It is located 15 miles (24 km) north of Clayton, close to New Mexico's border with Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The landscape is characterized by rolling grasslands, volcanic rocks, and sandstone bluffs, set on the western edge of the Great Plains.

The park area was a stopover point for travelers along the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail.

Visitor activities include picnicking, camping, and fishing at the lake, as well as viewing one of the most extensive dinosaur trackways in North America.

During the fishing season, which usually runs from March to October each year, the lake is a popular spot for anglers hoping to catch trout, catfish, bass, and walleye.