Ackley Lake State Park | |
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Location | Judith Basin County, Montana, United States |
Nearest city | Hobson, Montana |
Coordinates | 46°56′50″N 109°56′13″W / 46.94722°N 109.93694°W [1] |
Area | 290 acres (120 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 4,337 ft (1,322 m) [1] |
Designation | Montana state park |
Established | 1940 [3] |
Administrator | Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks |
Website | Ackley Lake State Park |
Ackley Lake State Park is a public recreation area located four miles southwest of Hobson, Montana. The state park covers 290 acres (120 ha) centered around 160-acre (65 ha) Ackley Lake. The Little Belt Mountains and Snowy Mountains are visible on the horizon. [2] The park is operated by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks on land leased from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. [4]
The Ackley Lake was originally a 40-acre natural pond owned by Jean Acley. [5] It became a reservoir in 1938 with the completion of an earthen embankment dam measuring 51 feet high and 3,514 feet long. The reservoir is an off-stream storage project with a supply canal from the Judith River. [6] The site became Ackley State Park in 1940. [3] It was threatened with the loss of its status as a state park after the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board adopted a five-year strategic plan, "Charting a New Tomorrow," that proposed a rebranding of the parks in its system. [4] In 2017, the parks department renewed its lease with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for a further five years to the end 2021. [7]
The park offers stocked trout fishing, boating with two boat ramps, picnicking facilities, and a 26-site campground. [2] [8]
Species | Family | Class | Native to MT |
---|---|---|---|
Brook Trout | Trout | Coldwater | Introduced |
Brown Trout | Trout | Coldwater | Introduced |
Kokanee | Trout | Coldwater | Introduced |
Longnose Sucker | Sucker | Warmwater | Native |
Mountain Whitefish | Trout | Coldwater | Native |
Rainbow Trout | Trout | Coldwater | Introduced |
White Sucker | Sucker | Warmwater | Native |