Long Lake is a freshwater lake located in Thurston County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located approximately east of

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

. It consists of two basins connected by a narrow neck. It is two miles (3.2 km) long and has two islands, Holmes Island (13 acres / 5.3 ha) and Kirby Island (2.4 acres / 1 ha). Long Lake is fed by Pattison Lake and drains via Himes/Woodland Creek and Lois Lake to

Henderson Inlet Henderson Inlet is a small, southern inlet of Puget Sound, Washington state, situated between Budd Inlet to the west and Nisqually Reach to the east. It is located in Thurston County and the nearest city is Olympia, the state capital. Henderson Inl ...

., Department of Ecology Long Lake was given its descriptive name in 1853.

Public access

Boat launch

The lake can be accessed via a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) boat launch. The launch is open during fishing season and requires a WDFW vehicle use permit.

Long Lake Park

Long Lake Park is a 10-acre (4 ha) park operated by the City of Lacey which features a swimming beach, sand-volleyball courts, and barbecue facilities. The park has of beach frontage as well as picnic facilities and pedestrian trails through the woods. The city calls the swimming beach one of the finest in Thurston County. The park is open from 7 am to dusk.

Fishing

The following species of fish can be found in Long Lake: *

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

Rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

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 ...

Brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (''Ame ...

Eurasian carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

Yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

Pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

* Suckerfish *

Coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

Warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawberry perch. Descrip ...

Lake Management District

Since 1987, Long Lake property owners have authorized Lake Management District No. 19 to oversee the management of the lake. The District was authorized for January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015.

Goals

* Monitor and manage any recurrence of milfoil or emergence of other aquatic plants to meet recreational and aesthetic needs, fishery and wildlife habitat requirements, and watershed concerns. * Conduct water quality monitoring * Investigate and promote best management practices and shoreline enhancement to decrease phosphorus loading. * Implement the Long Lake Management Plan. * Investigate, advise, and report upon impacts caused by the increased population and popular use of Long Lake, while maintaining quality of life on and around the lake. * Maintain a steering committee responsible for directing LMD activities, overseeing finances and communicating with property owners.

Boating safety rules

Thurston County establishes regulations regarding boating operations and water safety on Long Lake. * In 2014, Long Lake was added to the WDFW list of lakes open for year-round fishing, which removed its "30 day rule" which stated : "For the first 30 days of fishing season the speed limit is 5 mph around-the-clock". Long Lake is now open, year-round, to watercraft with a 45 mph speed limit in open basins EXCEPT at night and in the morning, when the speed limit is 5 mph. (The 5 mph limit applies after 8 p.m. or official sunset, whichever comes first, to 11 a.m.) * After sunset, all crafts must use proper running lights. * Crafts operating over 5 mph must be at least 200 feet off the shoreline. This must be observed because swimmers and nonmotorized craft tend to gather within the 200-foot safety zone. This rule also reduces the impact of wakes upon shore banks. * Crafts operating over 5 mph, including personal watercraft or "

jet skis A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" wh ...

," must also remain at least 100 feet away from all other craft and persons. * All watercraft must travel in a counter-clockwise direction. * Water skiing must be done in groups of at least three: a driver, an observer, and a skier. The observer is required to watch the skier at all times and to use a red or orange flag to signal when a skier is down in the water. All water skiers are required to wear an approved flotation device. *

Personal flotation device A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

s must be on-board all watercraft, with one device required for each person and easily accessible. Children 12 years old and younger must wear a

personal flotation device A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

at all times if traveling on a vessel that is shorter than 19 feet. * All personal watercraft (or "jet ski") operators must wear an approved flotation device. * It is illegal to operate any craft while under the influence of

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

Polar Bear Plunge

Each year on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

, Long Lake Park hosts the Polar Bear Plunge where hundreds ring in the new year by jumping into the lake.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Washington (state) Lakes of Thurston County, Washington Tourist attractions in Thurston County, Washington