Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
The Mittry Lake Wildlife Area offers a wide variety of habitats, from open lakes to cattail marshes and streamside woodlands, providing an equally wide opportunity for wildlife-based recreation. This combination of habitats provides abundant opportunities for fishing, wildlife watching, hiking, boating, and hunting. Recreational Opportunities Mittry Lake has recently undergone rehabilitation work, including marsh dredging, revegetation and fish habitat improvement, making it an ideal location for small game hunting and sportfishing. Major species for small game hunting include waterfowl, dove, quail, and rabbit. The area is also very popular for nature study and bird-watching.
Camping: There are no facilities or designated areas for camping, but camping is allowed. Please call the Bureau of Land Management Yuma Field Office at (928) 317-3200 for more information.
Boating: There is a three-lane boat launch ramp for motorized boating on the lake. Numerous waterways connect to the main lake body and make exploring by boat a pleasant experience. Recent improvements to the main boat launch area include handicap parking, paving of the upper parking area and the installation of a new ADA approved restroom.
Fishing: The most common species encountered in Mittry Lake are largemouth bass, flathead and channel catfish, bluegill, tilapia, crappie and carp.
Hunting: The Mittry Lake Wildlife Area is located within Game Management Unit 43B.
CAUTION: Temperatures vary from 30°F in December and January to 120°F in June and July. Rainfall averages about three inches per year, with most occurring during the winter months.
Restrictions
- Open fires allowed in designated sites only. Seasonal fire restrictions may be posted during the warmer months
- Overnight public camping allowed, for no more than 10 days per calendar year
- Motorized vehicle travel permitted on designated roads, on designated trails, or in designated areas only
- Posted portions closed to public entry from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15 annually
- Open to hunting in season, except posted portions.
Location: Mittry Lake is located in Yuma County, about 18 miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona, on the east side of the Colorado River between Laguna and Imperial Dams.
Directions: From Yuma, take Highway 95 north to East Imperial Dam Road, then turn left (west) toward the lake, following wildlife area signs.
Wildlife Mittry Lake Wildlife Area provides riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitat for many wildlife species.
Birds: Desert-scrub and riparian woodland habitats are home to diverse desert wildlife. Neotropical birds find the area attractive. Riparian birds like the yellow-billed cuckoo, summer tanager, and the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher may use the area.
Yuma clapper rails nest on site. Surveys have also revealed California black rails, and Virginia rails nesting along the shore. The marsh also supports American coot, common moorhen, western least bittern, and pied-billed grebe.
Winter users include duck species, sora, American white pelican, double-crested cormorant and northern harrier. Year-round users include black-crowned night-heron, great blue heron, snowy egret, osprey, and many others.
Mammals: Mammals that frequent the area include mule deer, javelina, bobcats, desert bighorn sheep and even wild burros.
