station but the rr and dump at the cove area is very close

Site54

Month of VisitDecember

Desire B.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 8, 2018

Great childhood memories

Sandy beaches in most places we camped, great for privacy and space away from others. Inner-tubbeing and boat space. Nice marina and has some amazing festivals through out the year. Can be great for primitive camping and or other. Bathrooms/showers decent but can be a drive depending on camp site. Local stores and grocery close drive as well

SitePrimitive

Month of VisitJuly

Jessica C.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 4, 2018

Great Views, affordable, but beware the showers.

We camped in Loop B, which is supposed to have the best view of Elephant Butte Lake. It totally does, the views are excellent. Very affordable RV camping at under $20 a night, which is a steal with both water and electric hookups. But, the bathrooms - they are not great. The one closest to our site was closed (maybe temporarily, but nobody could give us an answer on that), and it's a 15 minute walk to the next one. The showers are the push button type where you only get 60 seconds of water at a time, which is ok, but the facilities are very run down and clearly not cleaned too often. Overall, great location and views, but bring a shower bag.

SiteLoop B

Month of VisitMay

Brittany N.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 16, 2018

Too busy

Pretty lake but too busy. Went on a what we thought was a slow weekend and campers/tents were side by side at the shore line all the way around the lake. It's also surrounded by soft sand which a poop ton of people get stuck in if you don't have the right vehicle.

SiteClose to the shore on the hard dirt 😂

Month of VisitJuly

Jayne W.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 13, 2018

Very nice!

Nice campground,really big we camped up high above lake it was really nice, sites very nice, water is cold, lots to do in the area

Month of VisitJuly

Jennifer A.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 26, 2017

Elephant butte

We like to come here during the week when is not as crowded. Try coming on a holiday weekend and Its no fun, way too many people. Be careful driving down to the shore to camp is very sandy and you can easily get stuck.

Tyler M.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2016

Good campground for the area, but I prefer others

Nice area, and probably one of the best areas in central New Mexico. I however prefer the areas more to the north of the state. This campground is clean, cheap and right on the lake. The amount of people varies. Good place to chill or swim. There is a place to launch boats as well, but the lake itself isn't all that big. I've seen people dish there before, but never seen anyone catch anything. Isn't too much to do around the area, and basically would just make a nice weekend trip if you were in that area.

Christy L.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2016

Ekephant butte lake, NM

Elephant butte is great for a short getaway. You can rent kayaks, jets skiis & more while you're there. I bring my own kayak and go at least 2X a year. My favorite part is grabbing a floaty and float down to caballo lake a smaller lake that connects by river.

Lupe Y.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 12, 2016

Lakeside camping

Awesome experience first time camping at the Butte