By Dac Collins. Apr. 26, 2018. The U.S. Forest Service announced on April 12 that Laurance Lake Reservoir will be closed to the public for the 2018 summer season. This closure includes Forest Road 2840 from the gate above the settling pond to the Pinnacle Trailhead. It also includes Kinnikinnick campground and all of the dispersed campsites surrounding the reservoir.
The closure will allow Middle Fork Irrigation District to conduct important monitoring and maintenance work on Clear Branch Dam. MFID, which manages the reservoir for irrigation purposes, has already initiated a 30 to 40-foot drawdown in order to conduct required maintenance on the secondary spillway and its drainage system on the downstream side of the dam.
According to a press release from the Hood River Ranger District, “The drawdown will dramatically reduce the size of the lake and expose steep and rocky shoreline, posing a safety risk for lake users.”
The drawdown could also have repercussions on fish living in the lake—effects that would only be exacerbated by fishing pressure. For that reason, there will not be an open fishery in Laurance Lake until 2019, when, according to the USFS, the reservoir will re-open to the public as usual.
The USFS encourages the public to explore fishing and camping opportunities at other lakes on the Mt. Hood National Forest such as Lost Lake, Clear Lake, Rock Creek Reservoir, Timothy Lake, Harriet Lake and Trillium Lake.
Does anybody know when laurance lake is scheduled to reopen in 2019?