Agate Lake, reservoir in Jackson County, Oregon, United States

Agate Lake is a reservoir in Jackson County, approximately 14 miles from Medford. The water body stretches across 216 acres with about three miles of shoreline, surrounded by trees and open areas.

Construction of Agate Dam was authorized in 1962, began in 1965 and was completed in 1966 by the Talent Division of the Rogue River Basin Project. The 86-foot earth-fill embankment impounds Dry Creek, and two canals were built: a feeder canal diverting seasonal runoff from the Hopkins canal, fed by Antelope Creek, and the Dry Creek Diversion Canal, which releases water at a controlled rate from summer onward to supplement Dry Creek, Antelope Creek and eventually Little Butte Creek.

The lake is open year-round from dawn to dusk with free parking available. Visitors should know that only electric-powered boats are permitted and there are no fuel stations or overnight accommodations at the site.

In late summer and early fall, when the reservoir recedes, agates and petrified wood are exposed along the shoreline and rock hunting is a popular activity. The lake lies within the Agate Desert, where vernal pools shelter the threatened fairy shrimp and the rare big-flowered woolly meadowfoam.