Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

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The 70-acre Crystal Reservoir is an interesting place to stop for a visit.

The water is incredibly blue and makes you feel you are in the tropics… well, almost. The reservoir is home to wading birds and waterfowl (see pics below).

It’s a great place to bring a blanket and enjoy lunch while watching the wildlife.

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Overview

Swimming is allowed at Crystal Reservoir but be warned, there is a chance you can get Swimmer’s Itch.

Swimmer’s Itch or schistosome cercarial dermatitis is a skin reaction caused by the penetration of the larval stage of certain flatworms that can be picked up while swimming. It is neither dangerous nor contagious but is very uncomfortable. (Source: Information from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Location

Crystal Reservoir is located within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, which is about 2 hours northwest of Las Vegas. Click here to view the Ash Meadow Map for detailed directions.

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Hours

The Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge is a day-use area, which is open from sunrise to sunset.

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Fees

There is not an entrance fee to access Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows.

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Wildlife

The Wading Birds that may be seen during your visit to Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Waterfowl that may be seen during your visit to Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Ash Meadows Resources

Point of Rocks Boardwalk at Ash Meadows

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Photos

The parking area at Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Delilah Mae and her buddy at Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

It seems I pick the windy days to visit Ash Meadows and therefore all my pics have ripped water. One day…

Another view of Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Billie Hillier

I am an outdoor enthusiast who would rather be on a backcountry backpacking trip than a stroll on the beach (although I do love the beach!).

Living in Las Vegas has afforded me the opportunity to easily explore the Southwest region of the United States.

A nature lover, I am often found at the end of the pack taking photos and videos of the wildlife found on the trails. Colorful flowers, desert animals, and unusual geological rock formations are often the majority of my photos.

Flip

Bonnie J Doyle

November 1, 2019 at 9:04 am

I used to swim in the Crystal spring, Longstreet spring, and Fairbanks spring when I was a kid during the late 70s and early 80s. We even swam in devil’s hole when you could enter from a cave around the backside. My brother and I caught a few pupfish and took them home but my mom mad us take them back and we did. I learned to waterski on crystal lake when you could put motorized boats in the water, and I won first place in a bass tournament back in 2002, when you could still fish the lake for large mouth bass. Those pup fish have managed to survive thousands of years with no help from humans. I don’t understand why park officials had to drain our lake to get rid of all the “nonindigenous ” wildlife when the lake or reservoir itself is not indigenous, but is a man made body of water. We respected the no swimming rule when they enforced it at the springs, but to take away the boating and fishing rights at Crystal lake when there are no pup fish in the lake was going overboard. That was the only summer recreation for us long time locals. They say we can still swim the lake, but in the summer months they drain it so low that it makes the mud around the water so soft you sink up to your knees in it, and it causes the flying knats to come out in huge numbers. The swimmers itch is also far worse when the water is low. They do this on purpose so that locals will stop swimming the lake. Im all for protecting an endangered species. But the springs feed the man made reservoir…. and therefore the pupfish are in no danger from anything that happens in the reservoir . For years there were beautiful small and large mouth bass in the reservoir that provided locals with a place to take their families to fish and swim. But they drained the reservoir to kill off the bass so people wouldn’t come to fish. Do they not think that maybe some of the migratory birds eat bass too ? I’ve seen three bald eagles and many many golden eagles over the years there. Do they not eat fish? Environmentalists seem to always go too far and often to the point of inadvertantly making things worse for the very wildlife they set out to protect . I just wish they could have left the damn reservoir alone, since it was in no way a danger to the pupfish. Now I have nowhere to take my grandchild to swim and fish the way I did many years ago. So much for preserving a way of life for us humans.

Comments

Bonnie J Doyle

November 1, 2019 at 9:04 am

I used to swim in the Crystal spring, Longstreet spring, and Fairbanks spring when I was a kid during the late 70s and early 80s. We even swam in devil’s hole when you could enter from a cave around the backside. My brother and I caught a few pupfish and took them home but my mom mad us take them back and we did. I learned to waterski on crystal lake when you could put motorized boats in the water, and I won first place in a bass tournament back in 2002, when you could still fish the lake for large mouth bass. Those pup fish have managed to survive thousands of years with no help from humans. I don’t understand why park officials had to drain our lake to get rid of all the “nonindigenous ” wildlife when the lake or reservoir itself is not indigenous, but is a man made body of water. We respected the no swimming rule when they enforced it at the springs, but to take away the boating and fishing rights at Crystal lake when there are no pup fish in the lake was going overboard. That was the only summer recreation for us long time locals. They say we can still swim the lake, but in the summer months they drain it so low that it makes the mud around the water so soft you sink up to your knees in it, and it causes the flying knats to come out in huge numbers. The swimmers itch is also far worse when the water is low. They do this on purpose so that locals will stop swimming the lake. Im all for protecting an endangered species. But the springs feed the man made reservoir…. and therefore the pupfish are in no danger from anything that happens in the reservoir . For years there were beautiful small and large mouth bass in the reservoir that provided locals with a place to take their families to fish and swim. But they drained the reservoir to kill off the bass so people wouldn’t come to fish. Do they not think that maybe some of the migratory birds eat bass too ? I’ve seen three bald eagles and many many golden eagles over the years there. Do they not eat fish? Environmentalists seem to always go too far and often to the point of inadvertantly making things worse for the very wildlife they set out to protect . I just wish they could have left the damn reservoir alone, since it was in no way a danger to the pupfish. Now I have nowhere to take my grandchild to swim and fish the way I did many years ago. So much for preserving a way of life for us humans.

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Overview

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Location

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Hours

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Fees

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Wildlife

Ash Meadows Resources

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows Photos

Crystal Reservoir at Ash Meadows

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