Bonito Lake, reservoir in the Sierra Blanca mountains, New Mexico, United States

Bonito Lake is an alpine reservoir high in the Sierra Blanca mountains northwest of Ruidoso, New Mexico, held by a dam completed in 1931 across a narrow spot in Bonito Creek where two streams merge. The city of Alamogordo owns it as its main water source and draws water through a 90-mile pipeline to its La Luz treatment plant. At full capacity it holds 1,500 acre-feet.

The lake suffered major damage from a severe wildfire in 2012, followed by floods that washed ash and debris into the reservoir. After more than ten years of repair work, the dam was restored and the lake refilled in 2023, followed by reopening for fishing in August 2024.

The name Bonito comes from Spanish for "beautiful." The reservoir is owned by the city of Alamogordo and supplies its drinking water through a 90-mile pipeline to the La Luz treatment plant. Anglers fish for rainbow trout in water that stays cold year-round at high altitude.

Bonito Lake sits high in the Sierra Blanca northwest of Ruidoso, reached by mountain roads that climb steeply; the water is cold year-round. Campgrounds and trails around the shore are in the Lincoln National Forest, while the lake itself belongs to Alamogordo. Check current access conditions before setting out, since the site was closed for years after the 2012 Little Bear Fire.

The 1907 Southern Pacific Railroad dam and a wooden pipeline that once ran 132 miles (212 km) to Pastura, New Mexico, still lie upstream in South Fork Canyon; hikers on the trail there can see remnants of the old dam and pieces of the pipeline.