Galesville Reservoir is a beautiful water storage area near Azalea, Oregon. It is part of the Upper Cow Creek Watershed and the reservoir is 640 acres. The dam produces electricity by hydropower for the area. The first turnoff is to the campground and the second to the Day Use area and boat ramps. The day use has parking, a playground, picnic area, and pavilion. The park host is near the day use area, as well as The Chief Miwaleta Campground provides cabins for rental, a tent camping and 20 full hookups and 11 non-hookups and 1 group site for RVs. There are two boat ramps (one with two lanes and one primitive ramp) with parking for the reservoir and is a popular area for fishing. Though, the reservoir has a higher-than-allowed level of mercury as described by the Clean Water Act. The cause may be several historic mining claims above the reservoir exist, such as the Red Cloud Mine, which was established to extract mercury from veins of cinnabar. There is information on and recommendations for eating fish on the Oregon.gov website. I do recommend going to the Galesville Reservoir, either for camping or just using the day use area. It's a beautiful place to spend the day or longer. read more

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