About Us
About Lake Sakakawea
The lake stretches from near the Montana border with the confluence of the Yellowstone River in Williston, North Dakota all the way to Riverdale, North Dakota, which is 50 miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota in central North Dakota.
The lake was created in 1954 with the completion of the construction of the Garrison Dam, which is one of six dams along the Missouri River that provides flood control, irrigation, navigation, and hydroelectric power.
Lake Sakakawea offers more shoreline than the California Pacific coast, hosts 35 recreation sites, provides some of the best fishing in North America, and provides abundant opportunities for boating, sailing, and outdoor recreation.
The lake is named in honor of Sakakawea (often listed as Sacajawea), the young Shoshoni woman who served as the guide to the Lewis and Clark expedition. The name also recognizes the Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa native tribes who have lived along the Missouri River in the northern plains for centuries.
Lake Sakakawea: By the Numbers…
Surface Area
480 square miles / 307,000 acres
Water Volume
23,800,000 acres per feet
Maximum Length
178 miles
Shore Length
1,320 miles
Maximum Depth
180 feet at the base of Garrison Dam
Drainage Basin
Number of Recreation Sites
35
What We Do
Advocate
Advocating for sensible lake management and reasonable conservation of Lake Sakakawea’s resources.
Protect
Ensure
Ensuring access for boaters, anglers, and recreationists.
Invest
Investing in improvements that enhance Lake Sakakawea’s quality of place and the experience of all users and visitors.
Promote
Promoting Lake Sakakawea’s full recreational and economic potential.
Our History
For many years, downstream states along the Missouri River exerted great political and economic influence resulting in greater releases from the reservoir and lower lake levels for North Dakota anglers, recreationists, and lake area communities.
Dried up marina bays and unusable boat ramps limited recreational opportunities. In many cases, recreation became impossible.
Lake area communities and rural water districts had to contend with adverse effects to their water intake systems.
Lake-dependent businesses were severely harmed with too many being forced to close.
The Friends of Lake Sakakawea was founded in 2004 to advocate on behalf of sensible lake policy, to protect the lake’s environment, and advance the lake’s economic potential.
We work for all those who love and use our great lake: anglers, sportsmen and women, recreationists, cabin owners, businesses, and lake area communities and residents.
Our organization has developed collaborative relationships and partnerships with North Dakota’s congressional delegation, state and tribal leaders, local lake area officials, and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, North Dakota Game & Fish Department, and North Dakota Parks & Recreation.
Over the years, we have extended those relationships to include the energy industry to protect water quality and guard against pollution. And we are working diligently to raise public awareness in stopping the introduction of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS), which will devastate Lake Sakakawea.
