Caballo Lake State Park Campground New Mexico
Highway 187Caballo, New Mexico 87931
575 743-3942
Lat / Long:
Caballo Lake State Park has 170 developed campsites in two campgrounds. One overlooks Caballo Lake and the other (Riverside) is along the bank of the Rio Grande. There are 115 sites will electric hookups (7 of which are full). The Riverside area is home to the Park’s RV Rally and can accommodate over 200 recreational vehicles in the group area.
The bulk of the park’s facilities and campsites are on the west side of the lake, just north of the dam. These include those in the Appaloosa, Palomino and Stallion loops. The Riverside area has more trees and is more secluded than the lake section of the park.
Campground amenities include drinking water, vault toilets, showers and a dump station. The park also has boat ramps, playground and a visitor center. Firewood is also available for sale from the camp host. The developed campsites are suitable for tents, trailers and RVs. Each site also has a table, fire ring and grate.
Caballo Lake State Park – Area Recreation
The Caballo Mountains serve as a majestic backdrop for Caballo Lake State Park, which boasts a full array of water sports, winter waterfowl watching, and cactus gardens in bloom. Outdoor activities include boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, hunting and picnicking. Wildlife viewing is also great with opportunities to see the majestic bald and golden eagles that migrate through the area.
You may also be interested in Percha Dam State Park, Elephant Butte Lake State Park or Leasburg Dam State Park.
Make a Reservation for Caballo Lake State Park
Regions
Campsite Types
- ADA
- Electric Hookup
- Full Hookup
- Group
- Primitive
- RV
- Tent
- Trailer
Season:
Year Round
Elevation:
4,477
# of Campsites:
170
# of RV Campsites:
115
Amenities
- BBQ Grills
- Boat Launch/Ramp
- Boat Ramp
- Campground Host
- Campsite Tables
- Dock
- Drinking Water
- Dump Station
- Equestrian trail
- Fire Pit
- Fire Rings
- Firewood Available
- Grills
- Group Camping
- Group Pavilion
- Pets OK
- Picnic Tables
- Ranger Station
- Recycling Center
- Restrooms (Vault Toilets)
- RV Hookups
- Showers
- Trash Collection
- Visitor Center
Activities
- Beach
- Biking
- Bird Watching
- Boating
- Boating (non motorized)
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Interpretive Programs
- Jet Skiing
- Kayaking
- Lake
- Mountain Biking
- Nature Trails
- Photography
- Picnicking
- Playground
- Sailing
- Stargazing
- Swimming
- Walking Trails
- Water Skiing
- Water Sports
- Wildlife Viewing
- Wind Surfing
Caballo Lake State Park Photos
Caballo Lake State Park Comments & Reviews
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4 Replies to “Caballo Lake State Park”
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I stayed here October, 2017 and love it. In fact will be back mid-April, 2018. Friendly camphost, beautiful campsites-not crowded together.
There are local black cats which are pretty amusing as they are used to people. Also skunks will show up but they too are used to people. Great diversion.
Clean and well kept sites close to the Rio Grande River.
Date of stay: Sept. 3-6, 2019, Verizon 2 bars 4G
The paved road down into the Riverside section of the park is very rough.
If you don’t enjoy water activities, there isn’t a lot to do at this park. But, as with all NM State Parks, if you have the yearly pass, the price simply cannot be beat. Truth or Consequences is only a 20 minute drive away, so this park is a good jumping off point for a visit to town.
Caballo has two separate campground areas that are 2.3 miles apart. We stayed in the Riverside CG, which is further from the lake, but a much prettier overall campground with trees and grassy areas. There was a mix of back-in and pull-thru, with good separation between them. All sites had grills, fire rings, and picnic tables. Most sites had shelters. All sites had power, but not all had 50A. It was very hot while we were there, and if the alert host hadn’t given us a heads-up, we would have been sad not to have full a/c power. I see from other reviewers have said the showers are nice, and I can only assume those were the ones up at Palomino since the ones down at Riverside smelled funky and offered scant warm water.
Riverside also offers more walking than the other half of the park, with a long dirt road running off the back and along the Rio Grande. The lake was nice for a kayak paddle and a quick swim — the water was not clear, but the ranger said it was safe for swimming.
Critters spotted: hog-nosed skunks, striped skunks, bats, feral cats, yellow-headed blackbirds, hummingbirds, lesser goldfinches
Percha, riverside & caballo state parks are not what they portray on their website.. very disappointing especially caballo state park; not very well maintained especially the comfort area.. no comfort there.. the only good thing I can say it the greeter when you enter the park; very personable and helpful; otherwise the parks are in badly need of repairs and cleanliness..one of the worse parks we have stayed at in nm; and we’ve stayed at a lot..
Caballo Lake State Park is a gem, as are all NM Parks. I read complaints about it not being fancy enough, NM State Parks are $14 per night, THAT’S $14, that’s barely enough to get through the gate at most state parks. These parks are perfect.