Whiskeytown Lake, CA

Whiskeytown Lake is a lake in Shasta County in northwestern California, about 8 miles (13 km) west of Redding. The lake is in the Whiskeytown Unit of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. It has a capacity of 241,100 acre feet (297,000,000 m³) and is formed by Whiskeytown Dam on Clear Creek. Additional water comes from Lewiston Reservoir, supplied by the Trinity River, by the Clear Creek Tunnel, which comes from the bottom of Trinity Lake.

There are also recreational activities available at the lake, including camping, swimming, boating, water skiing and fishing. However, personal water craft have been banned from the lake.

Fishing opportunities include rainbow and brown trout; largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass; and kokanee salmon.

Whiskeytown is favored by locals because of the 30-foot (9.1 m) visibility of its waters, and wildlife that surround the lake. There are numerous breeding pairs of bald eagles that nest on the lake's shores. Sharing the habitat are black bears, mountain lions, blacktail deer, turtles and raccoons, among other wildlife. It is mandated that the lake be at full capacity by Memorial Day, and remain full until Labor Day.