Hugh Butler Lake (Red Willow Reservoir State Recreation Area)

Recreation at Hugh Butler Lake, Frenchman Cambridge Division, in southwestern Nebraska, is managed for the Bureau of Reclamation by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The Frenchman Cambridge Division extends from Palisade southeast along Frenchman River and from Trenton east along the Republican River. Water storage facilities consist of the Enders Reservoir and Swanson, Red Willow Dam (Hugh Butler Lake), and Harry Strunk Lakes. The four dams, reservoirs, and irrigation systems provide irrigation, flood control, fish and wildlife conservation and recreation benefits. Numerous tracts at each reservoir and impoundment provide food and cover for pheasant, quail, small fur-bearing animals, and mule and white-tail deer. The reservoir has 1,629 water surface acres, 4,461 land acres and 35 miles of shoreline. There are 2,960 acres available for public hunting. Reservoir open 24 hours. Fair access roads. Available species include walleye, crappie, white bass, channel catfish, and wipers. Irrigation supply reservoir experiencing moderate fluctuations. Reservoir peaks at 1,630 surface acres. Fishing season is year-round. Current reservoir levels