Independence Lake, Glacial lake in the Sierra Nevada, Nevada County, California, United States

Independence Lake is a natural glacial lake in the Sierra Nevada located in a narrow valley carved by ancient glaciers. The lake extends about 2.4 miles long and roughly half a mile wide, surrounded by forests of pine and fir trees with rocky shores throughout.

The lake has existed for thousands of years and was used by the Washoe people for fishing and water gathering before European settlement. The name likely came in the 1850s, a dam was built in 1879, and the area became protected after Disney's failed ski resort plans in the 1970s.

The Washoe people, who believed the lake bottomless, used it for about 9,000 years. Sources disagree on the name's origin but agree it was given on Independence Day: Lola Montez, a former mistress of King Ludwig of Bavaria then living in Grass Valley, is the usual claimant, though Augustus Moore said he named it in 1862. Mount Lola, a mile west, honors her.

The area is accessible only by rough road requiring high-clearance vehicles, and winter snow makes travel difficult, so visits are best in warmer months. Motorboats are not permitted, but kayaks and small boats are available free of charge during summer.

Independence Lake keeps all its native fish species, unlike other eastern Sierra lakes, because its dam blocks invasive fish from moving upstream. It holds one of only two wild, self-sustaining populations of Lahontan cutthroat trout, a species listed as threatened and gone from nearly all its historic range.