Welcome to Mather Lake

Before Europeans arrived in the late 1700s, this area was open prairie where elk and deer grazed on perennial grasses. By the late 1800s, most of the grasslands had been divided into large cattle ranches and smaller farms. Mather Field, named for World War I test pilot Carl Mather, was established in 1918 and later served as a training facility for pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and observers during World War II, then primarily trained Air Force staff from the 1950s through the 1980s. Military downsizing led to the closure of Mather Air Force base in 1993, and in 1995 Mather Regional Park and Mather Airport were established on the former base. The park covers about 1,430 acres in the southeastern portion of the site and includes Mather Lake, an 18-hole championship golf course, grasslands, and seasonal wetlands, while Mather Airport supports general aviation and air cargo. Mather Lake was created when Air Force personnel built a dam across Morrison Creek in the 1950s. Morrison Creek supplies most of the lake’s water, with rainfall and overland flow adding more, but because the creek is seasonal and evaporation rises in the dry season, the lake could dry up without supplemental water. In the past, pipelines from gold mining operations and water pumped from the Folsom South Canal helped keep the lake full in summer, and since 1997 treated water from wells on the former base has provided a continuous flow that stabilizes water levels in summer and fall, with that source expected to last until 2022. After the dam was built, wetland habitats formed as seeds arrived by wind, creek water, and animals, and plants gradually sorted into the communities around the lake today; as vegetation spread, animals moved in to use the food and shelter it provided. This ecosystem remains vulnerable as surrounding development increases the risk of toxic or nutrient-laden runoff through Morrison Creek and as the lake still depends on a long-term supplemental water supply for stability. The lake is usually stocked by the California Department of Fish and Game with 100 pounds of channel catfish, or 100 fish, and 200 rainbow trout per week during their respective seasons, while other fish species, including largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, and numerous mosquito fish, are also present. Many groups and volunteers help plan, build, maintain, and preserve Mather Regional Park, while Sacramento County Regional Parks works to balance recreation with protection of the park’s fragile habitats as development pressure grows.

Mather, California · United States