Rocky Mountain Buccaneer Rodeo: Heron Lake I: Introduction, Venue Information

Venue Information for Heron Lake, New Mexico

I. Introduction

Heron is a high-altitude mountain lake inhabited by cool-water fish and bordered by juniper trees and ponderosa pines with views of sometimes snowy cliffs and crags; visits are a cool escape from warmer parts of the state.

Heron Lake has a normal capacity of 400,000 acre feet of water at elevation 7,192 feet, reaching the spillway if the lake reaches 410,000 a.f. When full, the lake has about 5,900 surface acres (more than 9 square miles of surface area, and is about four miles long by two to three miles wide). The lake is roughly oval shaped, with its long axis running SSW to ENE.

Boat ramps are generally usable at a lake elevation of at least 7,128’, at which point the lake has about 140,000 a.f. of water and is 37% full. This is also the minimum elevation at which the marina can begin to open, with A dock usable by shallow-draft vessels.

Portions of the lake are one- to two-hundred feet deep. The dam is 276 feet tall and 1,221 feet long.

Management and History

Heron Lake is owned and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, while recreation is provided for by Heron Lake State Park, which includes the lake and 4,100 adjoining acres. Water from the lake is used by many cities and tribes, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Española, Los Alamos, Red River, and Taos; the Middle Rio Grande Conservation District, and Pueblo of Pojoaque. Heron Lake State Park borders the lake on the south, southeast, and west. The state park is supported by The Friends of Heron and El Vado Lake State Parks.

Heron Lake was created in the early 1970s to store New Mexico’s share of western slope water. The water that feeds the lake is actually diverted from the western side of the Continental Divide via three tunnels with a length of more than 10 miles and diameters of 10 feet, then released into the headwaters of Willow Creek, which flows into Heron Lake immediately adjacent to the Heron Lake Marina.

Heron Lake State Park borders the lake on the south, southeast, and west. To the northwest is theJicarilla Apache nation, and to the north and east is the private Laguna Vista community.

The lake is supported by a friends organization, The Friends of Heron and El Vado Lake State Parks.

Lake History

Heron Lake was created in the early 1970s to store New Mexico’s share of western slope water. The water that feeds the lake is actually diverted from the western side of the Continental Divide via three tunnels with a length of more than 10 miles and diameters of 10 feet, then released into the headwaters of Willow Creek, which flows into Heron Lake immediately adjacent to the Heron Lake Marina.

Activities

Visitors to Heron Lake State Park may learn about the area at the Visitor’s Center, or participate in evening interpretive talks, trail walks, “Coffee with a Ranger” gatherings, or gaze down at the Rio Chama from the scenic overlook on the east side of the dam. The main activities at the lake are hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, and, of course, sailing.

Water released from Heron Dam enters the Rio Chama, which flows through a beautiful, wooded 5-mile canyon before reaching the upper portion of El Vado Lake. Although the placid lakes are the primary location for water-based recreation in the park, the Rio Chama and the adjacent hiking trail between the lakes offer one of the most scenic and enjoyable hikes in the New Mexico State Parks system.

Wildlife viewing is good in the area. Of interest are views of cliffs, mountains, forests, and wildlife. Southernmost point in U.S. where anglers regularly catch trophy cold-water fish such as lake trout, rainbow trout, and kokanee salmon.

Nearby activities including riding the historic steam-powered Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, horseback rides, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, sightseeing. Other local attractions include exhibits and classes at Tierra Wools, visits to the Parkview Fish Hatchery, and trips to the Jicarilla Apache reservation, Pagosa Springs (hot mineral baths), Taos, and the Great Sand Dunes National Monument.

In the winter months, activities include fishing, ice fishing, salmon snagging, cross-country skiing, and camping.