Lopez Lake Recreation Area

Ten miles east of Arroyo Grande, Lopez Lake sits in a landscape that was once covered by sea — the surrounding hills still hold the fossils to prove it. Created in 1969 by Lopez Dam on Arroyo Grande Creek, the reservoir spreads across 4,200 acres of oak woodland and coastal sage scrub, providing drinking water to five communities while remaining open to swimming, sailing, fishing, and camping. Black bears, mountain lions, and mule deer move through the park. The Chumash hunted and fished these canyons long before any dam existed.