brantley lake state park

This is a nice park. Trails to walk. Things to see. It wasn't very crowded when we went. Loved watching the stars

After reading "What a Dump", it's hard to believe that I was at the same lake the same week! We stayed two nights and it was fine. Not drop dead gorgeous, but certainly worth a stop! There is a great (and easy) mountain bike trail all around the park and we rode all of it. Recent flooding has wiped out the primitive camp spots, but we stayed in an electric one and it was fine. Bathrooms/showers were clean and water was hot. We didn't swim in the lake and we didn't see any boats out there, it was quiet and the star gazing was good. Overall it was pleasant. About an hour drive from the visitor center at Carlsbad Caverns.

This was probably a nice campground before the oil rush got crazy in the Permian basin. Now? This is like camping in a refinery. The "lake" looks like its mostly fraccing fluids. The smell is awful, the flaring from numerous nearby gas wells makes the place look like Mordor and pretty much ruins the dark sky. Throw in a pretty rough crowd that looked like mostly fieldhands living there and it makes for a zero. If you are looking for a place to crash while doing Carlsbad Caverns, I'd suggest the very bland RV park in Whites City over this cesspool.

Just what we were looking for. Chose this place because everything closer to the Caverns looked WAY commercial. We don't enjoy camping so close to others that you can hear them sneeze. Had at lease 20 yards between sites. Stayed in site 7 which had several trees. Very clean shower and restrooms and our girls enjoyed the playground while we set up camp. Nice covered picnic table at each site. Everything was in good order. We are from NM, so we never expect a full lake. This time it had lots of water, but you can never expect that of lakes in New Mexico so pleasantly surprised. Great star/moon gazing.

We stayed for 3 days in this park. What a great place. Restroom are the cleanest I have ever seen. We stayed in a motor home in the Limestone campground, site 16. It is a great place to drive over to the caverns and the Living Desert State Park. My only complaint - the pull through sites are not reserveable. Since many people consider these premium I don't understand the thoughts behind that. To get the full flavor of this area please see my reviews of Carlsbad Caverns and Living Desert State Park.

We chose this park due to its proximity to Carlsbad Caverns. While we can't comment on swimming opportunities, we can say that it's a very nice place to camp. The feel of the desert is palpable and the night sky is magnificent. We did make reservations, though not necessary on this Tuesday in July. The heat sets in early this time of year, so you'll want to set up/pack up early in the morning.

We stopped here for an overnight after visiting Carlsbad Caverns. This is the desert so we weren't expecting very much. Wow! We were pleasantly surprised!The developed (vs. primitive) campground is situated up on a hill with expansive views of the lake. The only trees in the park are in the campground although our particular site didn't have any trees. The sites are large with shade shelters over the picnic tables and grills for cooking. All sites have water and electric. Very few have sewer connections. This is an immaculate campground with great bathrooms that are cleaned every day per the posted signs, something you don't always find in a state park. The camp hosts are friendly, helpful, and available. They are at least partially responsible for the cleanliness of the campground - I saw them sweeping up a vacated site in the morning. Some sites are reserved for first come, first served. We were there on a Monday in August and there were plenty of sites available. It was very quiet and peaceful.

We stayed here after spending time at Carlsbad Caverns. Great family park. Has a wonderful playground next to bathrooms and the bathrooms are clean. We travel in a Class C RV. Nice trails to walk or run on.

A beautiful state park located far enough from the city to not be bothered by light pollution yet close enough to go shopping and dining. The campsites are clean, spacious and far enough from each other to offer privacy. The lake appears to be low, but the scenery is still breathtaking! The night time view of the sky is just awesome. Definitely a must stay at state park.

This park was perfect for camping with our toddler and dog. We were tent camping and had a great site (#26) it faced the water and the west which meant a gorgeous sunset! The sites are well spaced. Have a covered picnic table as well. Bathrooms were very clean. They also had a great playground for the kids! Saw some reviews complaining about the gas smell, no issue for us. Also complaints about the 7 mile drive off the main road to get to it......well worth it. Very quiet and serene. Enjoyed emensley!

We liked everything about Brantley Lake, nice sites, clean restrooms and showers and very friendly people.

If coming from the north on Highway 285, the park's campground makes a fine stopover en route to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is quite, scenic and reasonably prices. Granted, it's a few miles off the highway and about 12 miles from the town of Carlsbad, but that's a plus in my opinion. I'd stay there again next time through the area.

The campground was nice and the restrooms were very clean. We didn't experience the smells as in other reviews except on the drive into the park. All of the camping spots have nice views of the lake and desert. There are a couple of hiking trails but they are fairly short. You cannot build a fire according to the Park signs, except in the BBQ grill. The showers have some hot water with limited water pressure and there is no heat in the bathroom so they can be a little chilly. Also very quiet campground with great proximity to Carlsbad and Artesia.

Close by there are many natural gas wells. At night they burn off the poisonous gas. In the morning and all night the smell is horrible. Also the flies are terrible. The view is beautiful. ..but the campground is located about 20 miles from town. Not a great place to stay.

Review on CAMPING. The only reason I didn't give this park 5 stars was because it was a bit out of the way. Otherwise, fantastic.We camped at Brantley Lake State Park while visiting Carlsbad Caverns. While the maps may say it is 13 miles from Carlsbad, bear in mind that (a) the Caverns are a distance PAST the town and the drive will be more like an hour from the campground to the caverns, and (b) the "driveway" into Carlsbad is quite long (7 miles-ish) so just because you're at the entry doesn't mean you're "home" - it's a long ride on a slow road.The campground is pleasant and quiet with clean bathrooms and hook ups. The picnic tables are covered which is great for the hot sun of NM. Camping sites are spaced nicely apart so you aren't all up in each others' business. We had the pleasure of hearing coyotes early one morning before sunrise.The only downside was that there is a grill but fire pits are prohibited (I'm guessing because of the dryness - thus fire threat - typical to NM) so campfires aren't really possible.