Officials in Monterey County are allowing people with annual day passes to the currently closed Lake San Antonio to use their passes at Lake Nacimiento instead, the county announced Saturday.  

Lake San Antonio has been closed since Wednesday after a mass fish die off occurred there.  

At first, biologists believed a large scale die off that occurred on July 5 was due to the excessive heat, which they believed may have depleted oxygen in the water. Park staff noticed that dead baitfish, mostly shad, began washing up on the shore. They contacted California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to report the situation, the county said. At the time, officials did not believe the lake presented a danger to the public.  

But, as the days went on, more fish kept dying and the problem began to affect larger species such as bass, catfish, crappie, carp and trout.  

Officials are continuing to investigate the problem, but until the issue can be resolved, boating, swimming and fishing are prohibited at Lake San Antonio and the entire park facility has been shut down.  

According to the county, the Lake Nacimiento Resort has limited day use boat and trailer parking, which the county says “fills up quickly” on the weekends. Visitors should consider arriving early or calling ahead to check on capacity.  

Lake Nacimiento Resort is 16 miles northwest of Highway 101 in Paso Robles, on Nacimiento Drive G-14. Lake Nacimiento North Shore has a parking area and boat ramp as well, the county said.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.