A double drop on the Rio Nambe on sovereign Nambe Pueblo land, directly below the Bureau of Reclamation dam that has set its flow since 1976.
Mid April through June
Big water window
in a typical year
Flow controlled
What drives it
Rio Nambe
Live USGS
Data on this page
gauge 08294210
Pueblo of Nambe
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Nambe Falls, and when
The Pueblo's own history explains the plumbing: a dam was built directly above the falls in 1976 as part of the San Juan-Chama project to supply irrigation water to the Pojoaque Valley, and the recreation area opened shortly after. Releases still echo the snowmelt calendar, so spring shows the most water, and the Pueblo's low trail warning applies: expect to get wet, and remember the river height fluctuates according to season.
Typical best flow: Mid April through June
JFMAMJJASOND
What the agency itself says
In 1976, as part of the San Juan Chama project, a dam was built above the falls to supply irrigation water to the Pojoaque Valley. Shortly thereafter, the Pueblo opened the Nambé Falls Recreation Area to visitors for camping, hiking and fishing.
Pueblo of Nambe (Nambe Falls and Lake Recreation Area)Multnomah Falls in autumn: a Columbia Gorge falls that keeps respectable flow year round, and the standard against which most falls seasons get measured. “Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Multnomah Falls, fall color - 3” — Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region — Public domain
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values and daily statistics services. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge verified 2026-08-27.
A flow-controlled falls when the schedule favors it: Shoshone Falls with the spring Snake River coming over the full brink. The dry season photograph of the same falls is the other bookend. “Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
The falls and lake recreation area is tribally owned and operated, with an admission fee, seasonal Thursday through Sunday hours, and gates that do not admit anyone after 6 pm. In August 2026 the area was temporarily closed due to the nearby Frijoles Fire; call the ranger station or check the Pueblo's site for current status.
What a diversion season looks like downstream of a dam (Shoshone Falls, Idaho, in the dry months). Nambe Falls lives on the same arithmetic at a smaller scale: releases first, waterfall second. “Dry Falls 2016-09-28 358” by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0
Common questions
Nambe Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is Mid April through June. The Pueblo's own history explains the plumbing: a dam was built directly above the falls in 1976 as part of the San Juan-Chama project to supply irrigation water to the Pojoaque Valley, and the recreation area opened shortly after. Releases still echo the snowmelt calendar, so spring shows the most water, and the Pueblo's low trail warning applies: expect to get wet, and remember the river height fluctuates according to season.
This page reads the USGS gauge on Rio Nambe (Rio Nambe below Nambe Falls Dam near Nambe NM, immediately below the dam, effectively at the falls) live in your browser, and shows the latest flow next to the median USGS publishes for today's date, so you can see where today sits in the year. The gauge reads the river, not the brink, so treat it as the trend rather than a turnstile.
Releases below the dam can run very low outside the irrigation season; the gauge just below the dam has read under 3 cfs in late August. Spring is the dependable window, and the Pueblo's posted hours and closures govern everything.
Pueblo of Nambe (Nambe Falls and Lake Recreation Area). The falls and lake recreation area is tribally owned and operated, with an admission fee, seasonal Thursday through Sunday hours, and gates that do not admit anyone after 6 pm. In August 2026 the area was temporarily closed due to the nearby Frijoles Fire; call the ranger station or check the Pueblo's site for current status. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "WE ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE FRIJOLES FIRE. THE CLOSURE WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. For More Information Call the Nambe Falls Ranger Station: (505)455-2304" That sentence is Pueblo of Nambe (Nambe Falls and Lake Recreation Area)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Flow windows are typical-year climatology drawn from the driver and the agency language quoted above, not forecasts. Live readings and per-date percentiles are U.S. Geological Survey data, public domain; the above-or-below-typical line is our comparison and is labelled as such. Access, trail and safety information belongs to Pueblo of Nambe (Nambe Falls and Lake Recreation Area). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “Dry Falls 2016-09-28 358” by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0
Places to stay