Picacho State Recreation Area is a camping, boating, and general recreation area located on a 9-mile stretch of the lower

Colorado river The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

at the site of Picacho, a defunct gold mining town. Picacho is a popular wintertime/springtime destination for boating, fishing, hiking and camping. This remote park is located in the far southeastern corner of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and includes 54 campsites, 3 boat launches, and 5 river camps. Favorite activities at the park include stargazing, and bird and wildlife viewing (including the famous desert resident, the

Bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

). The mining town of Picacho sat on this spot in the early 1900s. The remains of a stamp mill that was used to crush the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

ore during mining operations is a popular hiking destination. This section of the Colorado River is a popular stopover for migratory waterfowl - ducks, geese,

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...

and

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

- usually seen by the thousands in spring and fall. Other waterfowl are found here year round.

Proposed for closure

Picacho State Recreation Area is one of the 48

California state parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a deficit reduction program.CBS5.com: List Of Calif. Parks To Close In Budget Proposal
Closure again seemed imminent in 2012 as a part of California's sweeping 70-park closure plan. However, Picacho SRA was never closed, and is fully operational as of 2013. A non-profit grou
Friends4Picacho
was formed in 2012 to promote its continued operation.

Fish species

Largemouth Bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

* Smallmouth Bass * Striped Bass * Crappie * Bullhead * Catfish (Channel) * Catfish (Flathead) *

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

* Redear Sunfish *

Green Sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usu ...

* Bluegill Sunfish * Carp *

Bullfrogs ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile * American bullfr ...

General information

* Average Depth: 8 ft * Fishable Miles: 94 * Elevation: 230 ft

References

External links

Arizona Boating Locations Facilities MapArizona Fishing Locations MapOfficial web pageColorado River Boating Trail Guide -- Blythe to Imperial Dam
Protected areas of Imperial County, California Parks in Imperial County, California California State Recreation Areas {{ImperialCountyCA-geo-stub