Mercer Lake, also known as Lake Mercer, is a man-made

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

within

Mercer County Park The Richard J. Coffee Mercer County Park is a recreational park located in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, West Windsor Township and small western sections of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Hamilton and Lawrence Township, Mercer ...

in West Windsor, Mercer County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The lake came into being with the 1975 construction of a dam to control flooding on the

Assunpink Creek Assunpink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in western New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden S ...

in nearby Trenton by the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

Soil Conservation Service (now the

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

). The basin, now occupied by the lake, was excavated by crews building nearby Interstate 295 at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Rowing

The lake is the home of one of the US Olympic Rowing Team's training centers. It has played host to the 1988, 1992, 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Rowing, in addition to

USRowing The United States Rowing Association, commonly known as USRowing, is the national governing body for the sport of Rowing in the United States. It serves to promote the sport on all levels of competition, including the selection and training of ...

National Team selection events, international

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

s, and both collegiate and junior national championship regattas. The infrastructure and topography of the racecourse meets

FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.

standards and PNRA has the equipment necessary to host the world's largest regattas.

Fishing

Mercer Lake is home to many fish, including Largemouth Bass, White Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Yellow Perch, Catfish, Shad, and Musky. In the past, the lake was stocked with Tiger Muskie. Fishing may be done from the banks or by use of a personal water craft. In 2020 more fish have been caught in the first 6 months than in the past 5 years combined.

References

{{authority control Reservoirs in New Jersey Bodies of water of Mercer County, New Jersey West Windsor, New Jersey