Last checked for updates: 3/5/2021
Ice is Never 100% Safe! — Do not judge ice safety on thickness alone. Ice does not form or maintain a uniform thickness. Snow, wind, slush, temperature, and other factors can cause ice thickness and strength to vary greatly, even within inches. Recreate on ice at your own risk and verify ice thickness as you head out. Click here to learn more ice safety tips.
Millsite Reservoir is in Castle Valley (Emery Country) at the mouth of Ferron Canyon. It is a large impoundment of a midelevation desert at its interface with high, mountainous plateaus. It is one of several large reservoirs on the east slopes of the high plateaus of central Utah, so it does not receive a great deal of recreational use, although there is a state park at the facility. High bluffs at the mouth of Ferron Canyon provide 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, and possibly some private individuals. Public access is somewhat restricted. Water is consumed for irrigation, but also used for recreation and coldwater aquatic habitat. Millsite is a state park, located west of Utah Hwy. 10 in Ferron City on Canyon Road (100 South).
Facilities include a boat launch, picnic pavilions, showers, flush toilets, drinking water, a sandy beach, and 20 campsites. An intriguing nine hole golf course is adjacent to the park.