Benbow State Recreation Area is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

unit of the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the

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 ...

. It is located in Humboldt County south of Garberville on

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

on the

South Fork Eel River The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River (California), Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows north from Laytonville, California, Laytonville to Dyerville, California, Dyerville/Foun ...

Benbow dam was constructed across the South Fork Eel River in 1931 to provide

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

for development in Garberville, impounding a reservoir. The Benbow family, interested in preserving the natural scene along the river, made efforts to place the land under state protection. In 1956 funds were approved for the Benbow Project and the first were purchased in 1958.Benbow Lake State Recreation Area.
/ref> Due to the negative impact on the migrating salmon and damage to the river banks, work began to remove the dam in August 2016. In the winter of 2017, removal of the dam was completed. The park has grown to . There are campsites and a large day-use

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

area.

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

, picnicking and camping are popular summer time activities, while

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

are popular in the winter.

References

{{Eel River California State Recreation Areas Campgrounds in California Parks in Humboldt County, California Protected areas established in 1958 1958 establishments in California

See also

References