Abiquiu Lake

Abiquiu Lake-: This manmade lake on the Rio Chama offers some of the finest fishing in northern New Mexico. Reptile fossils 200 million years old have been found in the area. Scenery in the area has inspired artists for decades, including famed painter Georgia O’Keeffe.

By: Mike Stauffer for New Mexico Department of Tourism

Although the description doesn't say so, I'd bet a lot that this incredible shot was taken from Cerro Pedernal. If you ask anybody locally where the best views of the lake can be found, the answer would be the same every time..IF they had climbed Georgia O'Keeffe's mountain!

The history surrounding this, man made, lake is very colorful ..and to the West and North toward Ghost Ranch ..so is the name, Piedre Lumbre (Fire Rock). Kit Carson was one of the first Anglos to set foot here in the Piedre Lumbre, and indeed Abiquiu. Carson was an indian agent stationed there and brokered a peace between the Ute's and the, by then, Anglos and Spanish pioneers who had barged in.

Indeed..this history of barging in began hundreds of years earlier with the Spanish!

But this is a story of Abiquiu Lake!

The reservoir is an Army Corps of Engineers administered 'facility' with a visitors center for you to enjoy exhibits on lake ops, local culture and wildlife. It's located just of Hwy 96, just NE of the dam..

Although constructed by 1963, it was not til 1986 that a "storage pool" was developed.

Let's call that the Lake!

Recreation includes: Boating (any size...also windsurfing & waterskiing); Fishing; Swimming; Picnicing; Camping at Riana Campground, Wildlife Viewing and Hiking/Backpacking.

And Very Nearby: Cerro Pedernal; Ghost Ranch; Christ of the Desert Monestary; Rio Chama Wilderness Area; Abiquiu and of course New Mexico Outdoor (just below)!

More Info: www.spa.usace.army.mil