UPDATE: March 25, 2025:
With the completion of the Cave Creek Dam project, the Nevada Division of State Parks and the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) are happy to report that Cave Creek Reservoir at Cave Lake State Park has officially reached full capacity.
All systems are operating as they should, and the reservoir is already overflowing into the recently built dam spillway.
Nevada State Parks, working together with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and White Pine County, will be hosting a grand reopening celebration for 'Rediscover Cave Lake' on Saturday, June 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to commemorate this momentous occasion.
The Nevada Division of State Parks says they look forward to welcoming visitors back to this beloved Nevada treasure and ask the community to join them in celebrating Cave Lake's return.
They say there will be entertainment, family-friendly fun, and outdoor activities all day long at this event.
Additional information will be released about the event in the near future.
In order to ensure a healthy and sustainable resource for fishermen, NDOW says it is also actively working to rehabilitate and improve the fishery by stocking 17,000 fish throughout the spring.
The Nevada Division of State Parks says visitors can once again take advantage of Cave Lake State Park's scenic splendor and recreational options thanks to the reservoir's complete restoration and ongoing work to improve the fishery.
However, as there will likely be a large amount of debris from plants that grew in the dry lakebed during the reconstruction period, they are warning the public to use caution when recreating in the lake.
For more information on this event and how you can participate or volunteer, go to this page on the Nevada Division of State Parks website.
ORIGINAL STORY: November 27, 2024:
According to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), the refilling of Cave Lake has already begun, as construction to repair the nearly 90-year-old Cave Creek Dam bringing it up to date and to code reaches completion.
NDOW says the project which began in October of 2019 included an expanded spillway, increased stormwater capacity, and improvements to the low-level buttress, as well as the installation of over 200 artificial habitat structures in the lake itself, which will help in establishing a healthy fish population in the future.
They say the project was made possible through critical funding sources, including Conserve Nevada funds, Heritage funding, and both state and federal contributions through the coordination of the Nevada Public Works Division, the Nevada Division of Water Resources, and the Nevada Division of State Parks.
NDOW says according to its Fisheries biologist Heath Korell, one of their leads on the Cave Lake project, the process of refilling the lake could take up to nine months for the lake's water levels to return to their pre-project levels and that as those levels return NDOW will re-establish brown trout and rainbow trout populations to the lake as well as introduce smallmouth bass.
NDOW says Cave Lake is located in Cave Lake State Park, 14 miles southeast of Ely, and is a popular destination for anglers, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts for residents and non-residents alike. Before the drawdown of the Lake in 2019, the park averaged more than 63,000 visitors annually.
NDOW says the draining of the lake began in October of 2021 and it reached the minimum pool in January of 2022, however, construction did not begin until May 2023.
They say that throughout the process, Cave Lake State Park’s campgrounds and trails remained open.
NDOW says that once all of the construction equipment is fully removed from the area, the lake will reopen for public use, however, day-use restrooms will remain closed until further maintenance is completed.
