Paddling near Alamogordo, NM

Alamogordo sits in the arid Tularosa Basin of Otero County at roughly 4,350 ft, with the Sacramento Mountains rising to the east. The basin holds virtually no paddleable surface water, so paddlers head to the Ruidoso corridor mountain lakes (~45–60 mi NE) or make the longer run west to Elephant Butte Lake (~90 mi), New Mexico's largest reservoir.