Lake Lowell is managed by both the Bureau of Reclamation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Part of the Boise Project this 14.5 square mile (9,800-acre) reservoir with 28 miles of shoreline lies within the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge. Boating, fishing, and wildlife viewing are the major recreation activities at Lake Lowell, located 5 miles southwest of Nampa. Lake Lowell, originally called Deer Flat Reservoir, was the first storage reservoir completed for the Boise Project, one of the earliest Reclamation projects. Historic features include the embankment dams which are on the National Register of Historic Places. The embankments include the headworks for four canals. Repairs made to the dams in 1938-39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps include rustic lava-rock parapet walls with decorative designs embedded in them. Lake Lowell is a great birding spot with over 200 recorded avian species. Spectacular bird concentrations occur on the lake during peak migration periods. During state seasons, upland birds, ducks, coots, and mourning doves may be hunted on the East Side and South Side Recreation Areas. Available fish species include rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill, and bullhead and channel catfish. Season open year-round. Reservoir acre feet and total reservoir capacity and cubic feet/second release rates for rivers below Boise & Payette River Basins reservoirs and select river locations are updated daily and graphically provided. Power craft permitted April 15 through October 1. Site offers boat ramps and docks, and parking at the upper and lower dam sites and at the visitor center. The refuge Visitor Center is open all year on Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm. For additional information, please see the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge or The Bureau of Reclamation's information on Lake Lowell.
Directions: Take Exit 35 off of Interstate 84. Go north 1/2 mile to Karcher Road. Turn left and go west 3 miles to Lake Avenue. Turn left and go south 3 miles to the Upper Dam. Cross the dam to the refuge Visitor Center.
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