Lake Henshaw

Lake Henshaw is a reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately 70 miles northeast of San Diego, California and 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

The lake covers approximately 1140 acres and holds 55000 acre.ft of water when full (lowered in 1978 from its original capacity of 203581 acre.ft out of earthquake concerns), in addition to groundwater stored in its local basin. It drains an area of 207 sqmi square miles at the source of the San Luis Rey River.

The lake was constructed in 1923 with the building of Henshaw Dam, an earth dam 123 ft tall and 650 ft long. It is owned by the Vista Irrigation District and used primarily for agricultural irrigation.

The lake features opportunities for catfish and carp fishing. Boats and cabins are available for rental. It hosts The Carp Throwdown fly fishing tournament organized by The Fly Stop.