Discover Guadalupe County

The Pecos River flows southeast through Guadalupe County. Water, historic buildings, and local traditions offer different ways to plan a trip. In Santa Rosa, for example, lakeside experiences meet stories about Route 66; Puerto de Luna is associated with a distinctive chile variety.

Lakes and Outdoor Activities

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is located at a reservoir on the plains of eastern New Mexico. Activities offered there include fishing, boating, camping, hiking, and birdwatching. Equestrians are welcome at Los Tanos Campground. Options range from spending time on the water to activities on land.

Water is also a defining feature of Janes Wallace Memorial Park and Power Dam in Santa Rosa: a spring-fed lake sits on the southern edge of the city. Opportunities to fish for trout, catfish, and bass make the lake appealing to visitors who want to target these specific species. Park Lake offers another recreational option, with pedal boats and paddle boats, as well as a waterslide. Since the slide may operate seasonally, check current visitor information in advance.

Santa Rosa Water Park has an inflatable obstacle course. Tres Lagunas Golf Course offers a different kind of recreation: situated on a rocky mesa, it features landscaped tees and greens as well as water features. These different places give you concrete themes to guide your daily plans.

Santa Rosa: Water and Diving Opportunities

Blue Hole is connected underground to an extensive network of water sources. Diving courses at Blue Hole range from the open-water level to diving instructor training. Blue Hole Fishing Pond offers fishing opportunities for children under eleven, seniors, and people with disabilities. Course offerings and participation requirements may change, so check them before your visit.

Blue Hole Visitor Center includes exhibits, changing rooms, restrooms, merchandise, a viewing area, and free internet access. These facilities can complement your visit; check their current status in advance. This will help you distinguish the diving and fishing options from the amenities at the Visitor Center.

Perch Lake near Santa Rosa combines fishing with a unique underwater attraction. Fishing options include bait casting, spin fishing, and fly fishing. At a depth of 55 feet, there is also a submerged twin-engine airplane. The lake is used primarily for advanced scuba diving training. The fishing methods listed and the focus on advanced training help you understand the different offerings at the lake.

Route 66 and Historic Buildings

The historic Route 66 ran through Santa Rosa in 1930. Old signs and buildings from the road's heyday remain there. The Pecos Theatre, a restored movie theater from the 1940s, is also associated with Route 66. A train scene for the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” was shot at the Pecos River Bridge in Santa Rosa. Together, these places tell stories of different chapters in road and film history.

Individual buildings also bring the town's history to life. The two-story stone Ilfeld-Johnson Warehouse was built in 1901 as a wool warehouse for the railroad and covers 9,000 square feet. The Guadalupe County Courthouse in Santa Rosa dates to 1909. Its carved sandstone details are part of a building in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.

The Alexander Grzelachowski House and Store is considered an exceptionally little-altered example of New Mexico Territorial architecture from the mid-to-late 19th century. It is also historically connected with the business life of Puerto de Luna. In Santa Rosa, the Park Lake Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and the Jesus M. Casaus House was added in 1982. Old St. Rose of Lima, a chapel built in 1879, survives today as a ruin; check the current conditions at the site before visiting.

Local Traditions and Choosing Where to Stay

Puerto de Luna is associated with PDL Chile, a distinctive chile variety that has been grown there for over 100 years. This tradition adds a concrete connection to local food culture alongside the nature and history themes, without requiring you to plan a visit to a specific restaurant.

If you are looking for a hotel for your trip, first consider which experiences you want to define your stay: water activities and diving opportunities, building and film history in Santa Rosa, or the chile tradition in Puerto de Luna. Base your search on that focus and your itinerary. This keeps what you want to discover during your trip at the heart of choosing where to stay.

Discover more destinations: Santa Rosa, Torrance County, Lincoln, Sandoval, Luna, Chaves County, Hidalgo County, Socorro.

For the broader travel overview: New Mexico.