Wander the West

Prineville Reservoir Recreation

	Tubing fun

August 2006

Prineville Reservoir is a 3030 acre body of water created by Bowman Dam on the Crooked River located just 15 minutes south of Prineville, OR. This reservoir is the backyard playground for most of Central Oregon including Bend, OR. It is nestled in amongst some of the prettiest high desert hills and rock bands found in the area and offers glimpses of wildlife ranging from coyotes to bold eagles.

It is known for both warm water and warm weather. In fact, the Prineville area is sometimes referred to by the locals as the ‘banana belt’ of Central Oregon. It is because of this that it is so popular for recreation. Fishing can be quite good with excellent rainbow trout, small/large mouth bass, crappie, and brown bullhead. The trout fishing is good year-round, but the bass prefer the warmer months.
There is no speed limit on the lake and so boating of all kinds is very popular. Water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing are some of the most common sports and about half of the boats on the lake are there for this purpose. Family outings for site-seeing and swimming are just as popular however. There is an annual bass fishing tournament held every August that attracts some top talent and always raises the fishing excitement.

There are two state parks that allow camping. The first is Prineville State Park, and the next one up the road is Juniper State Park. Both have excellent facilities and offer RV hookup. There is also a private resort and marina that can be reserved and also has camping and boat launch. There is also a small but well supplied store. Several dispersal camping locations are available near the up river end past Jasper Point but are very primitive.
If you get a chance, bring the ski boat, bass boat, wake boat, or row boat to Prineville Reservoir and spend a weekend having some fun.

Prineville Reservoir Recreation Photo Gallery

- Eric Davis