Lake Bastrop

Lake Bastrop
Lake Bastrop at North Shore Park,
December 2014
Lake Bastrop
LocationBastrop County, Texas, US
Coordinates30°9.31′N 97°17.51′W / 30.15517°N 97.29183°W / 30.15517; -97.29183
TypePower plant cooling reservoir
Spicer Creek
Spicer Creek
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area
906 acres (367 ha)
Max. depth60 ft (18 m)
Water volume
16,590 acre⋅ft (20,460,000 m3)
Surface elevation
450 ft (140 m)

Lake Bastrop is a reservoir on Spicer Creek in the Colorado River basin 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bastrop in central Bastrop County, Texas, United States.[1]

Description

The reservoir was formed in 1964 by the construction of a dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The lake serves primarily as a power plant cooling pond for the Sim Gideon Power Plant operated by the LCRA and the Lost Pines Power Project 1, owned by GenTex Power Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of the LCRA. Lake Bastrop also serves as a venue for outdoor recreation and is maintained at a constant level year round.[2]

Approximately one quarter of the shoreline of the Lake is privately owned by the Capitol Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. This property is used for the Lost Pines Scout Reservation, consisting of Cub World at Camp Tom Wooten, for Cub Scouts and Lost Pines Boy Scout Camp, for Boy Scouts. The Scouts leased the property from the LCRA starting in 1965, buying the land in the late 1990s.[2]

Fish populations

Lake Bastrop has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lake Bastrop include largemouth bass, channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish, crappie, perch, sunfish, and carp.

Recreational Fishing Populations
Species Low Moderate High Extreme
Largemouth Bass X
Catfish X
Crappie X
Sunfish X

Parks

The LCRA owns and operates two parks on Lake Bastrop, the 182-acre (74 ha) Lake Bastrop North Shore Park and the Lake Bastrop South Shore Park. Both parks have camping options. The North Shore offers seven full hookup recreational vehicle (RV) sites and five airstream trailers for rent. They also have cabins and several furnished safari tents they refer to as glamping facilities. The South Shore has twelve full hookup RV sites and twenty-four RV sites with water and electricity. they also have eighteen cabins and two ÖÖD mirror houses.

Both parks offer boating, cycling, canoeing, fishing, hiking, kayaking, picnicking, standup paddleboarding, and swimming. The South Shore has a nine-hole miniature golf course. The North South Trailway is a 4.5-mile hike/bike trail that connects the two parks.

See also

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Bastrop
  2. ^ a b Dowell, Cleo LaFoy; Breeding, Seth D. (1967). Dams and Reservoirs in Texas: Historical and Descriptive Information, December 31, 1966. Texas Water Development Board.