Millsite State Park
Ferron
Camp, Hike, Kayak, and Swim
Millsite Reservoir sits at the mouth of Ferron Canyon in Emery County, about a mile west of the town of Ferron and roughly 6,100 feet above sea level. The lake covers around 435 acres at full pool and reaches a maximum depth near 102 feet at the dam. Sandstone walls of the Wasatch Plateau rise close to 2,000 feet along the west side, so the water sits in a bowl of buff and red rock with almost no shade on the shoreline. Ferron Creek feeds it straight out of the canyon, which keeps the inflow cold and the clarity better than most irrigation reservoirs in central Utah.
The swimming is at the state park beach on the south shore, a short walk from the day use parking loop just west of the boat ramp. The sand is shallow and imported, and the bottom grades out into silt and small cobble once you are thirty or forty feet from shore. There is no dock or jumping platform at the beach. Water temperature peaks in late July and August and never really gets warm; an early June swim still feels like snowmelt, because most of it is. This is a different place from the BLM Millsite Day Use site, which is a dispersed camping and OHV area upstream on the north side of the lake.
The dam was built between 1969 and 1971 by the USDA Soil Conservation Service under the Small Watersheds Program, and it is owned and run by the Ferron Reservoir and Canal Company. The name comes from an older flourmill dam that stood on the same stretch of creek. A recent rehabilitation flattened the downstream face, added a stability berm, replaced the outlet works, built a new labyrinth spillway, and raised the crest four feet to recover storage lost to a half century of sediment.
That storage is working storage. The reservoir irrigates more than 11,000 acres of Castle Valley farmland, so the pool falls through the summer, and in dry years it falls hard. It was at 42 percent in late September 2026, and Utah State Parks has the boat ramp closed for low water with launching at your own risk. Swimming itself is open and the park lists algae conditions as clear. A low pool means a longer walk across exposed shoreline mud to reach water deep enough to swim in, so the good window is June through early August before the drawdown gets serious.
Day use is $10 per vehicle for up to eight people, $5 for seniors, and $5 per person walking or biking in. Camping is $25 for an electric site and $30 for electric and water, with $15 for a second vehicle. The park is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter. The facilities are real and maintained: modern restrooms with showers, vault toilets, drinking water, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, two reservable pavilions, a 20 site campground that takes RVs up to 46 feet, and a sewage disposal station. No lifeguards are posted. Pets are allowed.
An 18 hole public golf course sits at the park entrance, odd company for a swimming hole, and it makes this an easy stop for a group that does not all want to get in the water. Ferron Canyon Road climbs west into the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the Skyline Drive high country, and there is rock art on the sandstone northwest of the park. Trout fishing is the other draw here; the lake carries rainbow and cutthroat.
More Information
Manti-La Sal National Forest | Ferron to Mayfield State Scenic Backway | Forest Service
Winding up 12-Mile Canyon from Mayfield, this backway begins and ends in pinyon-juniper country, but climbs to well over 10,000 feet while passing through stands of aspen and conifer. There are angler destinations along the way. This gravel route is accessible to passenger cars during summer and fall, then becomes a snowmobiler's haven during the winter.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/manti-lasal/recreation/ferron-mayfield-state-scenic-backwayMillsite Day Use - Utah | Bureau of Land Management
Millsite Reservoir west of Ferron in (Emery Country) and is located at the mouth of Ferron Canyon. Millsite is a large impoundment of a midelevation desert at its interface with high, mountainous plateau and high bluffs providing a spectacular backdrop to the reservoir. The reservoir was built in 1974 by the construction of an earth-fill dam. The shoreline is owned by a number of different agencies, including the BLM, the State of Utah, the Ferron Canal and Reservoir Company’s. Public access is somewhat restricted. Water is consumed for irrigation, but also used for recreation and coldwater
https://www.blm.gov/visit/millsite-day-useMillsite State Park - State Parks in Utah - Visit Utah
MIllsite State Park in Central Utah is an outdoor paradise with boating, fishing, biking, hiking, camping and more. Plan your visit today!
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/parks-outdoors/millsite-state-parkMillsite State Park | Utah State Parks
Millsite State Park Follow this parkFacebookAlert – Boat ramp is closed due to water levels- Launch at your own risk.
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/millsite/Millsite State Park — Emery County
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https://visitemerycounty.com/millsite-state-parkPark Fees | Utah State Parks
Park Fees Millsite State Park Follow this parkFacebookPay your day-use fees Military Appreciation: Free day-use is available at Millsite to the military on Military Appreciation Day, Patriot Day and Veterans Day.
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/millsite/park-fees/Be courteous, informed, and prepared. Read trailhead guidelines, stay on the trail, and don't feed the wildlife.
Read More
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel & camp on durable surfaces
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find
- Minimize campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of other visitors
Directions
From Ferron
- Head east on W 200 N toward State St (308 ft)
- Turn right onto State St (0.3 mi)
- Turn right onto W 100 S/
W Cyn Rd Continue to follow W Cyn Rd(3.7 mi) - Keep right to continue on W Cyn Rd/
W Ferrron Mayfield (0.4 mi) - Turn right onto Millsite State Park Rd/
N Millsite State Pk Continue to follow N Millsite State Pk(0.4 mi)
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