Chickahominy Reservoir, body of water

Chickahominy Reservoir is a man-made body of water in Harney County in eastern Oregon used primarily for fishing and outdoor recreation. The site features a boat ramp with dock facilities, 28 campsites, fish cleaning stations, and open landscape views of distant ridges and rolling terrain.

Chickahominy Reservoir was formed by a dam on Chickahominy Creek in Harney County, Oregon, built to supply irrigation water. It is now managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as a recreational fishery. The creek's name, of uncertain origin, is thought to have been given in 1878 by U.S. Cavalrymen who had fought along the Chickahominy River in Virginia in 1862.

The name Chickahominy comes from the creek, though its origin is uncertain; one speculation is that U.S. Cavalry troops fighting the Bannock War near Silver Creek named it in 1878, recalling commander Reuben F. Bernard's 1862 campaigns along Virginia's Chickahominy River. Today the reservoir is managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as a recreational fishery, stocked annually with rainbow trout fingerlings.

The reservoir lies along U.S. Highway 20, about 32 miles (51.5 km) west of Burns and 100 miles east of Bend. A paved boat ramp stands near the dam, motors are allowed and boaters must respect a speed limit. The lake is open year round and usually freezes by mid-December; fishing is best in the morning and evening, with a five-fish limit.

The reservoir is usually frozen by mid-December, and the source does not describe ice fishing as an organised winter activity. The name comes from Chickahominy Creek, and its origin is uncertain: cavalrymen fighting the Bannock War near Silver Creek in 1878 may have named it, recalling Reuben F. Bernard's 1862 campaigns along Virginia's Chickahominy River.