Bass Lake: A Dam, a Reservoir, and a Century of Recreation
Near Oakhurst, California
Bass Lake, a narrow reservoir tucked into a canyon about four miles northeast of Oakhurst, is one of the most popular recreation areas in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The lake was created by the construction of Crane Valley Dam in the early nineteen hundreds by the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation, which needed stored water to generate electricity for the growing cities of the San Joaquin Valley. The dam impounds Willow Creek and backed water into a long, winding canyon.
The resulting reservoir, roughly eleven hundred acres in surface area when full, offered fishing, swimming, and boating in a setting that attracted visitors from the valley communities below. Bass Lake grew into a resort destination in the nineteen twenties and thirties, with lodges and cabin rentals catering to summer visitors. The name Bass Lake stuck after bass were stocked in the reservoir, though the reservoir also holds trout and other species.
Today Bass Lake sits within the Sierra National Forest and is managed cooperatively by the United States Forest Service and Pacific Gas and Electric, which still owns the dam and generates hydroelectric power from the facility. In summer the lake fills with powerboats and jet skis. In winter the surrounding forest is quiet and the water level often drops as the reservoir is drawn down for power generation through the dry months.
