Bowman Haley Lake

Also known as: Bowman-Haley Lake

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Locations

USA > Midwest > North Dakota

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Bowman Haley Lake: Description

Bowman Haley Lake, located southeast of Bowman North Dakota off of US 85 was once a Sioux hunting ground. Bowman Haley Lake is now 1,740 acre lake surrounded by acres of rolling grasslands. Year around recreational opportunities include camping, fishing, hunting boating and picnicking.

Bowman Haley Lake which is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was created by impounding the North Fork Grand River. Construction of Bowman Haley Dam was completed in 1970 and was designed for flood control, municipal and industrial water supply, fish and wildlife management and recreational purposes. The Dam stretches 5,730 feet long and is 79 feet from the stream bed to the top of the dam.

In recent years the Watershed Board and a local Anglers Club have worked together to enhance the beauty and accessibility of the lake. A tree farm has been established to provide tress for the lake, as well as thousands of tress had already been planted. After Christmas each year the Anglers Club collect discarded evergreens and throw them into the lake to provide fish habitat. Fish such as brown trout and rainbow trout, channel catfish, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye all make their home in Bowman Haley Lake, and anglers enjoy a chance at trying to catch their share of fish. Each year Bowman Haley Lake offers a free fishing day sponsored by the Tri-State Peace officers Organization. The first weekend of June about 1,000 youth and adults come out to participate in the free fishing day. In addition to fishing the upkeep of Bowman Haley Lake has resulted in an increase in the deer population making the lake an excellent place to hunt.

There are three recreation areas at Bowman-Haley Lake, North Shore, South Shore, and the Point. All three recreation areas have a picnic area, while only North Shore has a camping area. Both North and South Shore have boat ramps.

For visitors who would like to do some local site seeing, the nearby town of Bowman is the place to visit. Bowman County is the home of Pioneer Trails Regional Museum. It is open year round and is a regional research and repository for history from within 100 miles of Bowman. The museum also displays art from local artistic as well as traveling displays. One of the main attractions of the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum is their one-day field tours. Visitors can spend the day with museum personnel to search for and collect specimens for the museum. Visitors will be allowed to dig in certain sites but all artifacts collected will remain in the museum. These tours give individuals opportunities to see what it is like to be a Paleontologist. Some of the tours are about a 20-minute drive from Bowman where visitors can take in the beauty of the rugged buttes of the Badlands. The Sioux Indians named the area makoshika, meaning "bad land" due to the fact that temperatures exceed 90 degrees in the summer with very little rain. The desolate landscape and sand floor of the Badlands is home for millions of fossils.

Once out of the heat of the Badlands visitors can enjoy a cool refreshing swim in Bowman Haley Lake, or they can enjoy an exciting boat ride. Lake visitors will not be disappointed with all the beauty and fun activities Bowman-Haley Lake has to offer.