Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell

Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico, located along the Pecos River, about 15mi southeast of Roswell. Established in 1933, it was the first state park in New Mexico. It takes its name from nine small, deep lakes located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River valley. The escarpment is an ancient limestone reef, similar to the limestone mountains around Carlsbad Caverns, 80mi to the south. Caves formed within the limestone, and as the Pecos River eroded the escarpment, the caves eventually collapsed, leaving behind several deep, almost circular lakes known as cenotes.
Most of the nine lakes are almost completely surrounded by cliffs, with the notable exceptions being Lea Lake and Lazy Lagoon. Lea Lake has a large, sandy shoreline on the western side and tall cliffs on the eastern side. The cliffs around Lazy Lagoon have been completely eroded away by the Pecos River, and the lake sits in a former channel of the river.
Lazy Lagoon is the largest of the lakes, with a surface area of approximately 26.1acre. Although it is a single lake, it is made up of three separate sinkholes. The surface of the Lazy Lagoon is nearly level with the surrounding salt flats, which makes it look very shallow. Despite the name, the deepest of its three sinkholes is 90ft deep. For Bottomless Lakes State Park and beyond, use our Roswell day trip website to get the most from your Roswell vacation.