Cowles Ponds are right next to the Pecos River and are surrounded by coniferous forests and grassy meadows.

There are 2 ponds, a larger one, which was dredged and deepened in 2011, and is available to all anglers with a current NM fishing license, and a smaller pond open only to those 12 years of age and under and persons with disabilities. Both ponds are stocked periodically by the NMDGF with Brown and Rainbow Trout.

The Pecos River originates in 20 miles northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande at Lake Amistad. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet feet.