Byway Main Page

Byway Sites (Traveling South to North)

  1. Topaz Lake
  2. Walker River
  3. Bridgeport
  4. Conway Summit
  5. Virginia Creek
  6. Mono Lake
  7. Mono Craters
  8. June Lake
  9. Crestview
  10. Mammoth Lakes
  11. Crowley Lake
  12. Sherwin Grade
  13. Round Valley
  14. Bishop
  15. Bristlecone Pines
  16. Division Creek
  17. Owens Valley
  18. Dehy Park
  19. Manzanar
  20. Lone Pine
  21. Diaz Lake
  22. Coso Junction
  23. Fossil Falls

 

Site No. 2—Walker River & Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

Highlights

High Sierra River History

The Walker River is approximately 50 mi long. The river is one of three major rivers draining the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada, supporting riparian, wetland and desert lake ecosystems. It flows within an enclosed basin, providing the principal inflow of Walker Lake as well as Topaz Lake (West Fork). The river was named for explorer Joseph Reddeford Walker.

Native Americans inhabited the Walker Lake basin dating back 11,000 years or more. A hunter-gatherer society, the native families traveled in small groups relying upon pine nuts, game and Walker Lake trout.

In 1859, the Nevada mining boom brought settlers to the Walker Lake Basin. By 1890, the first diversion ditch on the Walker River was constructed. In 1919, the state formed an irrigation district and within the next five years two reservoirs were built to store and distribute Walker River water, irrigating 93,600 acres of land. The dams and reservoirs effectively ended spawning runs for the Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Local Resource Links

Walker River Camping & Lodging

Walker Lake History