Lake Size: 1600 acres Shoreline Length (Miles): 12 miles Deepest Depth: 95 feet Latitude: 39.201544 Longitude: -121.193764 Lake Level Above Sea Level: 1200 feet Counties: Nevada County Cities: Marysville, Grass Valley Lake Management: US Army Corps of Engineers
Information: Collins Lake is a freshwater man-made lake with 1009 surface acres located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Sacramento, California.[1] The lake was originally created to provide additional irrigation water to Browns Valley and Loma Rica. It still serves that purpose as well as a recreation and fishing lake.
Collins Lake's founding organization, Browns Valley Irrigation District (BVID), was established in 1888. Demand for irrigation water in the area quickly exceeded availability. As early as 1919 BVID began exploring the idea of damming the water flowing through Virginia Ranch in order to satisfy Browns Valley and Loma Rica. In 1950 a permit was issued for a 105 foot high dam which would have created a 35,000 acre feet reservoir. Lack of funds for the five year, 1.36 million dollar project prevented it from being started. Ten years later a 4.8 million dollar loan was approved for a 152 foot high embankment dam which would create a lake with 57,000 acre feet of capacity. Virginia Ranch Dam was completed in 3 years, creating Collins Lake, named for Merle Collins who played a significant role in promoting the project.[2]
In 1967 Pineland Development started a concession for recreation and camping on the lakefront. Since 1972 the concession has been family run and has expanded to include 109 RV hookup campsites as well as tent camping sites.[3] The campground and day use areas are gated but open at dawn year round.
Boating
Fishing
Business
Miscellaneous Info
We have a 1600 acre lake and recreation area with 12 miles of shoreline, nestled in the beautiful California gold country foothills just over an hour North East of Sacramento between Marysville and Grass Valley.
Our facilities include RV hookups, boat launch, marina and boat rentals, a big sand swimming beach, children's playground, beach volleyball, shady picnic area, general store, laundry and hot showers
More than 50,000 trout are planted every spring, which means Collins Lake has the largest private planting program North of Sacramento. Thousands of these trout are trophy sized, planted at 3 to 8 pounds and growing even larger. We've built habitat areas for bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish them to keep them plentiful and to keep Collins Lake among the best fishing lakes in the Northstate.
Our friendly and professional staff will be happy to assist you with camping reservations, current fishing information and any questions you may have. So come and visit us
Two Story Patio Boat
Our two story patio party boats are available from sunrise to sunset and are a great way to relax on the lake. The upper deck is open to the warm sun and has a gated spiral water slide for kids that lands in the cool water. There's a coal barbecue off the bow and a changing room with a portable toilet so you can stay out all day. Plastic deck chairs and a table are already on-board which makes it easy to set up for a party.
Full Day Weekday: $250
Full Day Weekend: $300
One Story Patio Boat
One story patio party boats are a great compliment to their two story cousin. They features the same lower deck space, person capacity, chairs, tables, portable toilet, swim ladder and barbecue. The half cover canvas top keeps the back shady and cool while the open bow and stable platform make casting a rod as easy as fishing from shore. The large deck and side benches make for easy parties. These boats are the most versitile of our fleet.
Full Day Weekday: $210
Full Day Weekend: $250
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