Crane Prairie Reservoir

This is one of central Oregon's premier wildlife viewing sites because it attracts so many nesting  and/or migrating birds. The relatively shallow reservoir was originally dammed to store irrigation water managed by the Central Oregon Irrigation District. Most access to the shoreline is at recreation sites. Go to Osprey Point for interpretive signs about the local fauna, and to see artificial osprey nesting platforms erected after natural snags toppled from age.Home of the famous “cranebows”, Crane Prairie Reservoir is also one of the top producing rainbow trout fisheries in Central Oregon. Rainbow trout here average 2 inches of growth a month during the summer. The record rainbow to date weighed over 19 pounds, with abundant rainbows in the 4 to 10 pound range. Crane Prairie Reservoir is a Wildlife Management Area. Osprey, bald eagle and many waterfowl frequent the area.