Lake Oroville Update - June 19, 2026

Trails Reopen Along Diversion Pool

The California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) have temporarily reopened the Lakeland Boulevard Trailhead, Powerhouse Road Trailhead, and portions of the Brad Freeman and Dan Beebe trails that run along the south side of the Diversion Pool between the Fish Barrier Dam and Oro Powerhouse Road. The trails and trailhead have been closed since June 2025 for a DWR construction project that is replacing power and fiber-optic communication lines that support the Hyatt Powerplant, Feather River Fish Hatchery, and Thermalito Diversion Dam facilities. The project is temporarily on hiatus, with the second phase of construction to resume at a later date.

Prior to the start of DWR's fiber optic and communication line project, numerous trails and trailheads along the Diversion Pool and in Potter's Ravine were closed due to extensive damage from the July 2024 Thompson Fire. State Parks trail crews have worked diligently to reopen many of these, and the Brad Freeman and Dan Beebe trails have been cleared enough to temporarily reopen to the public. Recreation users should use caution when using trails along the Diversion Pool, as crews will still be working in the area for the next two months. Signs have been placed to notify users of temporary re-routes for the minimal areas that remain closed.

This past winter and spring, State Parks trail crews made significant progress on rehabilitating trails in Potter's Ravine and the Brad Freeman on the north side of the Diversion Pool and above Hyatt following the Thompson Fire. Crews cleared fallen debris, graded trails to address erosion, and rebuilt wooden foot bridges.

DWR, State Parks, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) maintain over 92 miles of trails in the Oroville area. An interactive map of recreation facilities, including open trails and their permitted uses (hike, bike, horse, multiuse), is available on the Lake Oroville Recreation webpage. A paper trail map is available at various locations, including most entrance kiosks and the Lake Oroville Visitor Center.

Community Art Project at the Visitor Center

Lake Oroville Visitor Center staff invite members of the public to join an ongoing community art project focused on the Feather River. Using a rainbow of tissue paper, visitors can help create a stained-glass-like mural featuring vegetation, wildlife, and scenery one might see along the Feather River. The mural will be displayed at the Visitor Center through June 21.

The Lake Oroville Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Staffed by knowledgeable guides, the Visitor Center features interpretive displays on Oroville Dam, area geology, wildlife and habitat, hydroelectric power, and cultural and historical artifacts. Visitors can watch videos in the theater about the construction of Oroville Dam, walk or hike along nearby trails, and visit the 47-foot-tall observation tower that provides unsurpassed panoramic views of surrounding areas. Free guided tours for school and community groups are available by reservation. Parking and admission to the Visitor Center are free.

Feather River Fish Monitoring Station

DWR resumed operations of the Feather River fish monitoring station on March 4, 2026, to capture the return of spring-run Chinook salmon. Monitoring was temporarily suspended at the end of December 2025 due to anticipated high flows in the Feather River. Upstream migrating fish totals between March 4 and June 15, 2026, are:

• Spring-run Chinook salmon: 7,812
• Steelhead: -24 (most likely kelts moving downstream)
• To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.

Current Lake Operations

Lake Oroville is at 886 feet elevation and storage is approximately 3.22 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 94 percent of its total capacity and 118 percent of the historical average.

Feather River flows are at 850 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with releases from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet at 4,150 cfs for a total Feather River release of 5,000 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily.

The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels, and more at the California Data Exchange Center. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified as "ORO."

All data as of 11:59 p.m. on 6/18/2026.