Eagle Nest, NM

Eagle Nest is a Colfax County village in the Moreno Valley, north of Eagle Nest Lake and between the Cimarron Range and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Along the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway near the Colorado line, it is a high-elevation base for travelers heading toward Red River, Taos, Angel Fire, and Cimarron. The settlement was first called Therma and took the Eagle Nest name in the 1930s, when the lake and mountain setting were already drawing summer visitors.

The lake began with a 1916 dam on the Cimarron River and now supports fishing, boating, camping, birding, and winter outings at Eagle Nest Lake State Park. Cimarron Municipal Schools serve local students, while the village's main street, lodges, cabins, and small businesses turn seasonal traffic into everyday local life. Elk, eagles, trout, and high peaks share the same view. Eagle Nest is a northern New Mexico village where a water project, a scenic loop, and a mountain recreation economy meet at the edge of the Sangre de Cristos.