Scotts Flat Reservoir seems to be very close to the spillway elevation which is approximately 3074.8 feet in elevation. That’s the elevation in which the water starts flowing out due to increase in volume from rainfall or from release of water from upper dams. As of today, the elevation of the water is 3073 or about 1.8 feet from flowing over the spillway.
In the pictures above, you can see how close to the top of the dam the water is. Camping, fishing, swimming, sunning, boating, water skiing, sailing, board sailing and other activities are popular at Scotts Flat reservoirs in the Sierra foothills. Day use parks, campgrounds and beaches which is operated by a private operator under contract with Nevada Irrigation District.
Scotts Flat is situated among the tall pines at the 3100-foot elevation nine miles east of Nevada City via Highway 20 and Scotts Flat Road. It offers 169 campsites at two large campgrounds, plus a group camp. Across the lake, accessible via Red Dog and Quaker Hill Roads from Nevada City, is the Cascade Shores Day Use Area.
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Email or call today:
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Emerald Cove Marina - photo courtesy of Emerald Cove Marina
While Bullards Bar Lake is not in Nevada County, it is close enough to Nevada City and Grass Valley as to make it a designation for water skiing, house boating and fishing. It’s only 21 miles north of Nevada City off of Highway 49 in the historic gold country. The two closest cities are Nevada City, Grass Valley and Marysville.
The lake surface is at 2,000 foot elevation, 16 miles loan with about 60 miles of shoreline. The boating surface is 4,700 acres, which is a lot of area to boat in. There are only two launch ramps and once you are in the water, you are surrounded by a greenbelt covered with pine, oak, fir, madrone, dogwood and other species of trees native to the area. As you cruise up into the North Yuba Canyon, sheer cliffs of granite come down to greet the crystal clear water.
The North Yuba River is backed up by Bullards Bar Dam which is an awesome sight all by itself. Standing 645′ above the canyon floor, it holds back 960,000 acre feet of water. It’s the second tallest dam in California, 5th tallest in the United States. A hydro-electric dam, Bollards’ Bar Dam is operated and controlled by the Yuba County Water Agency. They are able to manage the water so that recreation access to the reservoir is never restricted.
Bullards Bar offers boat access campgrounds, land based sites, and shoreline camping permits. There are a total of only 160 sites, which limits the amount of people the area can accommodate. Emerald Cove takes site specific reservations for all camping.
For the fisherman, there are kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, german browns, largemouth, smallmouth and black bass, crappie, catfish, and bluegill. Bullards Bar has a reputation as having the best kokanee salmon fishing in California.
BOATING
Power, Row, Jet ski, Windsurf, Canoe, Sail, Water-ski, and Inflatables are allowed.
There is a full service marina with gas and propane available
Rentals: Fishing Boats with Motors, House Boats
