Parker Canyon Lake is located in southeastern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, southwest of

Sierra Vista Sierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 45,308, and is the 27th most populous city in Arizona. The city is part of the Sierra Vista-Douglas Metropolitan Are ...

around the

Huachuca Mountains The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this a ...

and about north of the border with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The lake is a reservoir formed by a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in Parker Canyon in the south end of the

Canelo Hills The Canelo Hills are a range of low mountains or hills in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The range consists of a series of northwest–southeast trending ridges extending from the Sonoita Creek valley southwest of Sonoita to the Parker Can ...

in southwestern

Cochise County Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...

. Parker Canyon is a tributary to the Santa Cruz River in the

San Rafael Valley The San Rafael Valley is a high intermontane grass valley in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The valley is bounded to the west by the Patagonia Mountains, to the north and northeast by the Canelo Hills and to the east by the Huachuca Mountain ...

. The facilities are maintained by

Coronado National Forest The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is located in parts of ...

division of the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Forest Service.

Fish species

Parker Canyon Lake is stocked with rainbow trout once a month from October to March. The lake was stocked with channel catfish which now hold a reproducing population. The rest of the

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

assemblage consist of

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, bu ...

, bluegill,

green sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usu ...

, redear sunfish,

black bullhead The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish (''Ameiurus melas'') is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels ...

yellow bullhead The yellow bullhead (''Ameiurus natalis'') is a species of bullhead catfish, a ray-finned fish that lacks scales. Description The yellow bullhead is a medium-sized member of the catfish family. It is typically yellow-olive to slate black on the ...

, and mosquitofish.

Northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

, which were abundant, recently vanished in the past few years. Other fish that were stocked but didn't establish or their stockings ceased to exist include

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...

red shiner The red shiner or red-horse minnow (''Cyprinella lutrensis'') is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed,Farringer R.T., III, A.A. Echelle, and S.F. Lehtinen. 1979. Repr ...

fathead minnow Fathead minnow (''Pimephales promelas''), also known as fathead or tuffy, is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the genus ''Pimephales'' of the cyprinid family. The natural geographic range extends throughout much of North Amer ...

s, and

threadfin shad The threadfin shad (''Dorosoma petenense'') is a small pelagic fish common in rivers, large streams, and reservoirs of the Southeastern United States. Like the American gizzard shad, the threadfin shad has an elongated dorsal ray, but unlike the ...

.https://www.fws.gov/southwest/federal_assistance/pdfs/chapter%2010%20santa%20cruz%20river%20watershed.pdf

Recreational Activities

The

maintains a campground with two loops. One is dedicated to tents only while the other accommodates RVs and Trailers. There is no electricity or dump facilities in the campground. The lake hosts a boat ramp and a small store which offers food, fishing equipment, paddle boat, canoe, and motor boat rentals.

Picture gallery

Parker Canyon Lake.jpg Parker Canyon Lake (8486916071).jpg Parker Canyon Lake 2.jpg Parker Canyon Lake Shoreline - panoramio.jpg The Docks at Parker Canyon Lake Arizona - panoramio.jpg A Stream Feeding into Parker Canyon Lake - panoramio.jpg SKIMMER, WIDOW (Libellula luctuosa) (10-6-12) parker canyon lake area, cochise co, az -01 (8060914120).jpg

References

External links

Arizona Fishing Locations Map

Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map

Video of Parker Canyon Lake
{{authority control Reservoirs in Arizona Lakes of Cochise County, Arizona Coronado National Forest 1965 establishments in Arizona