Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Ray and I were on the road shortly after 10 am to our next destination, Santa Rosa Lake State Park, east of Albuquerque. One of the worker’s in the RV Park we stay at in Surrey had mentioned to us that he “loved” Santa Rosa. As we were heading to Roswell which was further southeast we thought we would head east first and then south. 6 of one and ½ a dozen of the other!

Our view from the campsite.

Anyways, we're here to report that Santa Rosa Lake State Park is very nice. Lovely campsites high up overlooking the lake for $14/night for 50 amp and water. It is a huge facility but they only  had one loop open now. Santa Rosa itself is a very small town with nothing much to recommend it, other than the famous “Blue Hole”… The cool thing is it is free for anyone to use with change rooms on site. The only caveat is that you must hold a diving permit to scuba dive.

Blue Hole appears in the midst of the desert like a great blue gem. ( Agua Negra Chiquita) Once known as Blue Lake, it is one of seven sister lakes connected underground by a vast system of water. This wonder defines Santa Rosa even as it seems to defy the surrounding red mesas. Born of a geological phenomenon called the Santa Rosa sink, the place is magic—as water always is in a land of little rain. Nomadic tribes, cowboys driving their dogies cross the Pecos, and Americans going west on the Mother Road, Route 66, all sought respite here. 

In 1932 Blue Hole became a National fish hatchery, morphed into the Blue Hole Recreation Area in the seventies, and more recently expanded to become the Blue Hole Dive and Conference Center. Not just for drivers wanting to get out of the fast lane or divers eager to get on down, it’s more than just a watering hole.

Here are some of our pictures.

The outflow at 3000 gallons per minute.

I wonder who these people are????

With the huge underground aquifers here, the town also features a larger swimming lake and a fishing lake a short ways up the road..

El Rito Creek along the park edge.