Lake Hefner is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in northwestern

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. It was built in the 1940s to expand the

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

supply for the city of Oklahoma City,Lake Hefner, OKC The City of Oklahoma City
Accessed August 28, 2015. in part through the labor of German POW's. It is named after Robert A. Hefner, who served as mayor of Oklahoma City from April 11, 1939 to April 8, 1947, but was originally named the "Bluff Creek Reservoir." It also serves as a major recreational destination, as it is surrounded by of multi-use (bicycle, skating and pedestrian) trails.

Description

The capacity of the lake is 75,000 acre-feet. Lake Hefner covers 2,500

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s (10 km²) and averages 29 feet (9 m) deep. The lake's outflow goes into Bluff Creek which travels north to meet up with Deer Creek, which then flows into the Cimarron River near Guthrie. The lake is situated within the Oklahoma City urban area and is subsequently closely bordered by residential areas to the north, west, and east. The Lake Hefner Dam is located along the entire northern side of the lake (with Bluff Creek Park being located below the dam, on the other side of Hefner boulevard).

Lake Hefner Parkway State Highway 74, usually abbreviated as SH-74 or OK-74 (or simply Highway 74) is the numbering of two different highways maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. These highways were once a single major north–south route, connecting Oklahoma ...

borders the east side of the lake, with some commercial development (including restaurants, bars and office buildings) located alongside the lake, as well as a 36 foot tall working replica of the second oldest lighthouse in the United States, the

Brant Point Light Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket, Massachusetts, Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746, automated in 1965, and is still in operation. The current tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on O ...

near

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

.According to a sign located at the lighthouse. The south side of the lake is the least developed, retaining the original forest along much of the shore. Lake Hefner Golf Course is located on the southwest corner of the lake. Immediately south of this are the Oklahoma City docks, commonly known as the city-side docks, the largest marina on the lake. The other marina on Lake Hefner is the Oklahoma City Boat Club (OCBC), a private organization that holds weekly sailboat races during the summer and is located on the east side. Just north of the OCBC is the East Wharf area, which contains several fairly upscale restaurants. On the south side of the lake is the Hobie Point, a YMCA sailing school, and Stars and Stripes Park. Stars and Stripes Park also has new additions of a Fitness court and a Skatepark. The Oklahoma Radio Kontrol Society (TORKS) has maintained a Radio Control air field since the early 1970s.

Recreation

The lighthouse at Lake Hefner during a drought

Hefner is also a popular

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

spot for Oklahoma City residents, and is populated with a variety of

gamefish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercia ...

species including largemouth & smallmouth bass,

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

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 ...

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

, as well as

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

and

hybrid striped bass A hybrid striped bass, also known as a wiper or whiterock bass, is a hybrid between the striped bass (''Morone saxatilis'') and the white bass (''M. chrysops''). It can be distinguished from the striped bass by broken rather than solid horizont ...

. Additionally, Hefner is a popular site for

recreational boating Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure ...

, both with

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s and motorized pleasure craft. Kiteboarding is also very popular on Hefner due to the excellent wind they receive all summer.

References

External links

Lake website by Oklahoma City government Lake Hefner information, photos and videos on TravelOK.com
Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

The Oklahoma Radio Kontrol Society - T.O.R.K.S.
{{authority control Geography of Oklahoma City Hefner Protected areas of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Oklahoma City Bodies of water of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma