Jordanelle Reservoir
 |
Jordanelle Reservoir is a relatively new lake on the Provo River midway
between Park City and Heber. Click here for map. Boat traffic is
very heavy even on weekdays due to the large support facility at Hailstone. There are
improved camping areas, group (and individual) picnic areas, a large boat ramp and trailer
parking area, and even fast food. Picture: Brian Argyle, Steve Argyle, Dominic Bria, and Mike Engberson unload the boat to try another dive site. |
The Water: Surface water temperature is 72 degrees in mid-summer. Thermoclines were encountered at 22 feet, reducing temperature to 67 degrees, and at 35 feet, with temperature reduction to 62 degrees. Visibility was two to four feet on our dive -- we understand it's much better in the winter, early spring, and late fall. (Our dive was at the peak of the algae bloom and height of the water-skiing season.)
 |
Seasonal Variation: Just ten miles from the ski resorts of Park City, this lake stays cold until May, then warms suddenly. Water temperatures are tolerable by early June, peaking in July. In early October, the temperature drops rapidly. The reservoir freezes in late December. |
| Diving Locations: The west shore (location of the
campgrounds, boat ramps, and the Hailstone visitors center) is not diveable due to shallow
depth and heavy boat traffic. The south end of the east arm is too distant from the
highway, with shores too steep to hike to the water. To dive Jordanelle in the summer, you
must row or motor over to the east side of the northern arm, or to the east arm of the
reservoir. (In the winter or nighttime, you can use the west shore facilities, but be
prepared for a 100-yard swim to reach any kind of depth.) Picture
taken at two feet with MX-10 camera using YS-40 strobe |
|
 |
We tried three sites along the east bank, and one on the north shore of
the east bay (towards the Provo River). Among six divers, we saw (1) no fish, (2) no
crawdads, (3) ubiquitous flooded brush, and (4) murk. Visibility was so low you couldn't see the bottom without brushing it, and we ran into trees and brush (like that at left) before you could see them. Picture: trunk of gamble oak (also called Utah oak) at 10 feet. |
Sample Dive #1. Damon Demond of Murray recommends you dive Jordanelle at night or in the winter with a dry suit: "If you park in the RV parking area, it's only a 25 yard walk to the shore and a 25 yard swim before it's deep enough to dive. There's a cool grove of trees at about 38' if you dive about a 175 degree heading from your entry. Watch out though because there's a lot of fishing line that's been tangled in the tree. I'll admit there's not much to see in the lake. I've only seen fish on the night dives and never any crawdads. But the bottom is cool with the bushes and trees. I always find some kind of goodies too: from golf balls (a few every dive), to boat motors (left it down there), to knives and fishing poles."
| Our Recommendation: Sorry, we're not too hot on Jordanelle. In mid-summer, Jordanelle's visibility is too low and the bottom too muddy for training dives. There's no spearfishing (and no natural rock cover for crawdads). And the safe daytime diving areas are reachable only by boat. |
|
 |
If you disagree with our recommendation, send your angry email to madscientis2@earthlink.net. (Seriously, we want info on good dive experiences at Jordanelle, so we can pass this information along!) |
| Fees and Regulations: Entry into the Hailstone camping and boat launching area was a bargain at $2. Spearfishing is not allowed in Jordanelle, which is among the reasons we won't be diving this reservoir soon. If spearfishing were allowed -- write to the Division of Wildlife Resources -- we could find a reason to tolerate the low visibility. |
|
 |
Prognosis: Jordanelle may require a few years to develop into a decent diving site. A lot of fine silt is still entering the water from the shorelines, and unlike the nearby Deer Creek Reservoir, there's little rock to stabilize the silt. Freshly flooded oak and sage (and organic matter from the soil) are contributing to algae formation and further reducing visibility. The heavy boat traffic insures a lot of waves hitting the bank, dumping silt into the water. We'll watch this reservoir -- let us know about your experiences.. |
Getting there: Click here for map.
Ogden: Take I-84 east to Echo Junction, where you turn southbound/westbound on I-80. Turn
south (left) at US-40/US-189. Keep on US-40 to the Hailstone Center.
Salt Lake: I-80 over Parley's Summit, southbound (right) on US-40/US-189. Stay on 40. Exit
at Hailstone.
Provo: Go up Provo Canyon on US-189, turning left in Heber onto US-40/US-189. Continue on
US-40 to Hailstone Center.
| This review was compiled on July 15, 1998 by Bruce Argyle, based on the experiences of Dominic Bria, Mike Engberson, Bruce Argyle, Steve Argyle, Brian Argyle, and Gary Argyle at Jordanelle. |
|
