Elephant Butte, NM

Elephant Butte centers around New Mexico's largest lake, created by damming the Rio Grande in 1916. Take I-25 to Exit 83, then NM-195 west into town. It's 150 miles south of Albuquerque, 90 miles north of Las Cruces, and just 5 miles from Truth or Consequences. The community serves Elephant Butte Lake State Park, a major destination for boating and fishing in the high desert. The town got its name from a rock formation that resembles a bathing elephant.