Pecos River Brantley Lake State Park
Channel: New Mexico Outdoor Sports Guide - NMOSG
Date: 2022-06-11

Brantley Lake is a reservoir on the Pecos River located within Brantley Lake State Park approximately 12 miles north of Carlsbad, New Mexico off US 285. It is impounded by Brantley Dam, completed in the 1980s as part of the Brantley Project of the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

Brantley Lake State Park

The southernmost lake in New Mexico is an oasis of water, wildlife, plant life, gorgeous sunsets and stunning night skies.

Located twelve miles North of Carlsbad, NM, the park offers boating, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hiking trails, exceptional bird watching, developed and primitive campsites and restrooms with showers. Whether you’re picnicking for the day, or camping in your RV for a week, you’ll be sure to find adventure at Brantley Lake State Park!

The Pecos River (Spanish: Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico near Santa Fe and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet. The river flows for 926 miles before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio.

The name “Pecos” derives from the Keresan (Native American language) term for the Pecos Pueblo, [p’æyok’ona]. The river was also historically referred to as the Río Natagés for the Mescalero people.

The river played a large role in the exploration of Texas by the Spanish.

On June 6, 1990, 20.5 miles of the Pecos River from its headwaters to the townsite of Tererro received National Wild and Scenic River designation.

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