Cougar Reservoir

Image source: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives

General data

Name: Cougar Reservoir
Water system: Columbia River
Water type: Artificial lake
Progression: South Fork McKenzie River -> McKenzie River (Oregon) -> Willamette River -> Columbia River -> Columbia River Estuary -> Pacific Ocean -> Planet Earth
Climates: Mountain
Continents: North America
Countries: United States of America

Cougar Reservoir (also known as Cougar Lake) is a reservoir on the South Fork McKenzie River in the U.S. state of Oregon.

It is in Lane County, 46 miles (74 km) east of Eugene and about 3 miles (5 km) south of the community of Rainbow in the Willamette National Forest.

In 1963 the United States Army Corps of Engineers built Cougar Dam on the river primarily to generate hydroelectricity and control flooding, and the reservoir formed behind the dam.

The lake is also used for recreation, including boating, fishing, swimming, and waterskiing. The United States Forest Service maintains three campgrounds—Cougar Crossing, Slide Creek, and Sunnyside—near the reservoir, with opportunities for hiking and picnicking as well as camping. Other campgrounds in the general vicinity include French Pete and Delta. Terwilliger Hot Springs is along Rider Creek just west of the lake.

Cougar Reservoir supports populations of stocked rainbow trout and stocked landlocked Chinook salmon as well as naturally reproducing cutthroat trout. Fishing for rainbow trout, especially in winter, is said to be "fair". The lake also supports bull trout, but it is not legal to catch and keep them.

Cougar Reservoir

General data

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