bluewater lake state park

Stayed here some 30 years ago and was very impressed by the quiet natural beauty of the lake and surrounding hills. Finally managed to travel there again this year and wish I had not.. As others mentioned, the lakeshore and launch area was a drunken tailgate party on a big scale. No ranger supervision in that area. Kids swimming in the boat launch area amongst spinning boat propellers. Motorhomes parked crossways across the second launch ramp. One partygoer turned his very young daughter loose in a kayak at least twice and both times she promptly paddled out into the heavy boat traffic in that end of the lake. A zoo. Fast forward to the campground. Kept fairly tidy, but a stench of raw sewage kept wafting across the area intermittently. I give this park my lifetime award for the weirdest bathroom policy in my 60+ years of travel. All flush toilets and showers are locked promptly at 9pm and not unlocked until 7am. If you don't have on an board toilet, better scout the park for one-holers before sundown and keep a good flashlight handy as you hike to find one. Much of the shoreline was filthy with broken glass, discarded garbage bags and dead fish carcasses. Fishing was fun but I would not eat anything that came out of the lake, there's just too much pollution along the shoreline.I contacted the state parks dept about all this. They had an answer for everything, but answers do not make for a good camping experience. Best answer was about the locked restrooms. Seems some time ago there was some vandalism, in spite of the camp host's camper being less than a stone's throw from the restrooms. The solution, to "improve the overall visitor experience", is to make the restrooms and showers inaccessible to all paying park visitors for 10+ hours a day in summer, and 14+ hours a day in winter. It's difficult to even comment on that kind of logic. I think it was a Danny deVito line that said, "Sheesh, must have been potty trained at gunpoint!". 'nuff said.

I didn't see much of this property as our group of 20 Boy Scouts and parents arrived just before 9:00pm. Three of us left to run to Walmart while the other two vans went to our camp site. The gates lock at 9:00 so one of our group had to meet us at the gate to transfer our purchases to their van and give us a ride to the campsite while we left our van outside the gates. The campsite is very dark and difficult to navigate if you are unfamiliar with the area. The most frustrating thing about the campsite is that the bathrooms are locked from 9:00pm till 7:00 am. This is incredibly inconvenient especially if you are just looking for a place to sleep - arriving late and departing early. One of our group did shower at 7:00 and said the showers were awful. I can't say much more about the site since we were in and out so quickly. If you need restrooms from 9pm till 7am consider camping elsewhere.

I just returned from a three day weekend at Bluewater State Park.I was a Park Ranger in Texas and my comments are based on those years of experience.I would like to commend the Maintenance personnel for their efforts in keeping the park picturesque. I’d also like to commend the Park Staff that we encountered for the very pleasant interchanges I had with them and their very willing accommodation of our requests.Arriving Friday afternoon we checked into an area called “the Beach” for obvious reasons. It is a first come, first served area without any designated areas.We pitched our tent and occupied a modest area. We were shortly crowded by friends of the campers to our left. What followed can best be described as a crowded tailgate party without the athletic event. Loud music, generators, drunken arguments, and screeching children were the sounds that filled the night until the small hours of the morning. It was the worst camping experience of my life including Desert Storm. If you are looking for a tranquil venue, the Beach isn’t it.Taking the first opportunity to scout a camping site that was far removed from the maddening crowd, we chose site #73. Being about ¾ of a mile distant from the beach one could clearly hear the generators and chopping and the revels but they were far enough away one could tune them out.Our experience from the morning of the second day till our departure was near idyllic. The days were warm and the nights were quite cool. On Sunday afternoon from about two PM we observed maintenance personnel cleaning up camping sites and picking up trash. In short order the park look pristine.While sitting in my tent I observed the park Rangers confront a situation where there was (if I heard correctly) underage drinking in a family environment. It was handled most professionally and courteously. Theirs is a tough and nearly thankless job and I commend them for a job well done.In my observations Park Rangers do not make foot patrols of the Beach area. This results in a location in a State Park where there is an environment that is unsuitable for children because of vulgarity, alcohol consumption, and very probably illegal drug use. This is exacerbated by an obvious lack of parental supervision and being collocated with a large body of water. Not to mention a total disregard of posted park rules by “adult” campers.I would recommend that at least two foot patrols be conducted on the beach. One patrol being conducted when the park closes and the other between midnight and two a.m.Four officers making the sweeps, having two officers checking the beach campers on foot with two supporting officers in a vehicle with their lightbar and alley lights on.

No water at campsites; bath houses locked from 9:pm - 7 am; cows roaming freely through the campground leaving droppings everywhere; wild predators rampant. If you have pets keep them inside at night - we lost one of ours and found his remains near the dump station.

Beautiful campsites. We stayed in Upper Electric Loop where we had electrical connection but no water. The logistical problem was that the bathrooms close between 9pm and 7am. This is a major problem for me and one I have never come across before in decades of camping. The lake was beautiful even with the dry season we have had. We enjoyed fishing, hiking, and the kids enjoyed swimming in the lake. We will stay here again once we figure out the potty problem.

Tent camped just one night but wished we could have stayed longer. Saw great blue herons, river otter, hundreds of bluejays nesting in cliffs. All this plus free showers!We stayed in canyon side loop (?) which was very private yet close to "facilities."

Due to fire restrictions we were unable to campfire, which really dampered our weekend. Other than that, It was a bit windy but very fun regardless. Park Rangers were polite and let us alone.

I just "tripped" over this State Park while camping in New Mexico and am I glad I did. I saw it on the map and just dropped in. It was the offseason and the place was almost deserted. I camped on the edge of the lake in total seclusion. My only company was a band of wild horses that stopped by for a while and a single tarantula. The staff was incredibly friendly. The host invited me over for dinner one evening and the Ranger brought me a free load of firewood when I couldn't find any place open to purchase any. Showers are available as is electricity at some sites. Offseason is a bit deserted and primitive so come prepared. It is a bit of a drive to get supplies. And you may want to check ahead to see if you have cell service. (I had to drive to the top of the hill and walk around to get a signal.) But the inconveniences are well worth the privacy.I cannot speak to the park at peak times but the offseason is fantastic if you can brave the cold nights. I cannot express the amount of pleasure I had and I will definitely return.

We stayed here out of season (October) and not all the washroom buildings were open but that just meant a bit longer walk from our campsite which was no problem. Very quiet, only a couple of other campers there which made for a very tranquil stay. The site we chose was on lake side, we went without a hook up in order to get a better location. There was a bit of traffic through the campground in the evening, it seemed that some young locals were congregating on the beach past the campground, but we did not hear any further noise late at night either from the beach or in the campground.

Spent several nights here (April '08) as a base camp while I explored the area. Really nice campsites and clean facilities.

We spent two days and two nights car/tent camping at the Bluewater State Park about 40-50 minutes West of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The camp site was nice, clean, and surrounded by beautiful hills and mountains. In the summer, the weather was cool and not too hot.The campsite has a big lake for boating and fishing. It also has a few trails for hiking. There is also a nice kids' playground.The first night we were there, we got rained on pretty hard. We did not realize August was monsoon month in this part of the US. Water got into our tent and we woke up 4 am in the morning soaking wet. The next morning, we were toying on the idea of abandoning ship and going to a motel, thinking that there was just no way our tent would dry off by night. But the day turned out beautiful and our tent dried out by mid morning. So we stayed another night and we were so glad we did it.This campsite is one of the few in New Mexico that actually has showers. But the showers and bathroom facilities did closed at night (by 9 pm and only opened around 7 am). Makes it a bit challenging for families with young children, who incidentally had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!Regardless, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would camp there again if we happen to pass by the area.