Rancho Seco Recreational Park, Lake in California, United States

Rancho Seco Recreational Park is a lake area in California, United States, centered on a reservoir formed by a dam on the Mokelumne River. The park covers land around the water, with a mix of open shoreline, grassy areas, and scattered trees, and it sits next to a decommissioned nuclear power plant.

The reservoir was created in the 1960s to cool the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, which operated until 1989. After the plant closed, the land and water were turned into a public recreation area.

The name Rancho Seco comes from the Spanish for "dry ranch," a reminder of the area's past as grazing land. Today, the park is a local gathering spot where families from nearby towns come to fish, picnic, and spend the day by the water.

The park is open year-round, but summer can be very hot, so bring sun protection and plenty of water. The main access is from Highway 104, and the layout makes it easy to reach the water and the main facilities by car.

The lake is one of the few in the region where you can see the outline of a nuclear plant's cooling towers on the horizon. The park also has a small visitor center with displays about the site's energy past.