Campground is a 60 mile drive from Navajo Lake Dam. You must use Hwy 64 and 527 to reach it. The drive out is very scenic and while scoping the landscape you can see colonies of prairie dogs running the various pastures. The camp site has great sites that come with close water access and for the larger ones electricity. A primitive site is located on the lake shore and is very picturesque. Prices are reasonable. Site also has a boat ramp, boat slips, boat gas station and supply shop. It is fairly quiet even though it was crowded our first day. Bring the supplies you need as the park offices/boat ramp close at 4pm each day - the nearest store is 1hr drive i.e. Bloomfield or Aztec. We used this as a base camp and visited Shiprock, Angel's Peak and Salmon Ruins. Definitely recommended if you want a nice quiet location away from the crowds at Cottonwood and the Pines (also part of Navajo Lake State Park).
Had a great time. Lots of catfish. Bathrooms and showers were clean. Staff at visiter center were slow and not very friendly. There is no swim beach. The one area we found was a total mud ball covered in flys. And was not within walking distance we had to drive. Fishing off shore is hard since the lake is down a cliff you have to hike down through rocks.
A bit disappointed in this private marina, as we thought we could at least view the boats up close, or perhaps have a scenic boat tour...but alas, we could do neither. Even the dam was not tourist accessible.
Kids kept running through our site. No manners! Loud boat noise. Constant noise from other sites. Dead grass, no trees. Loud music. Horrible place to camp unless planning to be out on the lake all day. Felt like a goldfish in its bowl. Cranky entrance woman. Opened the window and said, "Wadda ya want". Seriously.....not like any of the other CO state parks we have been.
The boating ramp at the marina is very well organized making it easy to get the boat on the lake. State Parks rangers and Coast Guard Auxiliarists patroled the lake the day we were there to keep boaters safe. The marina has a nice restaurant.
We stayed here over the 4th of July weekend. Stayed in the Sims Mesa campground on the east side of the lake. Not as crowded as the other side. Had a cool campsite very accessible to the bathroom & showers which were kept very clean. Had so much fun boating on the lake and swimming in a cove where the water was so clear. Will definitely be going back as soon as possible.
We reserved a day site to meet with a group of friends. It took awhile to find it, but once found, it was a beautiful place from which to watch the lake. It was very peaceful and clean with garbage receptacles nearby. A ranger came and checked on us, which was comforting. Our site was covered, so we were able to stay out of the hot sun while looking onto the vast lake. Parking was nearby, so when a storm started to brew on the lake, we were able to pick up quickly and move into our vehicles for the trip back to our cabins. My only complaint is that the Game and Fish personnel at the lake are not very communicative. All of us got lost many times while looking for the day site. We finally agreed that we would demand that the park greeter would have to give us clear multi-word directions on how to find the site, before would leave her presence (otherwise, she would merely toss her hand in the direction of the site assuming that the hand flip was sufficient to let us know where to go and how to get where we were going). Game and Fish employees could use customer service and communication classes. Cell phone coverage is spotty at best.
Very nice lake for boating and water sports the only issue was the dock was little and it was a tight squeeze to get around!
An excellent large lake in the Four Corners area of NW New Mexico for boating, fishing, camping, and sunburning. So many places to fish shoreline or downstream of the dam. We have some of the best fly fishing here and the area is terrific for bringing your families for good, old fashioned outdoor fun. Bring the kids, the dogs, grandma and the crazy aunt. There is something for everyone.
Went up here for a weekend expecting boat rentals, which were way too expensive.Spent the evening instead going around to all the overlooks and nature trails. The camping looked nice as well and we'll be back sometime to give it a try!