East Canyon Lake

East Canyon Reservoir is a popular water sports spot. The main draw here is power boating, so the lake tends to be quite crowded with propellers on weekends. The rocky, sandy shores are perfect territory for crayfish, which you'll find in abundance. Altitude is 5700 feet. Click here for map. GPS at the pictured site is N 40° 55.215' W 111° 35.466'. Picture: East Canyon, looking south from the state park. Bruce Argyle, September 17, 1998.

The Water: The water is light green with fine suspended particles. Visibility is 6-8 feet. Mid-summer surface temperature is 70 degrees. A thermocline is encountered at 40 feet, with deep temperature of 61 degrees. Daytime darkness is reached at 50 feet. Picture: A big crawdad crawls over to grab a strand of Cheez Whiz. Bruce Argyle, Sea & Sea Seamaster Pro EX, 20 mm lens.

Services: East Canyon State Park has camping, picnic areas, and boat launching. It provides the closest shore access, if you can stay away from the power boaters. (If you want to avoid the crowds or the entry fee, there are several spots on the east side where you can make a steep 100-200 foot hike down to the water.) Nearest dive services are in Ogden or Salt Lake City.

Thermal protection: Unless you'll be going below the thermocline, a standard wet suit will keep you warm. For crawdaddy-grabbing in the shallows, you may want only a farmer john. Mike Engberson pops up from a crawdaddy-grabbing evening dive. Picture by Bruce Argyle, Canon Rebel G

What to see: The bottom is rocks and sand. Crayfish are everywhere, including babies and the big guys. If a crayfish dinner is your intent, this reservoir will serve your needs nicely. A baby crayfish (1/2 inch long) crawls over the gravel. Bruce Argyle, Sea & Sea MMII, 2T macro lens

Fish are seen occasionally, mostly bass. We found plenty of sunglasses, and even a pair of goggles. And while Dominic and Bruce were taking pictures, Mike caught a cooler full of crayfish in 20 minutes.

Seasonal variation: Being fairly low in altitude, East Canyon becomes diveable by late April. It warms considerably in May and is pleasant by June. It stays comfortable until late October.

Our recommendation: The underwater scenery is nothing special, but the crayfish, the crayfish, the crayfish... You should take your fishing license and game bag to the lake. Grab a few hundred crawdaddies, then try one of our crayfish recipes. Picture: Garlic crayfish on angel hair pasta, a late-night snack 9/17/98 after a visit to East Canyon Reservoir.

Getting there: Click here for map.
Salt Lake/Provo: Take I-80 east over Parley's Summit. Continue on to Echo Junction, where you turn onto I-84 and go west towards Ogden/Morgan. Four miles later at the Henifer exit, catch U-65. At the fork in the road, go straight on U-66 towards the state park (or turn south for sites on the east shore).
Alternate: As you climb Parley's Canyon on I-80, watch for exit 134 to U-66. This is a low-speed winding mountain road that climbs 16 miles over the mountain pass, then back down to East Canyon.
Ogden: Take I-84 eastbound to the Morgan exit. Turn right and follow U-66 11 miles to the lake.

This dive site review was compiled September 1998 by Bruce Argyle, Dominic Bria, and Mike Engberson.