Lake Nemaha Today

Lake Nemaha is stilled used today even though there is no longer people swimming, boating, or doing activities that can only be done at a lake. Lake Nemaha is currently a state wildlife area and is run by Kansas Wildlife & Parks. The park covers 705 acres and is used by many people in the Nemaha County area. Many people hunt at the old lake bed and the areas around it. There are many white-tailed deer, squirrel, rabbits, turkey, quail, and pheasants. With the only water being the small channel which is the start of the South Fork of the Big Nemaha River many people still fish in the area. There are two camping areas available and for hiking you can hike down game trails or take the trail on the southwest side of the lake. There is even talk about partially refilling the lake with water. The lake bed is currently leased out to farmers for farming and the rest of the area is now timber land. The farmers that work that land must leave a couple of rows of crops for the wildlife in the area. The current spillway for the South Fork of the Big Nemaha river was built in 1986. Gabions, rock filled baskets, are used to prevent the river from scouring the banks under the bridge. This style of bank stabilization was state of the art when the bridge was built and is very unique in Kansas.

Wildlife Area