Visiting Route 66's Iconic Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico 

Been there, done that! Earned my Open Water Certification at the Blue Hole back in 1977.

We visited the Blue Hole in the height of summer. I was ready for a nice refreshing swim, so I jumped from the the rocks. When the water hit my body all my muscles immediately froze because the water was SO COLD. I thought "Welp, this is how I die." Totally fun experience. I encourage all to try it.

The "Blue Hole" is a complex network of lakes that are connected by an underground river. This system extends all the way to Carlsburg Caverns and beyond. East of Roswell NM is the "Bottomless Lakes State Park. It is part of this system. Lots of legends abound on these lakes. Like the diver who dived in one lake and was swept underground through these caverns and found days later in another lake far downstream. I have a lot of legends that have been told me and some i've witnessed. Pretty cool area. Thanks for the memories.

Outstanding! I spend about a decade certifying divers at the Blue Hole in the 90s. We would bring students down from Colorado Springs about once a month for a three-day immersive (pun intended) experience. Rain...shine...snow...it was always 61 degrees underwater! It doesn't look like too much has changed. Thanks for bringing back great memories!

With those fresh water springs all over, we will never run out of water.

6 years in New Mexico, never made it to Santa Rosa, never heard of the Blue Hole. My pickup camper had, from time to time, been parked at the Bottomless Lakes State Park Campground Southeast of Roswell. Bottomless Lakes is a series of lakes of similar "construction" to the Blue Hole. The largest lake, where the campground is, is the only one where swimming is allowed. I truly enjoyed my time in New Mexico. But, I, too, am a California boy, so I had to "go home".

Thanks for the walk down memory lane! I was a scuba instructor out of El Paso back in the late 1970s and 1980s. The blue hole was one of our regular spots for student check out dives. I logged more hours in that hole than I can remember. It certainly has been upgraded since my diving days. Back then there were no nice concrete stairs to get in or picnic tables and the road/parking area was all dirt and gravel. No permits were required. We had to drag ourselves up the rocks in all our gear to get out. And we had to bring our own dive floats/lines. There were only a few fish back in those days also. Oh to be young again and living those glorious diving days! I remember one December dive - surfacing in the middle of a snow storm that suddenly hit and not wanting to get out of that 60 degree water and into the cold blowing snow.

I lived near the blue hole in the early 80’s. A story that was told to me was that a diver took his tank off so he could get through the gate into the cave system but was unable to get his tank through & drowned. His body was later found in Carlsbad caverns which is at the other end of the state.

My daughter and I visited this past summer on a drive to CA. Gorgeous; a lovely change of pace from the bone-dry panhandle, the temperature of the water a delightful if shocking surprise! It is a treasure, and the nearby Santa Rosa Water Park suggests the locals know it. A really great place to visit!

I was there in 2009. I stopped for the night and found the blue hole on accident. It was a very neat find. I missed the museum. Shux.

Wednesday night, January 31st in Phoenix, and the thermostat in my house says 72. Yes, Phoenix! I MORE than sympathize with you about 30 degree, windy weather, as being Artic cold, along with low seventies being jacket weather. Honestly, my wife just walked across the room, and I put my frozen-beyond-redemption-hands on her legs, just to "punish" her for making me feel even colder than i already am! She jumped a foot in the air, and has gone over to turn on the heat... I'll stop shivering at 75 or so... As always, a very nicely done video!

We stopped at Santa Rosa for a few days. Visited blue hole. Beautiful.

I'm from Albuquerque New Mexico I Live Now in Minnesota and in the late 90s I took three of my children to the Blue Hole my middle son got the swim in there it was wonderful thanks for the video

My wife and I recently moved to New Mexico and have an interest in history as well as traveling, thus your channel is the perfect companion. Subscribed

we had friends in Tucumcarri but Santa Rosa was always the stop over on our way to see Grammy in Hereford TX, then my dad would drive all the way from Hereford back to Albuquerque, he Loved road trips. Dr.Pepper, black licorice and pork rinds were his choice of road food, his kids, nsm. thanks for that nostalgic nudge.

I visited the Blue Hole during Easter week, 1986. A nice rest stop on the way to Dallas.

Fascinating, I knew nothing about this, thank you for the education.

Landed my airplane on Route 66. Airport manager took us ( me, wife and child) to a Restaurant on Route 66. Best Tex Mex food ever.

Oh man, coming from CA myself, I feel that cold to my bones. I've been living in NM for about 15 years now, but I remember the first winter out here. I got hives on my hands and feet, I swear, to this day, it was due to the cold. Year two I got 'em again, but not as bad. Now I wear shorts when it's 45 out and think it's reasonable.

I was at the Blue Hole recently, I think just before fall, and the water is soooo cold. It's beautiful though. We saw little fish and people diving in and out of the caves. You just need to be careful on those steps as they're slimy from moss and it's very easy to slip in and get a wake up call. However in your video here it looks like they've been cleaned. Check out the Bottomless Lakes for another beautiful sight!!!

Could you imagine all the cool 100 plus year old silver coins you could metal detect at the bottom of that thing? I'm sure someone has already done it, but must have been a hell of a day.

I been there before during the summer. The water is really cold and refreshing during the summer! Also there are some fish! They tend to be fairly deep in, or when the blue hole over fills there is a small stream leading away from it where some smaller fishes often appear and you can even have them swim right up next to you! I always thought blue hole was kind of a magical place in New Mexico, but the state has so many other natural wonders, it is quite interesting!

My husband was certified there back in the late 70s. Before there was any type of changing areas. Had to change in your hotel room or your car. Great to see that the area has tables and umbrellas.

I have family that is from Santa Rosa so we've been going there for thirty years. Blue Hole is one of our favorite spots along with Hidden Lake that has a submerged plane in it

Back in the day did my open water scuba certification there. Great place!

Beautiful water, scary deep. Vintage autos looked awesome too! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

Thanks again for another great video, Steve. These out of the way spots are great. I’m glad you’re making memories with your family and sharing them with us.

Bottomless Lakes near Roswell NM are similar. The 9 lakes are along the Pecos River near the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

I just moved to New Mexico and am eager to visit the Blue Hole now, thanks! New Mexico has so many fascinating places to visit that are off the radar…

Thanks for showing this. We have traveled through Santa Rosa going west several times but never knew about it. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for sharing! I did not know about this one. I did dive in a blue hole in the Bahamas many years ago.

Practically a born swimmer, here, and I've free dived a few times to about 20 ft, but I hear ya when you say swimming over really deep water gives the heeby-jeebies. I'm the same way, which is strange, since I never gave it much thought when I was young. Anyway, very cool (cold) video. Thanks!

My family lives in Santa Rosa, I have been going there for years. A lil secret, there's great fishing all around. But all in all it's a beautiful place to visit. Don't forget to visit the fish hatchery and Park Lake. Park Lake has activities for families during holidays (look it up). It's my lil piece of heaven that no one knows about. I'll be there this weekend to do some trout fishing 😃

I've swam in there a few times. My kids liked to dive in it.

I grew up in Santa Rosa. I use to go swimming in the dead of winter decades ago when it was 40°outside and windy the key is to stay in & swim around in a couple of minutes your body gets numb & then it feels like a bathtub

I did my final PADI test there when I was in 7th grade. Thanks for the video:)

Never heard of the Blue Hole in New Mexico until I watched your video just now. Pretty cool spot! When you initially mentioned that the water comes from a cave system, I was hoping you would talk more about the cave system. And you did! That’s interesting that they gated it off so divers can’t descend into the cave’s depths. It’s nice to see that people are allowed to swim there at their own risk and enjoy the site without having to pay an admission fee. I wonder how crowded it gets on a hot summer day? Not sure what the population is in that general area, but maybe there aren’t enough people to make over-crowding a problem. That was interesting seeing the outflow creek. I hear you on the weather, man - I was out in the desert recently doing some hiking and it was in the low 40s. Like you, that’s freezing to me!

My Wife and I did Our Scuba Advanced Certification, deep dive at the Blue Hole, it was quite an adventure.

We stopped by the Blue Hole in the summer of 2016. It is very cold, even with the temperature in the 90's. I just wish we had more time to visit that car museum, but we swam and dove off the rocks for an hour....Definitely worth a quick stop

I never knew about the Blue Hole in NM. There is a Blue Hole in Castalia, OH, that I remember going to a kid. It's on private property and was closed to the public in the 1990s. Geographically the size and description and source water are almost identical only 1400 miles apart.

Try swimming in Crater Lake in Oregon. Two thousand feet deep and so clear you can down for ever. Sure scared the hell out of me!

Ever since I seen the Creature from the Black Lagoon when I was a kid. I never did like swimming in deep water.

I can't thank you enough for sharing your adventures.

Nice video, always brings back memories every time someone discovers this place. We always swam at the lake next to the Blue Hole because it was warmer. But jumping off the diving platform is and experience.

Great share. Thank you. It has been very windy and frigid cold this year in New Mexico.

I always drive by the signs on my way to AZ most winters. Thanks for checking it out, saves me the time to do it myself.

I stopped in Santa Rosa on a cross country trip back in '95 and stayed for almost a week. great town. the blue hole was fun to swim and dive in, though I only had my snorkel setup. it was over a hundred degrees when I was there so 61 degrees felt great. thanks for the video. I have to get back there.

Thanks for sharing. Going to be out West in March. I'll have to see if on my trip back home we will be close cause I would like to visit this in person. Thanks again for sharing.

there's a Tank, an M728 CEV in Santa Rosa, just off the highway at the other end of town. in summer of 2020 I ended up sleeping the night in that tank during my cross country motorcycle trip. I had slung my hammock between it and the tree, and it started raining hard. so I popped the hatch and climbed in. it was surprisingly complete on the inside.

So pretty! Imagine our planet back then! It's 45 degrees in the desert and I'm freezing 🥶 That wind is no joke 😅

One of my favorite little towns in the world.

Thanks for this. Your video with its honest candor reminded me of how much I love rural New Mexico. The deep sky stargazing, arid desert climate, and hiking and rockhounding .. for the first time in ages I feel the urge to explore again. Peace. 🙏

Been there a few times, it’s a busy place in the spring and summer months. Another great video Steve, you and your family stay safe.

I live two hours from he Blue Hole in Amarillo Tx it gets very windy in this area. I jumped into the blue hole a few times on a extremely hot day. Kinda freaked me out because it’s so deep, I ended up going to the water park next door.

Several years ago, I came down from Denver with my scuba diving class to take my "PADI" underwater test. Despite the fact I had the remnants of an ear infection, with the company of a Master Diver, I passed. But it was an unusual place to scuba dive, out on the high desert of New Mexico. Yes, there are fish, at least they were in the depths.

When we took our extended summer vacations out West in the 60s we must have driven right past that on 66 because we drove on Route 66. I can’t swim anywhere if I can’t see my feet and will not even step into the ocean. I have a serious phobia. I’m all about pools but the Blue Hole is so clear I’m sure I would love 💕 to jump in on a hot summer day. Another place for my list of places that I’m learning about from you! Thanks Steve. Love your videos. 👍☮️🏊🏼‍♀️❤️

Thanks for your videos, enjoyed all, including this one to the Blue Hole od Santa Rosa, NM. I have enjoyed visiting New Mexico since the 1960s on family trips to visit family and experience new and exciting places throughout New Mexico. If you have the time while you are nearby, I recommend a visit to the Trinity site within the White Sands Missile Range. Normally closed to the public, twice a year, the US Army hosts a Trinity Site Open House when the public may visit Trinity Site. I learned about this place from my best friend (of 45+ years), who wanted a reason to leave Southern California to visit Trinity. So about 10-15 years ago, when I told him I was going to visit family in NM, he came along and we timed our trip to one of the two times a year the Army opens up White Sands to the public. It was absolutely 💯 enchanting and fascinating. Also surprising was the amount of people that made the same plans to visit Trinity on that day, ...thousands!! Fortunately the place is so spread out and huge and there is so much to see, learn, and experience, that it never felt crowded. You can literally stand on the very ground where the first atomic bomb was detonate and the history of mankind changed forever by entering into the atomic age. Not to give away too much, the very ground where this first A-bomb successfully detonated, is radioactivity speaking, safe to visit. The national park rangers and other personnel present have a multitude of educational kiosk displays throughout. one of these kiosks attended by a park ranger and/or a scientist standing at a large table of Geiger counters displaying measuring roentgen radiation emanating from common items we expose ourselves to in our lives, such as: cigarettes, ionized salt, and old school glow in the dark Radium dials found on watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with luminous paint containing radium-226 . They informatively answered questions i asked regarding the blast, radiation, and whatever else related. One measuring cup was used to scoop up a sample of the soil we were standing on at Trinity and the hand held Geiger counter hovering over it showed no measurement of roentgen radiation. You will spend a full day seeing the sights and the experience will never be forgotten. BTW, I would have swam in the Santa Rosa Blue Hole too were it not so cold, as you said in the video. I too am a So Cal native and enjoy its famously pleasant weather. I also have enjoyed surfing year round since the 1960s, albeit most of the time well protected within the warmth of a very good wetsuit. I did see, and capture photos of a hearty young surfer last Saturday (1-14-23)who jumped off the rocks to surf big waves at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego wearing only his trucks, and a leash attached to his 8' Costco Gerry Lopez soft surfboard. He wore No wetsuit at all in the middle of winter, on a foamie, to try his hand at the biggest surf in years, water temp in the 50s, very windy, overcast, and very cold!! I was dry, standing on the edge of the cliffs wearing long pants Levi's, a tshirt, a long sleeve over that, a fleeced heavy long sleeve pendleton over that and a heavy coat over that. And i was still feeling the weather. Yes. Incredible. I believe this young surfer would have swam the Santa Rosa Blue Hole right now, in his trunks, given the year round warmer 61°F water at the Blue Hole. Cheers!! PS: looking forward to your next video. Best of luck and Thanks again.

I took a dive last summer and it's bitterly cold. The shrivel factor is real in that water 🤣

Visited there a few years ago, it was beautiful. A must for Route 66. Safe travels

I always stopped at the hotel right across the street from the blue hole. I was a truck driver. Santa Rosa is justva nice little town.

Many, many memories of Santa Rosa. My ex's great great great grandfather (Don Celso Baca) founded Santa Rosa. We spent many a summer day in the area (coupled with the connected Hidden Lake - very spooky). Local kids would do blind dives from above, taking a running jump over the stairs. It is beautiful, peaceful, so, so cold.

enjoy all your historical videos Steve. Now , the Blue Hole is a place I visited in the summer and of course had to take a refreshing swim. could not imagine going in the day you were there!

I was thinking, “ oh man he went to Santa Rosa! He should check out the auto museum!” And sure enough you did hahaha. That auto museum was the place my grandfather told me about and said I should visit when I drove to New York from Arizona. He passed away before I could go. So when it came to going to Memphis for his funeral, we drove, and on the way stopped and checked it out, buying some stuff to commemorate the visit and my grandfather’s memory. The wicker motorcycle in the entrance was something we joked about buying. I hope you all had fun!

Bottomless Lakes outside of Roswell, NM is very deep also. The Blue Hole sounds like the place where the NMSHP trained their divers.

I live in the Southwest and stopped by there with my children on a road trip one Summer, I went swimming in there for the briefest time, and got out rather quickly because of how cold the water is . . . Painfully cold to me! My children stayed swimming a bit longer, but it was too much for them too😄 Bottomless Lakes near Roswell is the same sort of underwater cave system, but much warmer! At least in Summer . . . Another, more beautiful spot is Sitting Bull Falls, West-Southwest of Carlsbad. Love your videos!. Thank you for all you do!

Thanks Steve! Learned first time about this - thanks!!

Like other commenters, I had never heard of this place before. Only drove through NM once, but have had relatives in AZ forever and when talking about NM and possible attractions they never mentioned it. It must've seemed a miracle in the desert for pioneer folk to come across. Noticed you kept the jacket on, still hadn't defrosted in the museum!

I think that older building was for vendors selling snacks. I live in Colorado and I agree with you, Steve; anything below 70 Degrease is too cold to be out with at least a jacket on. Thanks for another great video!

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

Hey, Sidetrack Family! It's been several weeks since I've stopped by for a video. Only 6 hrs to cycle the water? That's some cycling. I get the "Eebie Jeebies," as well in deep water and knowing that people lost their lives, directly below me, would keep me out of there. The Blue Hole is beautiful. Another informative, well delivered video. Great job, Steve!

Monstrously cool trip you are on, Mr. Adventures! Excellent post!

Enjoyed this video very much!! Looking forward to more in the future!

Thank you for sharing another great informative video. Stay safe and warm in your travels and looking forward to next week with you.

Great video. Man I can't believe I missed this stop on my way back from Wichita, KS, who knows when I'll be back thru this way again. I think at the time I was trying to make it from Tucumcari to Flagstaff then home to CA with a day or two to unwind (?)

👍 Great video! Have been through Santa Rosa many times but never knew about this! Thanks! 😎✌️

Interesting! I like how you include the historic maps. It really helps tell the story. So many of us take for granted what is on the surface of our planet, covered over with concrete and cities. What lies beneath is fascinating, and this is another place that gives us a window into the geology below. I wonder how far the cave system goes, and if it ties into a river nearby. I like your low-key style. Hope you found some coffee or hot chocolate and warmed up. :)

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Steve for another enjoyable video. I too never heard of this attraction in all my travels across New Mexico. Will need to add to my “interesting places” list. Continued safe travels!

Another great video Steve! I have been there and think it is a must stop if in the area. I can't believe you went there in the dead of winter though. Brrr! Thanks for the post and the historical research.

I stopped there on my Route 66 trip in my 67 Nova SS, fun trip . Nice spot for sure.....great video. Hi from west coast Canada

Love your videos. Easily digestible and a fun look at things we may not otherwise know.

We enjoy your videos. Thanks

My wife jackie and I visited santa rosa. Blue hole in July of 2022

Sadly, I'm a native of NM (Los Alamos, 1945), but never knew about the Blue Hole. We moved away soon after the war ended. Thanks.

I found this very interesting and informative. I actually went scuba diving the blue hole in Belize. It was amazing!

Loved diving there.

I am binging on your channel. Thank you for a 🙂 fine Sunday afternoon.

My husband and I drove Route 66 the end of October. This is a beautiful spot! Tons of divers there in the fall!!!

Back in the day we stopped in Santa Rosa to eat at the famous Club Cafe but were unaware of the Blue Hole.

I enjoy your videos. You do a really good job at narrating.

There is also a neat place to Scuba Dive nearby called Perch Lake, a Twin engine airplane was sunk there, for fish habitat.

There used to be a house at the end of that sidewalk going up the hill. All that's left now is the little garage and the commercial building that was built decades later. I lived in the house from '58 to '60 when my father worked at the fish hatchery. Pretty drab little town, but did have dozens of gas stations, since I-40 wasn't built yet. The Blue Hole was essentially in my front yard.

One more spot to add to my list.

Seeing as how Arizona is above 90 many many months of the year, I hear ya. I also adore cooler weather though. I can see how that spot would have been an AMAZING find back in the day. It's beautiful and is probably really refreshing in the heat. LOVE the underwater footage! That's awesome and well planned!

This is really cool. I want to stop by on our next RV trip I would love to swim there.

Not surprised at the wind. Welcome to Eastern New Mexico! Whenever I'm in New Mexico I always get a burrito (or three!) at Alsups!

This is great channel. Thanks Steve! I love San Diego.

O lugar é lindo! Muito Obrigado por mais um vídeo excelente e interessante! 😊👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’ll have to add it to my road trip plans

NM is a windy state. I learned to fly fish against the wind since NM is windy.