During the last few months of 2025 and the first few months of 2026, Silverwood Lake saw its water levels significantly drop, exposing parts of the Lake that are not typically visible when the Lake sits at normal Water Levels. Originally, I asked employees of the Lake about the low water levels and I was told that originally, the Lake was lowered so inspections and repairs could be made to infrastructure maintained by the State.
For those who may not know, Silverwood Lake is a man-made reservoir located in Southern California. The Lake itself is a part of the State Water Project that is used to supply water to residents in urbanized parts of California such as San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and other communities. The Lake is also considered a State Park and is known for a variety of outdoor activites such as fishing, camping, hiking, boating, bird spotting and more.
Silverwood Lake water levels are known to occasionally fall or rise several feet depending on the water needs of the community and the amount of snowmelt California receives but as someone who has visited this lake for years; this is the first time I have seen the levels drop so low. What was most interesting to me was getting the chance to see underwater strucutres such as fish habitats, foundations, trees and even parts of the pump plant visible.
One of the foundations exposed appeared to belong to an old building. It would be no surprise if so because before the construction of this lake sat the former community of Cedar Springs, California
During the late 1960’s to early 1970’s , many residents were paid market value for their homes at the time and forced to move as part of the construction of the Lake and other parts of the State Water Project. Construction of the Cedar Springs Dam began in 1967.
When water levels within Silverwood Lake drop like we saw earlier this year, you may occasionally find pieces of this community and other interesting parts of the lake. This LA Times article talks about a similar occurrence that took place in 1997.
Another interesting find when the lake waters recede is getting to see the various types of fish habitats that are normally not visible to most boaters and fisherman. These “habitats” are basically man-made structures that are put underneath the water to help fish populations find protection and shelter from other predators they may face in their enviroment. They can be made from a variety of materials including but not limited to PVC, concrete, metal and more.
The ones I found at silverwood were mostly flooded trees and these giant concrete tubes which looked like a really large pipe or fire pit.
(NOTE: Campfires are only allowed in designated rings @ Silverwood Lake)
During some of my visits, I had the chance to visit Cleghorn Beach. Cleghorn Beach is fairly shallow compared to other parts of Silverwood Lake and is also one of two designated swim-beaches located at the Lake.
When the water levels temporarily receded, I noticed a few buoys stranded on the land. One of those buoys also seemed to be buried in the mud. These buoys are fairly large so its pretty interesting to see one almost completely buried in the mud like a child’s toy in a sand box. The good news is that as of May 2026, Silverwood Water levels have returned to higher levels.
I took quite a few photos of the lake during this so I will put the rest of my photos in a gallery below. Feel free to take a look!
