Swimming At Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

Swim Area At Millerton Lake

Millerton Lake is a reservoir near Fresno California with a capacity of one half million acre feet of water. The water is used primarily for agricultural irrigation in the Central Valley. The main water source for Millerton lake is the San Joaquin River flowing from its 3 sources (North, Middle and South Forks). It is the second longest river in California. The Dam at Friant CA (finished in 1942) was also constructed for seasonal flood control.

The San Joaquin used to be the southernmost California River for Salmon runs but since the construction of the Dam, Salmon are no longer found in the San Joaquin. There has been a cooperative effort by conservationists and farmers to restore Salmon to the river in the future.

Millerton Lake is a wonderful resource within 15 minutes of Fresno. It is used for swimming, boating, fishing, camping and has hiking and mountain bike trails also. Millerton Lake is situated between Madera and Fresno Counties.

Sharon And Me

The irrigation water downstream from the dam is much colder than near the lake surface because the water is drawn off the bottom of the lake which is about 320 feet deep when full. This means that on high solar gain hot summer days, the water temperature can be over 82 degrees which is great for swimming. In spring and fall the temperature is closer to 65 degrees and we need to wear wet suits to keep warm. We usually begin in early May and end in November.

Millerton Lake With Sierras Above

Egret

Like every big lake there are stories of monster sightings. http://www.weirdfresno.com/2010/03/strange-creature-sighted-at-millerton.html. We have not seen anything much larger than empty beer cans while swimming but I have heard from fishermen that there are ‘lunkers’ lurking in the deep.

Mike, Marie, my wife and I began swimming there once a week ten years ago. I was training for the Hawaii Ironman and needed experience with open water swimming. Open water swimming is quite different than a pool. There are no lane lines for guidance and one “lap” is a trip across the lake. Some folks never accustom themselves to the fact that they are in water over their head and will not swim in open water. A large lake is an approximation of ocean swimming but the giant swells in the ocean combined with fish that can eat you make things more worrisome.

   

Navigation is by sighting on a tall tree or something on shore and swimming toward it. In fall, your goggles fog up and the bright sun can make vision difficult when it is low in the sky. The positives are many including the hot chocolate in Friant after the swim. It is really neat to see geese flying over just over your head as you turn to breathe while you are swimming. We have seen lots of game along the shore over the years including Eagles, Ospreys, and an occasional Bobcat. Mountain lions have also been sighted on the trails but as someone who ran those trails for years;  I never saw one. We swim early in the morning before the speed boats arrive and the turkey vultures are perched nearby with their wings open to catch the morning sun.

I had been thinking about writing this story for a while. I brought my camera along to take pictures of the swim area. As I composed the story in my head while swimming, the thought came, “…and an occasional Bobcat.” We were done swimming and headed out toward the gate and low and behold, Sharon spotted a Bobcat. What a great way to start our week!

Bobcat Eating A Meal

Here is a link to the YouTube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNCJpAr-_Gs&feature=c4-overview&list=UU0G3jx2PLv6FOw2NM5Aa6Yw

Here is a link to our 2017 swim: http://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2017/05/swimming-at-millerton-lake-ii-2017.html

  

Views Around Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

Bald Eagle

I have a previous article about swimming at Millerton Lake that also provides background information about the half million-acre foot capacity reservoir fed by the San Joaquin River. Millerton Lake is about 15 miles northeast of Fresno California.

http://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/search?q=swimming+at+millerton+lake

             Although I have never water skied or “wet a line” at Millerton Lake (as the fishermen say), There is much to explore around the lake. There are also lots of established campsites and an additional boat launch area on the Madera County side of the lake. Lake is about 50% capacity and being drawn down to accommodate spring snow melt in the Sierra Nevada.

            I recently visited the lake for photographs on three separate days and took photographs from the southwest end near the historic Millerton Courthouse, The north shore in Madera County and from the northeast on a portion of the San Joaquin River Trail. I turned around after only a mile or so of steep climbing from the Fine Gold day use area to Pincushion Peak. The Fine Gold day use area is reached after a 6 mile drive to a dead end on Sky Harbor Drive near the Table Mountain Casino.The lake is surrounded by California State land and is a state park.

            The first day had a sunrise start and a surprise visit from a cooperative Bald Eagle who waited for me to change to a bigger lens on my camera, take some photographs and then fly away. There are trails galore around Millerton Lake and this time of year the Rattle Snakes are less in evidence. Although I have seen several Bobcats over the years, I have never seen a Mountain Lion but I’m sure they have seen me.

            My second day was spent on the Madera County side looking for a Bald Eagle’s nest to no avail but provided opportunities for photograph the lake from a different perspective.

            The third day I spent on the San Joaquin River trail climbing above the lake and later I was back by the Courthouse. I watched a man Kite Surfing the cold waters in a wet suit. We had our final swim of the season a week ago and the water temperature was in the low 60’s.

            Here are the photographs taken with my Sony A7R2, Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2, adapted Canon 400mm f5.6, and Sony Fe 70-300mm lenses. My best and brightest day was my 3^rd day.

From Pincushion Mountain

Millerton Courthouse

Canada Geese 

Full View Of The Dam 

 Views From The Madera County Side

 Views Along Sky Harbor Road

Looking Across To The Madera Side At A Lovely Home

 Back To The Courthouse Area

Swimming At Millerton Lake II 2017

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

This is my second report on swimming at Millerton Lake. For more particulars on the Lake see the 2013 story here: http://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2013/10/swimming-at-millerton-lake.html

This was the first swim of the year and it was a bit later in spring than usual. The water temperature was already 72 degrees and the lake was about 80 percent full. It was not quite warm enough to swim without wet suits.

We had a bigger group than usual with Mike, Marie, Sharon, Tasha and Millie. I was sidelined because of recent eye surgery. There was another larger group of swimmers that started from the Millerton Courthouse area. We prefer the nearby boat ramp nearby. As usual, there is an assortment of water birds around us too.

Even with an early start the Memorial Day boaters were already out racing around the lake. Usually the swimmers have the lake to themselves in the early morning hours.

The first photographs are with the Sony A6000 with a 16-70mm lens. The other photographs were taken with a Canon 400mm f4 lens on a Sony A7R2.

 The Other Swimmers Seemed Be Using Floats Also

Young Geese with Adults