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Palisades Reservoir, Idaho & Wyoming, USA

Palisades Reservoir is set in southeast Idaho, east of Idaho Falls in a beautiful river valley. The southern end of the reservoir extends into Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. Hillsides covered with forests and topped with majestic mountains, provide gorgeous scenic vistas surrounding the reservoir. Palisades Reservoir’s 70 miles of shoreline, followed by U.S. Highway 26, shows the excellent access for tourist’s recreational use. Its wealth…
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    • All About Palisades Reservoir, ID/WY

    Lake Locations: USA - US West Region - Idaho - Eastern Idaho - Wyoming - Southwest Wyoming -

    Palisades Reservoir is set in southeast Idaho, east of Idaho Falls in a beautiful river valley. The southern end of the reservoir extends into Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. Hillsides covered with forests and topped with majestic mountains, provide gorgeous scenic vistas surrounding the reservoir. Palisades Reservoir’s 70 miles of shoreline, followed by U.S. Highway 26, shows the excellent access for tourist’s recreational use. Its wealth of outdoor recreational offerings for both summer and winter include water sports, camping, fishing, wildlife viewing and game hunting. Palisades Reservoir’s relative close proximity to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park environs make it an uncluttered ideal location to depart for a day’s sightseeing and play.

    Palisades Dam impounds the south fork of the Snake River to form the over 16,000 surface acres of Palisades Reservoir. The earth filled dam is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and was built for irrigation, hydroelectric power, flood control and recreation. Construction started in 1951 and was completed in 1957, with generating units online in 1958. Originally producing 176,600 kilowatts, power generation was upgraded in 1995 to produce a whopping 168 megawatts. Palisades Reservoir water is used for supplemental irrigation of 670,000 acres of Idaho farmland.

    Palisades Reservoir provides a very diverse combination of outdoor recreation possibilities. A proliferation of campgrounds surround the reservoir including the Bureau of Reclamation’s day use and campground below the dam, providing boat launching and fishing on the Snake River outlet. Attesting to the fine boating, there are two private boat clubs on the reservoir. Also, under lease from the Forest Service, a number of private cabins have been built. The Targhee National Forest Service administers recreational use of Palisades Reservoir.

    The most significant sport fishing species in Palisades Reservoir are the kokonee salmon, mackinaw, cutthroat and brown trout with a year-round season. Most productive seasons are, spring, fall and winter ice fishing. Numerous boat-launching ramps provide anglers excellent access to the reservoir’s fishing sites. For the geocachers among us, there are over 8 caches located in the area, all are very easy to find. Take that GPS receiver with you on your hikes, it certainly will add to your enjoyment!

    All in all, Palisades Reservoir is truly a spectacular outdoor enthusiasts location, in a gorgeous scenic setting. A trip to Palisades Reservoir will add pages of treasured memories to your album.

    Things to Do at Palisades Reservoir

    These are some activities in the Palisades Reservoir, ID/WY area visitors can enjoy:

    • Vacation Rentals
    • Fishing
    • Ice Fishing
    • Boating
    • Camping
    • Campground
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Hiking
    • Hunting
    • Wildlife Viewing
    • National Park
    • National Forest

    What Kind of Fish Are in Palisades Reservoir?

    Palisades Reservoir has been known to have the following fish species:

    • Brown Trout
    • Salmon
    • Trout
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    Find Places to Stay at Palisades Reservoir

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    More Sites to Book a Palisades Reservoir Vacation

    Our interactive Palisades Reservoir lodging map above is an easy tool for comparing VRBO rental homes and nearby hotels with Booking.com, but there could be times when you need to expand your search for different types of accommodations. Here are some other lake lodging partners we recommend:

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    Palisades Reservoir Statistics & Helpful Links

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    Lake Type: Artificial Reservoir, Dammed

    Water Level Control: US Bureau of Reclamation

    Surface Area: 16,100 acres

    Shoreline Length: 70 miles

    Normal Elevation (Full Pond): 5,570 feet

    Minimum Elevation (Min Pond): 0 feet

    Maximum Elevation (Max Pond): 5,620 feet

    Maximum Depth: 168 feet

    Water Volume: 1,200,000 acre-feet

    Completion Year: 1957

    Palisades Reservoir Map
    Local Weather Forecast

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