Jewkes-Van Buren also known as Blue Lake 3.

Directions

Blue Lake 3 also known as Jewkes Reservoir is located in Sanpete County, Utah and is part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. The best way to access the lake is from Joes Valley Reservoir. Follow UT-29 around the west side of Joes Valley and head west. You will climb up a beautiful hill that over looks the valley. From the Joes Valley Campground it is just under 5 miles to the turn off for Blue Lake 3. You will turn on Forest Road 0055 there will be a sign for Grassy Lake and Blue Lake. Follow Forest Road 0055 for 3.2 miles north and you will hit your destination. After you pass Grassy Lake You will come to a fork in the road, make sure you turn left (west).

Fish Species.

The lake is stocked yearly with around 1,000 tiger trout averaging around 4". There are some ponds and creeks nearby that have brook trout, so this is a possible catch. Grassy Lake is connected via a ditch so it is also possible that there are rainbow trout in the lake. Utah Water Log has some pretty pictures of the Tiger Trout caught here.

History

Blue Lake 3 is listed as Jewkes-Van Buren L on the DWR stocking report. The Jewkes family was the first family to operate a sawmill on Cotton Wood Creek in 1879 which this water drains into. Samuel Jewkes then opened the first grist mill in the area in 1882. Carl Wilberg operated a saw mill just north of Blue Lake 3 for several years. He then sold it to A. Gardner Jewkes, Frank Killian, and Clyde and Arthur A. Van Buren. The saw mill became known as Jewkes-Van Buren Sawmill and was in operation until 1950. You can read more about this in A HISTORY OF Emery County by Edward A. Geary.

Blue Lake is the most popular name for lakes in Utah with over 10 places using this name. If you're looking for information on another location use the search function at the top of the homepage.

Camping

If you're camping in the area I recommend camping below Blue Lake 3. The road gets extremely narrow near Blue Lake and there is no place to turn around if you have a trailer. When we were last here in 2019 we saw a two people try and take a trailer further up the road, and it took them and hour to slowly back down the road.

Nearby Places to Fish

Littles Creek which is a tributary to Joes Valley Reservoir flows through here. There are some small ponds connected to Littles Creek with fish populations. Sealy Creek flows nearby and has a population of native cutthroat trout. Grassy Lake, Soup Bowl, Petes Hole, Academy Mill Reservoir, Mary's Lake, and Potters Ponds.