Marina at Lake Heron

One of the volunteer jobs I do is help out with the New Mexico Sailing Club.
After many hours of work, we've pretty well repaired its marina at Heron Lake in far northern New Mexico. It was damaged by grounding during the drought, but now is in twenty-eight feet of water, and would be ready to re-open if we could just get liability insurance (which is required of us). Sadly, getting that insurance has turned out to be more complicated than expected. The marina is placed in a cove that is almost landlocked from the rest of the lake, giving the marina quite a lot of protection from storms. Access from the cove to the main lake is via a half-mile-long passage called "The Narrows", through which sailboats often must make several tacks en route to the lake, and which really is rather narrow.

Heron Lake is a beautiful place in the high country, with views of trees, meadows, hills, cliffs, and mountains. Its current elevation is 7153' feet, and the lake and surrounding areas are refreshingly cool compared to lower elevation areas of the state. Heron is roughly oval-shaped, unlike some long, skinny lakes, and has about 10 square miles when it is all the way full. Anglers can catch cold-water fish such as lake trout and kokanee salmon. Heron is a no-visible-wake lake, so it remains relatively quiet and peaceful. The state park there is also relatively uncrowded. It's a great place for fishing, sailing, kayaking, and just plain enjoying nature.