The second-largest lake in New Mexico at 15,600 acres, Navajo Lake State Park is a reservoir on the San Juan River that’s big but not crazy crowded. With many campgrounds, two marinas, and two boat docks, the breadth of the lake and surrounding state park make it a great location for all sorts of outdoor interests. It’s popular for everything from boats and water skiing to canoeing and kayaking, sailing, fishing, swimming, plus hiking and camping on land.
Park information, planning your visit, and getting there
Navajo Lake is about 30 miles east of Farmington; depending where you’re coming from, you can get there from either highway 64 to 511 or from highway 516 to 550.
The lake itself is 15,000 surface acres with 150 miles of shoreline — with elevations ranging from 5,600 to 6,600.
When visiting, there are options for a nearby “home base” like in Farmington, but you can also camp at the park. If planning to camp, reservations are available which you can make on the New Mexico State Parks website or Reserve America.
As for the ideal seasons, the right time to visit depends on what you’re looking for — in general, the early spring to end of fall is considered the “best” by many people. Summer especially is the peak of boating season with lots of people coming to enjoy the lake. On the flip side, while it gets chillier later, winter can be a fantastic time to visit for people who appreciate the peace and solitude.
Now, what awaits you at Navajo Lake?
Boating and water recreation at Navajo Lake State Park
Swimming and boating — whether in motorized boats or paddling in a canoe or kayak — are of course super popular activities on the lake. Who wouldn’t want to spend summer jumping into the water?
For boats, you’ll find both motorboats and sailboats plus personal watercraft like kayaks, rowboats, and canoes. Pontoons are a great choice for groups, while you’ll see water skiers, wakeboarders, and jet skis looking for speedy thrills.
Your main rental options will be from Navajo Lake Marina and Sims Marina; motorboats are available, including a large inventory of pontoon boats — and even Aqua Lodge floating homes to stay the night — but also kayaks, paddle boards, and even hydro bikes!
And of course, if you’re out on the water, you’ll probably end up wanting to get in the water too. Just make sure to use your sunscreen and swim safely! And when in doubt, we recommend bringing water shoes just for comfort’s sake.
Fishing at Navajo Lake
As a reservoir of the San Juan River, Navajo Lake is home to a bunch of great fishing species. Most notably, these include:
- Rainbow and brown trout
- Pike
- Largemouth and smallmouth bass
- Crappie
- Catfish
- Carp
Whether you want to fish the surrounding riverways — especially the Quality Waters section of the San Juan River — or the lake itself, there are loads of options.
Navajo Lake offers lots of accessible shoreline if you’re looking to fish from land, but boat rentals also are available for fishing too. And of course, guided fishing excursions are very popular on both the lake and the San Juan River.
Hiking and park trails
If you’re all watered out, drying off on the park’s trails is a great way to see nature’s land-based offerings in the area.
Some of our favorites include the San Juan River trails, Simon Canyon Ruins, and the Mesa and beach trails.
San Juan River trails are located near the Navajo Dam, 2.5 miles out and back in length. There’s a north trail and a south trail, each tracing their respective side of the San Juan River and giving you a different vista from each side of the river bank.
Then the trail to the Simon Canyon Ruin is nearby at 1.8 miles long, with a moderate difficulty and few crowds. The Simon Canyon Recreation Area starts right by the north fork of the San Juan River Trail and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Otherwise, there are loads of mesa and beach trails for you to explore the shorelines of the park and the surrounding mesa terrain.
Camping in Navajo Lake State Park
There are a handful of different lodging options depending on what you’re looking for. You can stay nearby in Farmington as a “home base” of sorts, which many people do, but there are also places to camp at or right outside the park grounds.
If you’re looking to camp right by the lake, the Pine and Sims Mesa campgrounds are two popular options with well over 100 sites available. The Pine Campground is on the west side of Navajo Lake just north of the marina and the Navajo Lake Dam and is the bigger of the two, with the Sims Mesa Campground due east of there. Sims Mesa is also right by a marina, so either of these are good options if you want to be close to a good water recreation launching point.
Just west of these is the Cottonwood Campground, a riverside site along the San Juan River. This one’s an especially popular choice for anglers, right by the Quality Waters section of the San Juan.
These three campgrounds can all be booked via the New Mexico Parks site.
And, if you want to stay on the lake, Navajo Lake Marina’s aforementioned Aqua Lodge houseboats get you right there!
No matter why you choose to visit, Navajo Lake State Park has so many options — from being a playground for recreational activities, a fisherman’s paradise, and a dream for nature lovers on both land and water. It’s a grand spot year-round, and we love sharing Navajo Lake with all those who love it just as much as we do!