Lynx Lake,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

located within

Prescott National Forest The Prescott National Forest is a 1.25 million-acre (510,000 ha) United States National Forest located in north central Arizona in the vicinity of Prescott. The forest is located in the mountains southwest of Flagstaff and north of Phoenix ...

, approximately east of

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

, in the

Bradshaw Mountains The Bradshaw Mountains are a mountain range in central Arizona, United States, named for brothers Isaac and William D. Bradshaw after their deaths, having been formerly known in English as the Silver Mountain Range. History The first known set ...

. The lake is located at elevation and is stocked for fishing. It is one of the most popular recreation areas in central Arizona. Mild weather, the cool ponderosa pine forest, trout fishing, boating, mountain hiking, horseback riding, archaeological sites, and bird watching attract visitors from throughout Arizona. The lake was formed in 1963 when Arizona Game and Fish completed a dam in Lynx Creek, below Walker, Arizona.

Ecology

Animals native to the area include mule deer, bald eagles, osprey, and javelinas. Several species have been introduced, including rainbow trout, bull frogs, and domestic ducks and geese. Arizona State Game and Fish Department periodically stocks the lake with rainbow trout. Largemouth bass and crappie are also present in the lake. The lake is open all year. Plant life in the area consists of

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

, beargrass, cliff-rose, and alligator juniper.

Activities on Lynx Lake

* Fishing: The lake is open year-round for fishing and is stocked with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

periodically by the

Arizona Game and Fish Department The Arizona Game and Fish Department is a state agency of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix. The agency is tasked with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats through protection and management progr ...

. Sunfish and Catfish (Channel), as well as bullfrogs, may be caught here. * Camping: Two National Forest Campgrounds near the lake offer 36 campsites. * Boating: Non-motorized and electric-powered boats are permitted on the lake. * Hiking: The 2.5- mile Lakeshore Trail loops around the lake. * Recreational

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...

December 2024 valve failure and draining

In December 2024 the

announced that the lake would be drained due to a mechanical failure that caused an outlet valve to remain in the open position. There are no expected negative effects to fish and wildlife in the lake.

References

External links

USDA Forest Website for Lynx Lake

Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map

Arizona Fishing Locations Map

Video of Lynx Lake, Arizona
{{authority control Reservoirs in Yavapai County, Arizona Prescott, Arizona Prescott National Forest Reservoirs in Arizona