Starvation Reservoir
The sprawling waters of Starvation Reservoir renamed in 2019 as The Fred Hayes State Park, provides jet skiing, boating and fishing in a stark desert landscape. Located four miles northwest of Duchesne on Highway 40. The Fred Hayes State Park The scenic beauty of 3,500 acres of parkland, the dazzlingly blue waters of the reservoir, remote beaches, and numerous coves make this a favorite destination for Jet Skiing, boating enthusiasts statewide. Mountain View and Lowe Beach campgrounds offer hookup sites with shower and restroom accommodations. Primitive camping is available at serveral locations around the lake, these areas offer no services. Starvation State Park was established in 1972, two years after the Bureau of Reclamation constructed the dam, which created the 3,495 surface acre reservoir as part of the Central Utah Water Project.
The name “Starvation” has been credited to two legends. One says that a group of mountain men caught in winter snow survived by stealing a cache of food belonging to local Native American tribes, and as a result, the tribe starved. The second and more common legend tells the opposite story, with the tribes stealing the trappers’ cache of food and leaving the trappers to starve. It is very likely, however, that neither legend, even if true, resulted in the naming of the dam and reservoir.
