Experience Walker Lake, Nevada

In all of my efforts to help brand Nevada as a great destination for fishing as well as outdoor adventures, there is one Nevada destination that I have overlooked for some time now and would like to highlight as a must to experience and that is Walker Lake. Walker Lake has been known for sometime now as "An Ecosystem in Crisis" and I just want to let everyone know that this is a must to add to your list of destinations.



In as little as 2 hours from Sparks or Reno you can easily find yourself enjoying all of the prestine beauty and wildlife that Walker Lake has to experience. Walker Lake is located 12 miles north of Hawthorne, 55 miles south of Fallon off U.S. 95 and 50 miles west of Yerington off U.S. 95A. It is a terminal lake (lake with no outlet) that is fed by the Walker River. Walker Lake is a remnant of the ancient Lake Lahontan, an extinct lake with surviving remnants in western Nevada and northeast California. It was formed by heavy precipitation caused by Pleistocene glaciers but largely disappeared 50,000 years ago.

The native Lahontan cutthroat trout still inhabit Walker Lake, but the fishery is now maintained by hatchery stocks. River barriers prevent any natural reproduction. Upstream water demands have decreased lake levels by 130 feet since the turn of the century and the decreased water levels have led to increased levels of dissolved solids (salts) and increased the alkalinity to near lethal limits for all fish life in the lake. An increase in lake elevations or a decrease in dissolved solid levels is needed to secure the future of the lake.



The most valuable way that you could help in the efforts to save Walker Lake is to please visit Walker Lake and see the rapid decrease in water levels for yourself. If you then choose to help in the cause to save Walker Lake, please contact the Walker Lake Working Group’s form or write a letter and mail it to the below address.

Walker Lake Working Group
P.O. Box 867
Hawthorne, NV 89415

More on Walker Lake
Visit Walker Lake Photo Gallery

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