Lake Minatare State Recreation Area

Overview

Lake Minatare State Recreation Area is managed by Bureau of Reclamation and is located near Minatare, Nebraska. Lake Minatare is a feature of the North Platte Project. Managed as a State recreation area by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lake Minatare, with a surface area of 2,158 acres and about 12 miles of shoreline is a part of the North Platte National Wildlife Refuge. Available species include channel catfish, crappie, small mouth bass, white bass, walleye (15 inch minimum), wipers, and yellow perch. Walleye, channel catfish, and gizzard shad are stocked in the reservoir annually. Motorized boats are permitted. The area is open to the public from Jan. 15 to Sept. 30. A number of Civilian Conservation Corps structures dating to the 1930's exist at Lake Minatare. Included among them is a stone picnic shelter designed to look like a lighthouse. Minatare Dam, constructed between 1912-1915, is a historic structure determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.