Patagonia Lake 2022

The Patagonia Lake is a man-made lake, located southwest of the Patagonia town and Northeast of Nogales. The lake formed by the damming of the Sonoita Creek receives its share of water from the Creek that flows up to a distance of 2.5 miles along the park’s edge.

Located about 42.5 km from the Green Valley, you can easily reach the Lake by bus or taxi in a 90 minutes’ drive. Visitors get to enjoy two different types of vegetation here – the tree and dessert vegetation. Since the lake is located in the Patagonia State Park, hikers throng the site all year round.
The Park is home to the Cottonwood-Riparian forest. You can find over a hundred feet tall trees that are centuries old here. The Park also houses over three hundred varieties of birds. Rare birds including the Green Kingfisher and the Violet-Crowned Hummingbird can be seen here. Guided bird tours are also offered by the Park. However, you must sign up early for this.

Families taveling with kids will find the place exciting. You even spot a few mammals such as the mountain lion, white-tailed deer, and coyote. There are a good number of camping and lodging options in the area as well. Although the water in the Lake is considered to be turbulent, swimming in any part of the lake is just as comfortable. Water sports like skiing and camping are also quite popular on the site.

However, fishing is the most exciting activity here. Many anglers consider the lake as a haven for catching medium sized fish. If you are lucky, then you can catch a huge catfish weighing around 56 pounds as well. Fishing in the Lake is easy even for beginners. The shoreline of the lake offers good access to fishing. This lake is one of the top bass fishing spots in Arizona. The waters also support Crappie, catfish and bluegill stocking. Small watercraft like Kayaks and inflatables can be used for fishing purposes.

To facilitate warm water fishing, competitions are held in the month of April. During winter, when the temperatures cool down, catches are low. Since, water is shallow here, Ricos and buzz baits are largely used for fishing. Visitors who use boats prefer baits like hotdogs, chicken livers, and power baits. The Patagonia Lake is also one of the largest fishing lakes in the south of Tucson.