JORDANELLE
What Jordanelle is
A water bank first and a state park second. Reclamation built it to hold water through a drought, and the recreation everyone comes for sits on top of that job.
Jordanelle Dam is a Bureau of Reclamation facility administered by the Provo Area Office , on the Provo River north of Heber City. "The reservoir functions as a long term holdover reservoir sized to provide storage through a six year drought."
"Its eastern arm extends approximately five miles from the dam to the Provo River, and its northern arm extends about four miles from the dam to Ross Creek."
Central Utah Water Conservancy District operates Jordanelle Dam. Recreation is managed by Utah State Parks as Jordanelle State Park . The reservoir was filled in July 1996 .
Jordanelle Dam belongs to the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project. The Bonneville Unit serves Duchesne, Wasatch, Utah and Juab counties with irrigation water and supplies municipal and industrial water.
The Bonneville Unit makes a trans-basin diversion from the Colorado River to the Bonneville Basin. Releases from Jordanelle Dam provide the potential for hydropower generation.
The reservoir stores water by exchange for Bonneville Unit water held in Utah Lake and Strawberry Reservoir .
Both agencies agree construction began in 1987. They do not agree on when it ended.
| Figure | What the source actually says |
|---|---|
| 1987 to 1992 | "Original Construction | 1987-1992" U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Dam project page |
| Completed 1993 | "Construction of Jordanelle Dam and Reservoir began in 1987 and was completed in 1993." Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Reservoir Resource Management Plan (2012), hosted by Utah State Parks |
| Completed 1992 | "Jordanelle Reservoir (completed in 1992) forced people to leave their homes, their lands, and their livelihoods." Utah Division of State History, I Love History, Wasatch County |
What is under Jordanelle Reservoir
A town called Keetley, and with it the site of a Japanese American agricultural colony founded in 1942 by families who left the West Coast rather than be taken to a camp.
"As for Keetley, its destiny was to be covered by the rising waters of the Central Utah Project's Jordanelle Dam a half-century later."
"Jordanelle Reservoir (completed in 1992) forced people to leave their homes, their lands, and their livelihoods."
Fred Wada could not buy land, so he made a deal. "Instead, he struck a bargain with Keetley mayor George Fisher, leasing land from him in exchange for a promise to bring Japanese to the area as farm labor."
"On March 26 Wada and a number of other families left Oakland for Utah." "The colony was established as a cooperative, nonprofit venture growing food for the American war effort." "Clearing the land required moving 50 tons of rocks to clear 150 acres."
A second Utah state history source independently records the Keetley settlement .
Rock Cliff draws visitors from around the nation to view more than 200 different forms of bird and mammal life.
Ute ladies'-tresses, a threatened plant species, could be found in the Project Management Area.
- A live reservoir level from a federal gauge. There is not one. USGS site 10155100 below the dam stopped collecting in 1994, and the in-reservoir site holds a single day of samples from 1995. Reclamation publishes no hydromet record for this reservoir. The only live figure is the percentage Utah State Parks shows on its own park page.
- Depth contours or a deepest-point marker. No open bathymetric survey exists for Jordanelle. Reclamation holds survey data through its Provo Area Office and Upper Colorado Basin Region. Nothing published could be traced, so this page shows the shoreline and no depth shape.
- Shoreline length in miles. No approved source publishes one.
- A species count. Reclamation names six fish without stating a count or using the word species. This page names the same six and states no total.
- A DWR fishing report. No Division of Wildlife Resources narrative report or species page exists for this water.
- Tiger muskie, tiger trout or kokanee. No confirmed agency source names any of the three in this reservoir.
- A statewide wakeless speed definition. The distance at which wakeless speed applies statewide was not found in an approved source, so only the named zones above are stated.
- Reservoir closures or swimming closures. None specific to Jordanelle was found.
How big and how deep is Jordanelle?
Reclamation states a depth. It does not state a single surface area or a single capacity, because two of its own documents disagree on both. This page prints every figure with the sentence it came from.
"The reservoir surface area covers approximately 3,024 surface acres with a depth of about 280 feet when at full pool."
The hedge is the source's own word and it stays. No agency publishes a surveyed maximum depth for this reservoir.
Two Bureau of Reclamation documents give different answers, 44 acres apart. This page prints both.
| Figure | What the source actually says |
|---|---|
| 3,068 acres | "Jordanelle has a capacity of 320,300 acre-feet with a surface area of 3,068 acres." U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Dam project page |
| 3,024 surface acres | "When full, the open water of the reservoir covers approximately 3,024 surface acres." Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Reservoir Resource Management Plan (2012), hosted by Utah State Parks |
Reclamation prints two different figures, and one of its own pages carries both of them.
| Figure | What the source actually says |
|---|---|
| 320,300 acre-feet | "Jordanelle has a capacity of 320,300 acre-feet with a surface area of 3,068 acres." U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Dam project page |
| 363,000 acre-feet | "363,000 acre-foot Jordanelle Reservoir" U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Central Utah Project Bonneville Unit project page |
| 320,300 acre-feet | "320,300 acre-feet with a surface area of 3,068 acres" U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Central Utah Project Bonneville Unit project page |
| Structural height | 345.0 ft |
| Crest length | 3,700.0 ft |
| Crest elevation | 6,185.0 ft |
| Hydraulic height, normal operating depth at dam | 283.0 ft |
| Drainage area | 258.0 sq mi |
All from the Reclamation Jordanelle Dam page .
Spillway capacity 6,600 cfs at elevation 6169.0 ft; outlet works capacity 3,600 cfs at the same elevation . Maximum water surface elevation is 6,169.0 ft , while Utah State Parks states the park elevation as 6,166 feet .
No published bathymetric survey for Jordanelle could be located on any approved federal or Utah source. Reclamation holds survey data through its Provo Area Office and Upper Colorado Basin Region.
Ramps, fees, camping and fishing
Four fee locations, three ramps in the state dataset, and a camping season that closes for four months. The ramp names in the dataset do not match the names on the signs, and this page does not force them to.
| Ramp | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|
| Jordanelle State Park, Hailstone North | 40.622961 | -111.418700 |
| Jordanelle State Park, Hailstone South | 40.616964 | -111.421684 |
| Jordanelle State Park, Rock Cliff | 40.603568 | -111.352401 |
From the Utah statewide boat ramp dataset , rounded to six decimal places, all administered by Utah State Parks.
The main ramp at Hailstone has 8 lanes.
Hailstone has a Personal Watercraft ramp that also serves non-motorized launching.
Ross Creek has a non-motorized boat ramp reserved for non-motorized users.
The Hailstone Marina has an 80 slip private boat dock, with slips categorized by size and availability of power.
| Peak, May to October | Rate |
|---|---|
| Hailstone | $20 |
| Rock Cliff | $20 |
| Ross Creek | $20 |
| Crandall Point Day Use | $15 |
| Seniors 65 and over | $10 |
| Pedestrians and walk-ins | $5 per person |
| Shuttles and buses | $5 per person |
| Off season, November to April | Rate |
|---|---|
| Hailstone | $10 |
| Rock Cliff | $10 |
| Ross Creek | $10 |
| Crandall Point Day Use | $10 |
| Seniors 65 and over | $5 |
| Pedestrians and shuttles | $3 per person |
All rows as printed on the park fee page .
| Camping RV partial hookups | $50 |
| Camping tents, no hookups (McHenry) | $40 |
| Camping hike-in, no hookups (Phostan Bay and boat-in) | $35 |
| Boat camping | $40 |
| Cabin (pet fee applies) | $150 |
| Cottages | $200 |
camping is closed from November through March, and the cottages are available year round
Hailstone RV Campground
103 RV campsites with partial hookups at 30 amp power and water.
McHenry Campground
Four loops designed for tents, with bathrooms, showers and water spigots in each loop.
Phostan Bay Campground
Previously known as Keetley campground. A hike-in tent campground.
Keetley Group Campsite
Accommodates up to 75 people and has four tent pads on the north side of the pavilion.
Two pages on the Utah State Parks site disagree, and one of them disagrees with itself. Call the park before you plan on it.
| Figure | What the source actually says |
|---|---|
| Yes, and it reopened | "The Rock Cliff Campground and Nature Center reopened June 2025." Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park, Discover |
| Not in the facilities listing | "There is a fish cleaning station near the vehicle bridge on the way to the campground." Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park, Facilities |
The park has five named cabins and three named cottages. Hailstone has 38 reservable day-use cabanas and Ross Creek has 23 first come, first serve day-use cabanas. The Hailstone Event Center can accommodate indoor and outdoor events as large as 500 people.
Park hours are 6am to 10pm. Quiet hours are 10pm to 7am. Check out is 12 PM and check in is at 3 PM.
- Perimeter Trail. The trail totals 22 miles from Rock Cliff to Hailstone
- Three Rocks Trail. A .7 mile round trip hike with a 150-foot elevation change
- Wada Way. 1.85-mile loop
- Keetley loop. 1.69-mile loop
Where to fish Jordanelle, and how
Nine fish, five places on the water and the one rule that beats every tip. Pick a species and the map shows where it is named and what people throw at it.
The Utah Fishing Guidebook carries a single specific-waters entry for this reservoir: "Jordanelle Reservoir, Wasatch County • Limit 6 bass."
"Although known for its trophy smallmouth bass fishery, it also provides fishing for rainbow trout, yellow perch, largemouth bass, walleye, and brown trout."
Smallmouth bass
The trophy fishery Reclamation names first
Limit 6 bassRainbow trout
4 trout, any kindYellow perch
Limit 50Largemouth bass
Limit 6 bassWalleye
Brown trout
4 trout, any kindSmallmouth bass
Tube jigs along the rocky points . Three inch soft plastic swimbaits in shad colours . Topwater "in the summer and early fall" . When it is cold, "slower retrieves with Twister Tail Grubs, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, drop-shot rigs, Ned rigs, Neko rigs" .
Yellow perch
Quarter ounce tube jigs in green pumpkin . Two toned tube or curl tail jigs in "yellow, red, chartreuse, pink, orange, neon yellow, and glow" . Vertical jigging "over 15-25 foot humps produces bass and perch consistently" .
Walleye
"Feather Jigs, Hair Jigs, tub jigs, Curl tail grubs" in two tone colours, white with a yellow tail, black with a yellow tail, pearl, chartreuse, glow, white and orange .
Rainbow and brown trout
Size 2 to 4 Kastmaster spoons in silver . "PowerBait and Gulp in garlic, corn, or cheese" . From shore, "night crawlers or PowerBait" . Spring and fall are named as the windows "when the water temperatures bring the trout in closer to shore" .
Brown trout, by season
"Spring turnover happens late April through May, pushing brown trout shallow for their best feeding period." "September through October sees browns staging for spawn, with 8+ pound fish caught regularly on large streamers and crankbaits."
Rules and hazards
A marked exclusion line at the dam, wakeless zones at three named places, and a boater course that has been mandatory statewide since 2024.
The dam zone Exclusion
"This is facilitated by maintaining a permanent row of buoys 500 feet from the face of Jordanelle Dam."
Wakeless zones Speed
"Maintaining wakeless zones include the marina and beach area at Hailstone Recreation Area, the beach area at Ross Creek Recreation Area, and the small boat launch at Rock Cliff Recreation Area."
Fire
Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect, with no open fires of any kind including established fire pits and charcoal.
Before you launch Mandatory
"Starting in 2024, all boaters, motorized and non motorized, are required to take the Mussel Aware Boater Course prior to boating at any water in the State of Utah."
- The dry time during the summer for a simple vessel is 7 days.
- If you have a more complex boat that has ballast tanks, live wells, or in/outboard motors that contain unverifiable water, then you must wait 30 days to dry or get professionally decontaminated regardless of the time of year.
Algal blooms
Under the heading 2018 Monitoring Updates the Division of Water Quality lists Jordanelle Reservoir with the date September 11, 2018. The advisories section for that year shows no active advisory for this water.
Jordanelle holds six years of drought reserve.
Reclamation states the reservoir "The reservoir functions as a long term holdover reservoir sized to provide storage through a six year drought." It belongs to the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project , which "The Bonneville Unit serves Duchesne, Wasatch, Utah and Juab counties with irrigation water and supplies municipal and industrial water."
Fathom Restoration is a veteran-founded Utah 501(c)(3) built to pull submerged vehicles, vessels and debris out of Utah's waters, so that what is on the bottom stops being a problem for the water above it. We run volunteer dive cleanups now. Funding is what turns the rest on.
Donate to Protect JordanelleQuestions: info@fathomrestoration.org
Every figure on this page is cited
17 numbered sources, all federal or Utah agency publications. Each one was gathered once, then re-fetched and confirmed against the exact sentence in the source.
Sources
How these were checked
Every figure was gathered once, then re-fetched from the same address a second time and confirmed against the exact sentence in the source. Anything that could not be confirmed word for word was cut rather than softened. Where two approved sources disagree, both are printed and neither is resolved. Sources are federal and Utah agency publications only. The coordinate on the hero is the dam location, 40.5966, -111.424, from the Utah dam safety inventory record NID UT10204, shown in degrees, minutes and seconds.U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Dam project page
Bureau of Reclamation, Jordanelle Reservoir Resource Management Plan (2012), hosted by Utah State Parks
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Central Utah Project Bonneville Unit project page
Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park
Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park, Park Fees
Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park, Facilities
Utah State Parks, Jordanelle State Park, Discover
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Fishing Guidebook, 2026
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Blue Ribbon Fisheries
Utah Geospatial Resource Center, Utah Boat Ramps, State Geographic Information Database
U.S. Geological Survey, site 10155100, Provo River below Jordanelle Dam
U.S. Geological Survey, site 403557111252801, Jordanelle Reservoir 100 meters north of dam
Utah Division of Water Rights, dam safety inventory
Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality, harmful algal blooms
Utah Division of State History, History to Go, The Japanese Agricultural Colony
Utah Division of State History, I Love History, Wasatch County
National Weather Service, api.weather.gov
Utah State Parks, Jordanelle Current Conditions, limits and species table
Angler sources, the second tier
These four are not agencies. They are used only for where to fish, what to throw and when, never for depth, capacity, species presence, closures or any rule. Their chips are lettered so you can tell at a glance which tier a sentence came from. Nothing on this tier was cross-checked twice, because there is no authoritative sentence to check it against.Beyond Braid, Fishing At Jordanelle: Complete Tactical Guide
Visit Utah, Fishing At Jordanelle Reservoir
Sportsman’s Warehouse, Jordanelle Reservoir fishing report
Kraken Bass, Top 10 Utah Smallmouth Bass Fishing Destinations
Kokanee Fishing, Fishing For Kokanee Salmon On Jordanelle Reservoir
Pick your fish
Choose a fish above.
How this was done
What this is measuring
The forecast cards are the National Weather Service point forecast for the dam coordinate, not for the middle of the reservoir, and not for any particular ramp.
There is no live federal gauge on Jordanelle. USGS site 10155100 sits on the Provo River below the dam and stopped collecting in 1994. The in-reservoir site holds a single day of samples from 1995. Reclamation publishes no hydromet record for this reservoir. Any site showing you a live federal number for Jordanelle is showing you something else.
Utah State Parks publishes a live percentage on its own park page. We do not mirror it here, because a percentage needs a denominator and Reclamation's own capacity figures disagree by 42,700 acre-feet.