Lake Pelham and Mtn. Run Lake Man-made water supplies and outdoors fun

By Catherine Amos

Published: August 22, 2008

From recreation to refreshment, Lake Pelham and Mountain Run Lake serve Culpeper’s residents through a variety of means.

West of the town of Culpeper lies 26 miles of the Mountain Run watershed, which contains the town’s primary water sources of Mountain Run Lake and Lake Pelham. Both are used for recreation, including fishing and boating, though gas engines are prohibited.

With a surface area of 75 acres, Mountain Run Lake was completed in 1959. It features a 40-foot earthen dam that regulates water flow downstream to the 254-acre Lake Pelham, which was completed in 1972. That lake also has a dam that borders the Country Club of Culpeper.

Mountain Run Lake is stocked with largemouth bass, crappies, bluegills, channel catfish, tiger muskies, northern pike and chain pickerel jackfish. The park that bears its name includes a playground, four shelters with tables and grills, picnic tables, a boat ramp and dock and horseshoe pits.

In recent years, the northern and eastern shores of Lake Pelham have seen significant residential development in the form of the Lakeview subdivision (below). On the southern shore, runoff from construction at the Three Flags subdivision has added tons of silt to the lake and
required the town to take action against the developer.