Pyramid Lake

Pyramid Lake is nearly the largest lake in the state of Nevada, covering 125,000 acres that include archaic tufa rock formations and sagebrush, near the Black Rock desert about 35 miles northeast of Reno. During the last ice age, it made up the central and deepest part of Lake Lahontan, once covering almost all of Nevada, and is named after a pyramid-shaped tufa limestone formation that juts up from the waterline.

Recreation

Boating, water-skiing, swimming and fishing are accessed by a lone road along the southeast corner of Pyramid Lake. Similar to most lakes in Nevada, it lacks an outlet for its waters, and thus its quality is rather salty and brackish. The warm temperature of the water makes it ideal for wading and swimming. The main sport fish in the lake are trout, chub and an ancient native species of lake-sucker fish, the cui-ui.

Tribal reservation and museum

Pyramid Lake is located entirely within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Reservation. The tribe maintains an internationally-renowned, Lahontan, cutthroat trout fish stock that was once extinct in the lake, as part of keeping their Paiute heritage alive. Visitors can learn more about the natural resources of the area, Paiute tribal culture and history and the tribe's significant mystical connection to the lake and surrounding areas at the Tribe Museum.

Access to Lake Pyramid is from Nevada highway 445, which is reached by driving north of Reno for less than an hour. The landscape is primitive and visually striking, and gives visitors a glimpse of an area that was once the bed of a primordial glacier lake. Flanked on the west by the majestic peaks of the Virginia mountain range, the lake is a memorable and unforgettable place to visit.