Rye Patch State Recreation Area, State recreation area in Pershing County, Nevada, United States

Rye Patch State Recreation Area is a large reservoir nestled in a desert valley where people swim, fish, and boat. The water is surrounded by dry hills and sparse vegetation that stretch far across the landscape.

The park lies in a basin once under Lake Lahontan. After the lake fell below today's reservoir level about 23,000 years ago, camels, horses, rabbits and squirrels drank from the Humboldt River; some fossils were found 14 miles north of the dam. Archaeological evidence from Lovelock Cave shows people camped along the Humboldt about 8,000 years ago. In the mid-19th century, emigrants on the California Trail grazed cattle on wild ryegrass at Lassen Meadows, where the Applegate-Lassen Cut-Off left the main trail. The Rye Patch Dam was built between 1933 and 1936 by the Public Works Administration as a New Deal relief project, and the reservoir became a state recreation area in 1971.

The name Lassen Meadows comes from the wild ryegrass that covered this Humboldt River stretch, where mid-19th-century emigrants on the California Trail grazed their cattle. Near here the Applegate-Lassen Cut-Off left the main trail and headed for the Black Rock Desert toward Goose Lake and the gold fields. Archaeological finds at Lovelock Cave and nearby show people camping along the Humboldt about 8,000 years ago.

Two campgrounds provide hot showers, restrooms, and dump stations for visitors planning to stay overnight. The water area is open year-round for fishing, swimming, and boating with marked access points.

The park sits on ground once covered by Lake Lahontan. After the lake fell below today's reservoir level about 23,000 years ago, camels, horses, rabbits and squirrels drank from the Humboldt River; some of their fossils were found about 14 miles north of the dam.