A Pristine Lake In the Middle of Nowhere!! As I made my way down the '84 on my way to Roswell after leaving the Blue Hole, I saw the sign for Sumner Lake State Park. I have been to Fort Sumner before but never up to the lake. Being an explorer and not knowing when I would be back in the area I decided I had to check it out. I would be in Roswell much later than I had planned but I had the whole day to do whatever I wanted to. Off I went, I took the turn down the 203 and headed to the Lake. Please note that it's about 20 minutes to get there from the '20 unless you get stuck behind a massive slow-moving RV (just sayin'). As I approached the area I noticed a picnic area, which I stopped at and checked out. I went to the west side of the lake and drove along the dam and into the park. When I got out I was on a high ridge and quite a drop to the lake so I walked along on of the lake trails and saw a really nice lake, surrounded by rock and sand and dirt, but very scenic in a desert sort of way. I found a little path that took me right to the water. The water was clear but you could see its a muddy. silty bottom. Even so, I changed into my shorts and went for a swim. The water was very nice, cool but not cold. Like any lake the closer you are to the shore the warmer the water. I didn't go out too far as it was an unfamiliar body of water but I got a good 10-minute swim before I decided to check out more of the lake. I didn't find any showers but I was able to clean up sufficiently in the of the restrooms. I drove around the park and took in the amazing view and drove around some of the cottages and homes in the village. You can't really get to the other side of the lake without a truck, jeep or quad, but there are trails so be warned. The other side of the park is very nice as well, the camping and trailer spots are clean and well kept. There are trails and paths and inlets and lagoons all around the lake opposite the dam, so you can spend a few hours, a day or a few days at the lake and not get bored. The Lake has fishing, boating, and you can canoe and kayak as well as swim, and the area is really worth exploring. I do recommend a visit if you're looking for something to do. Be careful it is hot and dry you can get sunburned quite easily if you're not careful but it is really worth checking out. read more

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I stopped in this camp when taking a brief trip through Fort Sumner on the way back to Texas from Las Vegas. The town of Fort Sumner itself is known for its Billy The Kidd presence and there are many things to do in the area in regard to that which are interesting. But just as much as I wanted to check that out, I wanted to check out another unique spot in New Mexico to stay the night and this campsite seemed to be one of the closest. I liked this because there were both tent and RV sites, so naturally I felt a bit more at home than I would have it had ben a park which focuses daily on RVs and leaves tents as an after thought. The lake itself wasn't my favorite lake of New Mexico, though it seemed large everything around it was pretty dry. The banks were more of a gravel than a beach and some of the areas were rocky with larger boulders making it a little more difficult to find a recreational place to just enjoy the water. I definitely needed water shoes to get into or near the water. I chose a primitive site although they do have some which have connections, my reason for selecting this site was its location which I thought would have a great view of the sunrise and the lake, unfortunately it ended up raining the morning so there was no beautiful sunrise. But for only $8 I couldn't really complain especially since I was able to take advantage of the lake a bit the evening before. I noticed the lake was typically of any lake with a lot of the activities of the park centering around it, however they also had a few hiking trails, a small visitor center to check out a little light information about the location and outdoor education programs which were mostly held on weekends. It wasn't really that busy when I was there on the weekday I passed through and camp felt pretty quiet throughout the duration of my stay. Restrooms located near me were vault style but they did have a bathroom with running water and showers as well, depending on where you elect to stay you will be nearby some kind of accommodations. My site being primitive was really primitive and had no table or fire ring, but I did notice for $10 you could have both just a little distance from where my site was located. I personally didn't need either when staying. TIPS: Check into the park office for minor supplies, anything bigger you will need to travel Into town where there are numerous stores. When in the area make sure to stop in at the Billy The Kidd Museum and Bosque Redondo Park both are staples of the area and contain a lot of history which will tell the story of New Mexico past in some of the most infamous ways. read more

Decided to go check out this Lake! It's like an oasis in the desert especially during this time of year! My nephews had an amazing time swimming in the nice ice cold water. (Considering it was about 102 at the lake). For some reason the womens bathroom stayed locked the entire time were there but the men's restroom was open and cleaner then I had thought it would be! They have Adobe areas to picnic out of the sun, with little grills you can use as a camp fire or to fry up some burgers. The "beach" area wasnt miami but was impressive since we are in the middle of no where. There are a lot of rocks and not so many trees sadly, bring your swim trunks, sunscreen and an umbrella or two and you'll make out just fine. There weren't very many flies bugging us at all we saw a few other families fishing and swimming about as well. If you get to tired of being in the middle of no where take a trip on in to check out Billy the kid items. His gravesite is kinda unique its actually behind bars because people kept stealing the headstone. So even being dead and buried the dudes behind bars. If you venture down the road towards Melrose NM you run across the site where the railway blew up and scattered pieces 500 feet around. They actually have a pretty big chunk of metal there to give you an idea of the impact I guess. Since it was world war 2 and there is nothing much else between fort Sumner and Melrose besides the Bosque Reservation and an old school house I guess they decided to put a chunk of metal out so people could get out and stretch. Its actually one part of history I dont actually remember learning about or even having a footnote about it. But I could be wrong maybe it has more historical value in it then i could figure out but i actually saw it as a what not to do and possibly a winner or honorable mention on Darwin awards. Hope you all get around to seeing this little chunk of metal or this little chunk of New Mexico it's quite unique no real mountains pretty flat but a cool little desert oasis in the middle of no where:) read more

We overnight at this park primitive site next to Sumner Lake for a mere $8/night. Granted, only few leveled primitive sites, most sites are on uneven and sloppy grassy tent/RV pad, or flat rocky sites all overlooking the blue Sumner Lake. Shaded trees are hard to come by, but we quickly found our favorite spot over looking the lake and tall tree provides afternoon shade. Combo bathroom near visitor center (center was closed during our visit so we paid the iron ranger instead) provide clean toilets and hot free showers keeping us civilized. Half dozen electric & water sites are further away from the lake but provide leveled and graveled back-in RV pads for around $14/night. More than dozen lean-to shelters that shaded a picnic table and a grill that runs about $10/night. A bit windy in the afternoon through late night. Overall, this state park is very scenic and camping price are great! We'll definitely stay here again on our way back. read more