Overholser Dam

[zefferoni]

I finally made my way out to the lake today, and stopped to check out the dam. Are pedestrians allowed to walk across it? The old machinery on top, and the (open) gate had a sign about 'authorized personnel only' made me wary.
Either way, it's seems like a cool place to sit and read!

[oklip955]

Its been a while since I've been out there. It used to be that you can walk across it. Ithere is a walk way off to the side that you are not allow on but the main part of the dam yes, and you can try fishing off the area away from the open gate/gates. I would highly caution anyone from going to the area below the dam. There are trails and areas where people fish. I was fishing down there one day and they opened a few more gates. I did save my takle box but lost my good bait bucket and almost got sweaped away in the raging waters. I got but to the top of the dam and let it me known that they almost killed me. They said that they sounded the horn and small flashing light. Yah right for 15 sec before opening two more gates wide open and the turbulent water was more then anyone can hope to swim in. They just did not seem to care. Be warned. They could have easlily walked down and told me to leave. I have hearing loss so a distant horn I cannot hear. It was a real close call. I was running literally for my life.

[Tritone]

I do believe that Overholser is 100 years old this year. When I was a kid we used to go to the dam/lake all the time, day and night. We fished from the dam and marveled at the gears and mechanisms. There came a point in time when we felt it was best to avoid the park area; not all the visitors were particularly friendly while others were a little too friendly. I hear it's "better" now, but we haven't make it out there lately.

[rezman]

Same here. I used to go out there frequently. I haven't been on the dam in a while, butoklip955 is right. You could walk from one end to the other, but there was a lower walkway that was off limits. This may sound wierd, but I guess it comes from my fondness of architectural details, I used to like the old steel tread plate covers on the walkway. Also known as diamond plate, the covers on the walkway are very old and have a tread pattern I have never seen anywhere else.

[mkjeeves]

People walk across it all the time and it's part of my exercise route on occasion. Most of the old diamond plate was replaced with aluminum grates when they overhauled it a few years ago.

In the last week...

[rezman]

^^^ That's a shame. The way old things are recycled into new designs these days, they would have made neat industrial decor items.

[White Peacock]

I do believe that Overholser is 100 years old this year. When I was a kid we used to go to the dam/lake all the time, day and night. We fished from the dam and marveled at the gears and mechanisms. There came a point in time when we felt it was best to avoid the park area; not all the visitors were particularly friendly while others were a little too friendly. I hear it's "better" now, but we haven't make it out there lately.

It'll be 100 years old in 2019.

I love Overholser; it's a great place to ride a motorcycle around on a leisurely ride, but I wouldn't necessarily feel safe there walking by myself. An elderly woman was assaulted there just a few days ago, and there's no shortage of questionable looking people hanging around the lake pretty regularly.

Here's my FZ sexily posing in front of the lake signage.

[Jeepnokc]

...not all the visitors were particularly friendly while others were a little too friendly.

What a great description

[mkjeeves]

Use has shifted. There's a lot fewer power boats and more people kayaking around the canal and into Stinchcomb. The trail has brought a huge increase of use by a mix of people walking and biking. There could still be some weirdos around but not so much from the dam up the east side to 39th. The Route 66 park is off the west side and draws lots of family traffic now too.

[White Peacock]

Use has shifted. There's a lot fewer power boats and more people kayaking around the canal and into Stinchcomb. The trail has brought a huge increase of use by a mix of people walking and biking. There could still be some weirdos around but not so much from the dam up the east side to 39th. The Route 66 park is off the west side and draws lots of family traffic now too.

It's generally the stretch of lakeside nearer to 10th St. on the south side of the lake, from the dam to the area just before Route 66 Park, you may want to avoid.

[rezman]

^^ By the soccer fields and the trailer parks?

[mkjeeves]

In that area there were ball fields used for little league for a few years. Then it was cricket for a few years. But there is a parking area with access to the west end of the dam, a boat ramp that gets very little use, and the parking area farther west with some picnic tables and a porta-potty that gets some use, and past that is the fishing pier. The is is mostly not used all that much now so, yeah, no crowds, a few loners or small groups and people fishing.

When I was walking Overholser daily, usually I would walk up the east side or on the canal berm but about every third day I would go from the east end of the dam, across to the other side to the picnic table area and back. Seems like there's always someone sitting in a car or on the bank, fishing, or *gasp* walking, but not really bothering anyone. Last week when I took the above photo at the dam, someone else had a 4 x 5 and was shooting film.

Mileage varies I guess.