Eagle Nest Lake
Colfax County, New Mexico2,496 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Eagle Nest Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 81 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Eagle Nest Lake in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.6 µg/L. Surface area: 2496 acres.
Eagle Nest Lake is a 2,496-acre lake in Colfax County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 81 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2016-11-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Eagle Nest Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water2,496 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Eagle Nest Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Eagle Nest Lake
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Eagle Nest Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.9 ft. Chlorophyll-a 3.6 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.6µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Eagle Nest Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Eagle Nest Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~81 ft est.
Surface area
2,496 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NMED
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New Mexico has not published bathymetry for Eagle Nest Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
191 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
8,192 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Eagle Nest State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Eagle Nest Lake
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Fishing Eagle Nest Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Eagle Nest Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Eagle Nest Dam (completed 1918), built primarily for irrigation on the Cimarron River; arch-type dam, 142 ft tall and 400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 2,496 ac
- Normal storage
- 81,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 98,400 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 184.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00351 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Colfax County
Frequently asked questions about Eagle Nest Lake
Where is Eagle Nest Lake?
- Eagle Nest Lake is a lake in Colfax County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Eagle Nest Lake?
- Eagle Nest Lake in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.6 µg/L. Surface area: 2496 acres.
Is Eagle Nest Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Eagle Nest Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Eagle Nest Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 81 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 2496 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Eagle Nest Lake?
- Eagle Nest Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Eagle Nest State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Eagle Nest Lake?
- Eagle Nest Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by New Mexico's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX10 samples · 2015–2016
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory