Theodore Roosevelt Lake

Theodore Roosevelt Lake is a large reservoir formed by Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in Arizona as part of the Salt River Project. Located roughly northeast of Phoenix in the Salt River Valley, Theodore Roosevelt is the largest lake or reservoir located entirely within the state of Arizona. The reservoir and the masonry dam that created it, Roosevelt Dam, were both named after US president Theodore Roosevelt who dedicated the dam himself on March 18, 1911. Roosevelt Lake is a popular recreation destination within the Tonto National Forest, which manages the facilities at the lake.
Roosevelt Lake is the oldest of the six reservoirs constructed and operated by the Salt River Project. It also has the largest storage capacity of the SRP lakes with the ability to store of water when the conservation limit of Roosevelt Dam is reached. When the dam is in flood-control mode, the lake can store of water; however, the US Army Corps of Engineers requires all water over the conservation limit to be released from the lake within 20 days.

Geography

Roosevelt Lake is located in central Arizona almost entirely within Gila County, although a small portion lies in Maricopa County. Located about upstream from Apache Lake, Roosevelt Lake occupies about of the original Salt River riverbed. The lake also extends for about up Tonto Creek, a significant tributary of the Salt with its headwaters along the Mogollon Rim.
The lake covers much of the southern portion of the Tonto Basin, a low-lying area between the Sierra Ancha Mountains, Mazatzal Mountains, and the Superstition Mountains. State Route 188 travels along the shore of the lake for much of its length. Tonto National Monument is located from Roosevelt Dam. Parts of the monument provide views of much of the reservoir.

Tonto National Forest operates camping and day use areas around Roosevelt Lake.
Fishing is a common recreational activity at Roosevelt Lake. The lake is home to a variety of game fish including crappie, carp, sunfish, flathead and channel catfish, and smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. There was a slot size limit of between 13 and 16 inches for the bass, and only one can be taken per day.
Lake Roosevelt once hosted one of the most significant population of the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher. Since the lake's rise following heavy rains in the winter of 2005, the population dynamics between this site and the other significant Arizona population are unclear.
There are several Arizona Trail trailheads in the vicinity. The long hiking trail extending from the Arizona-Mexico border to Utah crosses the Salt River on the State Route 188 bridge that crosses Theodore Roosevelt Lake just northeast of Roosevelt Dam.
The lake is home to the Grapevine Airstrip, a small general aviation recreational airstrip located a quarter mile from the shore. The airstrip hosts numerous fly-ins a year.