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Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad, NM

Photo: Mega Hammond, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Brantley Lake State Park

A desert reservoir park north of Carlsbad offering boating, fishing, camping, and birdwatching.

33 East Brantley Lake Rd., Carlsbad, NM 88221 · Carlsbad, NM

About Brantley Lake State Park

Brantley Lake State Park sits on a man-made reservoir in southeastern New Mexico, formed when a dam was built across the Pecos River. The official park page describes the lake as a green refuge in an arid landscape, with wildlife, plant life, and striking sunsets and night skies. Visitors can boat, kayak, canoe, fish, hike a short trail network, and watch birds. The campground includes developed sites with hookups, primitive shoreline and boat-in options, restrooms with showers, and an RV dump station. A visitor center with exhibits is also on site.

  • #lake
  • #boating
  • #fishing
  • #camping
  • #hiking

What's around here?

The closest stops to Brantley Lake State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Attractions

    Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park

    Under $25

    A native wildlife zoo and garden park showing Chihuahuan Desert animals and plants near Carlsbad.

    9.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bat Flight Amphitheater

    No admission fee

    Free evening ranger talk, then watch Brazilian free-tailed bats leave Carlsbad Cavern at dusk.

    26 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Carlsbad Caverns National Park

    Under $25

    Descend by trail or elevator into Carlsbad Cavern and walk the Big Room, then watch bats fly out at dusk in summer.

    26 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bottomless Lakes State Park

    Check prices

    A state park southeast of Roswell with a string of sinkhole lakes used for boating, fishing, and swimming.

    53 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Quirky Fun

    International UFO Museum and Research Center

    Under $25

    Browse exhibits and firsthand accounts of the 1947 Roswell Incident inside a 1930s movie theater downtown.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    59 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums

    Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art

    No admission fee

    A contemporary art museum in Roswell, New Mexico, that grew out of a local artist-in-residence program.

    60 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums