Navajo Lake

Navajo Lake is the big water of Cedar Mountain: a three-mile lake at 9,000 feet ringed by spruce and aspen, 15 minutes west of the inn on Highway 14. Most of our summer guests end up here at least once, usually with a rod, a kayak, or a picnic, and it is the lake we point people to first because it has everything the smaller waters do not. Three Forest Service campgrounds and a 1927 lodge sit on the south shore, an 11.5-mile trail circles it, the fishing was rebuilt from scratch in 2021, and in winter the ice holds splake for anyone willing to snowmobile in.

It is also a strange lake. A lava flow dammed the valley and left it with no outlet, so the water leaves through sinkholes at the east end, runs underground, and pours out of a cliff a mile away as Cascade Falls, the headwaters of the river that carved Zion. This page covers the practical side, getting there, what to do, when, and what the weather does, with deeper pages on fishing and ice fishing and the campgrounds.

Where Navajo Lake is and how to get there

From Duck Creek Village, drive west on Highway 14 for about four miles to the Navajo Lake Road turnoff (Forest Road 053) on the left. The paved road wraps around the east end of the lake and runs the length of the south shore: about 3.5 miles to Navajo Lake Campground, 5.6 miles to its end past Te-Ah. Call it eight miles and 15 minutes from the inn to the campground. From Cedar City it is 25 miles east on Highway 14, roughly 40 minutes of climbing through Cedar Canyon.

In order from the highway: the dike across the sinkhole end at about 2 miles, Spruces Campground at 2.5, Navajo Lake Campground at 3.5, Navajo Lake Lodge at 4, and Te-Ah Campground near the west end at 5.5, with day-use pullouts and shady shoreline between them. Parking is free everywhere but the lodge ramp. On the way in, the Navajo Lake Overlook on Highway 14, at about 9,600 feet above the north shore, gives you the whole lake in one frame and is the best photo stop on the drive. The map below has every stop.

Navajo Lake Road is not plowed. The campgrounds close in early September, the road drifts shut with the first big storms, and from then until late spring the lake is reached by snowmobile on the Cedar Mountain trail system, 9.2 miles from the trailhead in the village. Check road conditions for Highway 14 before any shoulder-season trip.

Where to fish from shore

Turn on the fishing-access layer in the map for the six stretches of bank we send guests to. None of them is a secret and none guarantees a fish; they are the places where you can park, walk to the water, and cast without bushwhacking, ordered from the highway in.

• The dike at the east end.About two miles in, where the road crosses the 1932 embankment. A long, open bank you can walk end to end with the sinkhole basin behind it. Exposed to the afternoon wind, so fish it early.
• The east flats below Spruces.Shallow, walkable shoreline on the east half of the lake, wade-able when the lake is full. Long casts over the flats; the water warms first here in June.
• The campground bank.Navajo Lake Campground at 3.5 miles: park, walk down, fish. The stocking trucks use the landing here, so freshly planted rainbows hold nearby for a week or two after each plant.
• The lodge dock and ramp.Four miles in. The developed ramp, the rentals, and the fish cleaning station. The obvious place to start if you are trolling the middle of the lake for splake.
• The west end shallows.The inlet end below Te-Ah, reached from the loop trailhead on the north side. Snowmelt comes in here in spring and early summer.
• The north shore.No road. Walk in on the loop trail from either end and you have the quietest bank on the lake and the least pressure. Worth the effort on a summer weekend.

Species, limits, the stocking calendar, and the winter version of all this are on the fishing guide.

Weather at Navajo Lake, month by month

The lake sits 600 feet above the village and about 3,200 feet above Cedar City, so it runs cooler than either. The table is an estimate for 9,035 feet, interpolated from NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals at Alton (7,100 ft) and Brian Head (9,770 ft), the two long-running stations that bracket it. It is a planning guide, not a forecast.

Estimates from NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals at Alton and Brian Head, interpolated to 9,035 ft. July averages 75° by day and 45° at night; January 33° and 12°.

In practice: July and August days reach the mid 70s and nights fall into the 40s, so a jacket comes out at sunset even in high summer. Afternoon thunderstorms build over the plateau most days from mid July into early September; be off the water by early afternoon when the clouds stack up, because the lake is the most exposed place on the mountain. May and October are gambles that pay off on the good days and can snow on the others. From December through March the lake is frozen and the road is closed. For the current forecast at village elevation, use our weather page.

Navajo Lake Lodge, and where to stay

Navajo Lake Lodge has been on the south shore, about four miles in from the highway, since 1927. It has 11 rustic cabins with kitchenettes (bring a cooler; there are no refrigerators), a general store, a fish cleaning station, boat rentals, and the only proper boat ramp on the lake. As of September 2026 the posted rates are $335 a day for a 24-foot pontoon, $285 for an 18-foot pontoon, $125 for a boat and motor, and $60 for four hours with a kayak or paddleboard, with life jackets included; slips are $55 a day and the ramp is $10 unless you are a cabin guest. Seasons and prices change, so call (702) 646-4197 before you count on anything.

If you want the lake by day and a real bed, a hot shower, and heat at night, that is what we are for. Our cabins have full kitchens for cleaning up after a fishing day, several take dogs, and the rooms at the inn include breakfast so you can be on the water by eight. The stay near Navajo Lake page compares the options, and Aunt Sue's and the other village restaurants are 15 minutes from the shore.