Lake Paho is Mercer County's central conservation-area lake

Lake Paho is more than another farm-pond name in Mercer County. Lake Paho Conservation Area sits in central Mercer County, four miles west of Princeton on Highway 136, and covers a little over 2,350 acres. That makes it one of the county’s easiest public-land anchors to point to.

The lake has a better story than its size suggests. The Conservation Department built Lake Paho in the late 1940s with financial help from residents of Mercer and nearby counties, then opened it to public fishing in 1951. The lake is 273 acres. The name “Paho” means “one” or “first,” and MDC staff have described it as the first lake the department created.

The land around the water does work too. MDC describes prairie plants such as Indian grass, compass plant, and wild indigo in the rolling uplands. The Conservationist piece points to fishing for black bass, white bass, catfish, crappie, and more, with more than 2,000 acres away from the water for hiking, biking, birding, hunting, and primitive camping.

For visitors and local readers, the county identity is clear: Princeton has the courthouse, but Lake Paho is the public-land anchor west of town. Check MDC before going, especially for area rules, fishing regulations, hours, and maps.