Rye Patch State Recreation Area

---

title: "Rye Patch State Recreation Area" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["state-parks-of-nevada", "protected-areas-of-pershing-county,-nevada", "protected-areas-established-in-1971", "1971-establishments-in-nevada", "new-deal-in-nevada"] description: "Recreation area in Nevada, United States" topic_path: "general/state-parks-of-nevada" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rye_Patch_State_Recreation_Area" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Recreation area in Nevada, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox park"]

Field	Value
name	Rye Patch State Recreation Area
photo	Rye Patch from I-80.JPG
photo_width	280
photo_alt	Landscape
photo_caption	Reservoir from I-80 south of Imlay
map	Nevada
map_caption	Location in Nevada
map_width	280
relief	1
label	Rye Patch State Recreation Area
location	Pershing County, Nevada, United States
nearest_city	Lovelock, Nevada
coords
coords_ref
area	2448.99 acre
elevation	4137 ft
established	1971
free_label	Named for
designation	Nevada state park
administrator	Nevada Division of State Parks
visitation_num	25,556 vehicles
visitation_year	2017
visitation_ref
website
::

| name = Rye Patch State Recreation Area | photo = Rye Patch from I-80.JPG | photo_width = 280 | photo_alt = Landscape | photo_caption = Reservoir from I-80 south of Imlay | map = Nevada | map_caption = Location in Nevada | map_width = 280 | relief = 1 | label = Rye Patch State Recreation Area | location = Pershing County, Nevada, United States | nearest_city = Lovelock, Nevada | coords = | coords_ref = | area = 2448.99 acre | elevation = 4137 ft | established = 1971 | free_label = Named for | free_data = | designation = Nevada state park | administrator = Nevada Division of State Parks | visitation_num = 25,556 vehicles | visitation_year = 2017 | visitation_ref = | status = | website = | embedded =

Rye Patch State Recreation Area is a 2400 acre state park unit of Nevada, United States, adjoining Rye Patch Reservoir, an 11000 acre impoundment on the Humboldt River, and the smaller Pitt-Taylor Reservoirs. The recreation area is located at the end of State Route 401 (Rye Patch Road), which connects to Interstate 80/U.S. Route 95 about 22 mi northeast of Lovelock.

History

The park is located in a part of Nevada that in prehistoric times was under Lake Lahontan. When the lake had receded lower than the present-day reservoir, by about 23,000 years ago, animals such as camels, horses, rabbits, and squirrels would drink from the river, and some of their fossils have been found about 14 mi north of the dam. Archaeological evidence from Lovelock Cave and elsewhere shows that humans would camp along the Humboldt about 8,000 years ago.

In the mid-19th century, particularly during the California Gold Rush, travelers along the Humboldt would graze their cattle on the wild ryegrass in the area near present-day Rye Patch Reservoir, which was known as Lassen Meadows. At Lassen Meadows the Applegate-Lassen Cut-Off of the California Trail, which provided a quicker route to Goose Lake in northeast California and the California gold fields, left the main route of that trail and headed toward the Black Rock Desert.

The Rye Patch Dam was constructed between 1933 and 1936 by the Public Works Administration as a New Deal relief project during the Great Depression. In 1971 the reservoir was made a Nevada State Recreation Area.

Activities and amenities

Among the facilities the park offers are a campground, picnic areas, and a launch for boating. Visitors can fish for crappie, wipers, white bass, channel catfish, black bass, and walleye.

References

References

1. {{cite gnis. 858164. Rye Patch Reservoir
2. (2018). "Division of State Parks Performance Audit".
3. "Rye Patch State Recreation Area". Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
4. (April 27, 2018). "Inventory of State Lands". Nevada Division of State Lands.
5. "Chapter 5: Inventory". Nevada Division of State Parks, Planning and Development Section.
6. (November 2011). "Rye Patch State Recreation Area Brochure". Nevada Division of State Parks.
7. "Humboldt Project". U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
8. Horton, Gary A.. (2000). "Humboldt River Chronology: An Overview". Nevada Division of Water Planning.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::