Cenotes Rim, Shadow Canyon, and Bluff Trail

Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM Guadalupe Mountains + Sacramento Mountains

Trip stats

Distance
3.9 mi
Net Gain
300 ft
Time
2-4 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Out/Back

Ratings out of 10

Effort
1.4/10
Personality
5/10
Beauty
5/10
Solitude
2.2/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

33.338375, -104.334499

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Trip report

Feb 16, 2018 — Starting from the visitor center, head up a ridge above Cottonwood Lake, the first of the sinkholes, also known as cenotes. Continue along the rim of the cenotes, off-trail, until the last pair, then head down to the Park Service Road. From here, a canyon should be visible on the left, Shadow Canyon. Sidenote: I asked a ranger about this canyon since it wasn't named anywhere on maps, and he said aparently Billy the Kid hung out in there? Yay history! Anyway, I decided to go up the north fork, and then back through the south fork. You should be able to see a sign for the Bluff Trail, a super boring interpretive trail that leads to Lea Lake.

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Photos

23 photos

  1. There is a trail next to the parking area to Cottonwood Lake, the first cenote on my route. I decided to go north and ascend the ridge to get to the top of Cottonwood Lake.
  2. Looking down into Cottonwood Lake.
  3. Continuing along the rim of the cenotes, Mirror Lake coming up.
  4. Mirror Lake.
  5. Mirror Lake, some interesting colors along the rim.
  6. Inkwell Lake, likely my favorite of the cenotes.
  7. Figure Eight Lake.
  8. Figure Eight Lake.
  9. Head down on an easy slope from the rim and enter Shadow Canyon.
  10. Shadow Canyon's left fork.
  11. Crazy salty formations.
  12. Exiting Shadow Canyon's left fork.
  13. Through open desert for a short time.
  14. Entering Shadow Canyon's right fork.
  15. Follow Shadow Canyon's right fork until you get back to the entrance to the canyons.
  16. The Bluff Trail starts just outside Shadow Canyon.
  17. Bluff Trail, super boring.
  18. Bluff Trail leads to Lea Lake, which is also accessible by car.

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!