Playas Lake is a dry lake — a playa — on the remote plains of Hidalgo County in New Mexico’s bootheel, between the Animas and Little Hatchet mountains. For most of the year it is a flat, cracked lakebed rather than open water, and that is worth understanding before you go looking for a place to fish. This guide is part of our growing New Mexico Lakes Database.
Playas Lake at a glance
- Location: Playas Valley, Hidalgo County, in the southwestern “bootheel” of New Mexico
- Type: a playa — a normally dry lakebed that holds water only briefly after heavy rain
- Setting: a long basin between the Animas Mountains and the Little Hatchet Mountains
- Elevation: about 4,278 ft
- Recreation: not a fishing or boating lake — there is usually no standing water
What a playa really is
Despite the name, Playas Lake is dry far more often than it is wet. It is a classic desert playa: a flat, closed basin with no outlet, where rare heavy rains spread a thin sheet of water that soon evaporates, leaving a hard, cracked clay floor and a rim of salt. These basins are fascinating landforms — important for desert wildlife and, at Playas, framed by rugged bootheel mountains — but they are not the kind of lake you fish or boat.
Know before you go
- Usually dry: do not plan a fishing or boating trip — there is normally no water here.
- Remote country: the bootheel is far from services; come prepared for desert travel.
- Looking for water? See our guides to New Mexico’s real fishing lakes and reservoirs.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fish at Playas Lake, New Mexico?
No — Playas Lake is a dry playa that only briefly holds water after heavy rain, so there is no fishery. It is a landform, not a recreation lake.
Where is Playas Lake?
In the Playas Valley of Hidalgo County, in the remote southwestern bootheel of New Mexico, between the Animas and Little Hatchet mountains.
What is a playa?
A playa is a flat, closed desert basin with no outlet that holds shallow water only after rare heavy rains, then dries to a cracked clay flat.
Related: explore more small lakes of New Mexico, or head back to the New Mexico Lakes Database.
Explore more New Mexico lakes: the largest lakes in New Mexico and the deepest lakes in New Mexico.
