Conchas Lake State Park

Conchas Lake is a 25-mile-long reservoir on the Canadian River in east-central New Mexico. With about 60 miles of shoreline, Conchas Lake is one of the largest lakes in New Mexico. The surface geology in this area is mostly siltstone and sandstone laid down about 200 million years ago when this area was along the edge of an inland sea. That means you might find dinosaur fossils and tracks embedded in the rocks in the area. In some places you will also find prehistoric Indian petroglyphs. Conchas Lake covers about 9,600 acres while Conchas Lake State Park only contains 290 acres. The state park is the primary means of public access to the lake.

Conchas Lake State Park offers a visitor center and 105 developed campsites, 41 of which offer electric hookups. The camping area also has restrooms and showers while the park has a central RV dump station. There's a playground for the kids and a full-service marina on the lake for the adults. In addition to the camping, fishing (catfish, walleye, largemouth bass) and boating, Conchas Lake State Park offers picnicking, sailing, waterskiing and wildlife watching.

The entry gate at Conchas Lake State Park is open 24 hours a day, every day.

To get there: exit Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari on New Mexico Highway 104 and go north to the state park.

Fees: Day-use: $5 per vehicle; Pedestrians and bicyclists get in free. Camping: Primitive sites: $8 per site per night. Developed sites: $10 per site per night. Developed site with either electric or sewer: $14 per site per night. Developed site with both electric and sewer: $18 per site per night. Water hookups aren't always available but when they are, they're free.