Lake Fayetteville is a reservoir of Clear Creek created by Lake Fayetteville Dam in 1949 in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

. Bordered on the north by Springdale, the lake was created as a water supply for the City of Fayetteville, but now serves as recreational lake surrounded by residential neighborhoods and as a focal point along the

Razorback Regional Greenway The Northwest Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway (usually shortened to Razorback Regional Greenway or just Greenway in Northwest Arkansas) is a primarily off-road shared-use trail in Northwest Arkansas. Dedicated on May 2, 2015, the Greenway co ...

for cyclists and trail users throughout

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, ...

History

Lake Fayetteville was used as a water supply for Fayetteville until the creation of

Beaver Water District Beaver Water District (BWD) is a water district created in 1957 as a quasi-governmental agency to provide treated drinking water to the communities of Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan area, Northwest Arkansas. The district's source i ...

, a regional provider whose source is Beaver Lake. The Clear Creek watershed contains rapidly developing areas of both cities; as a result,

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

washes sediment and dissolved nutrients into Lake Fayetteville, including

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

. The lake has undergone

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

, and occasionally has toxic algal blooms.

Amenities

Lake Fayetteville has a marina operated by the City of Fayetteville and fishing piers. The lake contains bass,

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

, and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

Trail along Lake Fayetteville looking south

The lake has long had a nature trail around the lake, including passing through the

Botanical Garden of the Ozarks The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is a not for profit 501(c)3 organization located on the east side of Lake Fayetteville in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. The 44-acre (16 ha) site is located at the border between Fayetteville and Spring ...

. The Lake Fayetteville Nature Trail is a dirt path with tree markers passing through the oak-hickory forest typical of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

. The first segment of paved trail connecting to the

was completed in 2007, with a full paved trail around the lake completed in 2013. The nature trail was rehabilitated and expanded into a

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

trail beginning in 2010. Students from

Fayetteville Public Schools The Fayetteville Public Schools (Fayetteville School District, or FPS) is the first public school district chartered in Arkansas. The system was established with the creation of public schools in Arkansas in 1871, the same year as the Universit ...

and

Springdale Public Schools Springdale Public Schools (formally Springdale School District #50) is the public school district for students of primary and secondary education in Springdale, Arkansas and surrounding areas. The district contains three high schools, four junio ...

have jointly studied the water for

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

classes using the Springdale-Fayetteville Center for the Study of Aquatic Resources on the lake since 1974. After an risk-based inspection by the

Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

describing a consequence of failure submerging the city of

Johnson, Arkansas Johnson is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Ozark Mountains and is surrounded by valleys and natural springs. Early settlers took advantage of these natural features and formed an economy base ...

, the City of Fayetteville removed many large sycamore trees from the dam in 2017, and planted wildflowers.

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Washington County, Arkansas Fayetteville Bodies of water of Washington County, Arkansas 1949 establishments in Arkansas