Scotts Flat Lake, Nevada City, CA
Scotts Flat Lake picture from my deck March 21, 2009
My house overlooks Scotts Flat Lake and as you can see in the picture above, I get a really beautiful view of the lake . It’s a wonderful experience living above such a body of water, which is constantly changing appearance, either due to wind or other forces of nature. At times I can look out and see fog completely covering the lake, at other times; wind plays with the water and makes designs that are captivating to the eye and imagination. The lake is large enough for fairly large sail boats (my daughter had a 25 foot long sail boat that she sailed on the lake and there are larger sail boats that use the lake), along with ski boats, canoes and small boats for fishing.
Scotts Flat Lake is at 3,100 feet in elevation and has a surface area of 850 acres with 7.5 miles of shoreline lined with a forest of pine trees. There are two launch ramps, a marina, campsites, a picnic area, sandy beaches and a general store. (My house is at 3,700 foot elevation.)
Looking at far side of Scotts Flat Lake, boat ramp and camp ground area. Notice the wind patterns
The fish in the lake are German Brown Trout, Massachusetts Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Bullhead Catfish and Channel Catfish. There are sites that are available for camping at Gate 1 with nightly single sites, and (1) one hundred person group site, Gate 2 has seventy five single sites and three group sites, one hosts twenty, one hosts thirty and the third one hosts forty people.
Showers and flush toilets are available, along with multiple RV sites, but no RV hookupsare available. However, they do have dumping facilities for RV’s. You can bring pets, however they must be leashed at all times and they are not allowed along the beach or swim areas.
Below Scotts Flat Lake is Lower Scotts Flat, also called Deer Creek Reservoir which is much smaller than the upper lake. The only water craft I’ve seen here are mainly canoes and a few small boats for fishing.
For more information and to make reservations for camping follow this link Scotts Flat Lake Reservations
For a map of the lake follow this link Map of Scotts Flat Lake
Reader Comments
Is there ever ice on the lake in winter?
I’ve never seen ice on the lake. It never gets cold enough to have ice form on the lake.
I plan to go camping @ scotts flat next week. Is the water line high this year? Alot of lakes are low in California.
Thanks:)
is there catfish in lowerr scotts flat?
Yes, the last time I fished there were a lot of catfish in Scotts Flat Lake
Do you get snow in the winter and is there snow around the lake?
We get a quite a bit of snow around the lake. At an elevation of 3,100 feet, it is above the snow level and I would say that based on my experience living by the lake (although I’m higher at 3,700 feet) you get two to three feet or more of snow fall several times during the winter.
However, it usually does not last longer then a couple of weeks and then most of the snow is gone.
Are dogs allowed in certain areas for swimming?
I take my dog to the lake all the time. I don’t know of any restrictions for dogs swimming in Scotts Flat Lake.
Are boat slips available to rent?
Yes, Look at the website it will give you sll the info your needing.. We rented a 14′ 125.00 night.
how cold is this lake
when is it windy there? would it be windy enough for windsurfing or kiteboarding? 10 – 30mph
Yes, it’s windy enough. There are many small and fairly large sail boats on the lake through out the spring, summer and fall.
Warm enough to swim and water ski.