Weekend at Elephant Butte State Park in New Mexico

We had a wonderful weekend in early March at Elephant Butte Lake State Park near Truth or Consequences, NM. Greg has a quadcopter and took this great video overview of the campground, beach and lake.We live in Northern New Mexico and feel very fortunate to have such easy access to amazing camping and hiking opportunities.



We didn't make reservations and arrived late on a Friday night. You can make reservations for State Parks on line up to six months in advance of the current day. So if we called on Friday, we could only reserve for Sunday and beyond. There also are a number of sites that are first come, first serve and if you find an open spot that isn't reserved, you can take it for one night. We stayed at Lyons Beach Loop B which is a loop that is all first  come, first serve.

You can't beat the price of $14 which includes electrical hook up! It was our first trip with the new couch/bed that Greg made. It worked out GREAT and was super comfortable. Click HERE to read our prior post detailing the bed build.

Our campsite with a view of the lake

The lake has been affected by the drought in New Mexico, but the levels are up 40 feet over last year. This was our first visit and the lake looked beautiful. We took several walks both around the campground loops and along the shoreline. For New Mexico website information on Elephant Butte State Park, click HERE.

The butte in Elephant Butte

A collection of rocks on the water's edge

If your rig can handle the sand, you can even camp on the beach by the lake

The marina has a store and boats for rent

It was early March and the weather was cool and a little windy. But, it was still an amazing weekend. The electrical hookup allowed us to stay plenty warm in our camper van. We have an electric blanket that we use for winter and early spring campouts. We have stayed in temperatures as low as 16 degrees with electricity and 24 degrees in Yosemite without power. On the Yosemite trip, we simply piled the blankets up and wore sweats to bed.

Wet Room Tub

On Saturday afternoon, we made a reservation for a private soak in nearby Truth or Consequences at Blackstone Hotsprings in the Wet Room. For only $25 for 50 minutes - it was paradise. The Wet Room is a private room with a hot spring tub, a private sauna with hot waterfall and a shower. It was a stupendous place to soak and relax. Blackstone Hotsprings also has themed hotel rooms. But, they often fill up - so call ahead. Their website is http://www.blackstonehotsprings.com. A great deal and definitely a place we will return to soon.

Private Sauna with Hot Waterfall

We met a number of fellow RVers at Elephant Butte. One woman who travels for about six months a year said that Elephant Butte was one of her favorite campgrounds. She spent most of the winter right at Elephant Butte. She would stay 14 days, then leave for one week at a nearby private campground as required and then return to Elephant Butte, specifically Lyons Beach Campground. A fantastic deal for $14 per night for 50 AMP electric, 10 feet to water supply, a canopy, picnic table and fire ring as well as nearby bathroom with showers. Oh and did I mention that EVERY loop in the Lyons Beach campground has free WIFI!

We did have one strange encounter. While walking through all the campground loops to check things out, I noticed a motorhome with a blog logo and url on the back. I took a quick picture and when we returned to our spot, I quickly looked up their blog. I sent an email message just saying that we were in the same campground, loved to read RV blogs, noticed their rig and how much we liked the campground and lake and what a nice walk we had that day. Didn't say - hey let's have cocktails and didn't knock on their camper door. We like our privacy mixed with friendly socializing, but we always try to respect other folks need for space and privacy. Well - I got a quick response that kinda threw me. 

Thanks for emailing.  We RV 5 months a year, and use our blog to keep contact with our family and friends.

It was a fine email, but it made me feel as though I had been reading someone's private email or journal instead of a public blog. Maybe I am reading more into his email than is fair. But, my initial reaction was "um, why exactly do you have your blog logo and url big as day on the back of your motorhome if you only want family and friends to read your blog?"

Our email encounter aside - the people at the campground were VERY friendly, the sites were clean, excellent amenities and the price was ever so sweet. Highly recommend Elephant Butte and we will be back. 

- Karen

Another Sock Monkey Trekkers Adventure!