[5] Archaeological surveying in the area of the Snow Lakes shows evidence that the occupation of indigenous groups dated to at least 12,000 years before the present era.

The lakes are within the traditional territory of the Wenatchi People, one of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and within the ceded lands of the Yakama Nation.

The Wenatchi people were relocated following the Treaty of 1855 to the Yakama and Colville Reservations while the local population became comprised then of Chinese immigrant prospecting as gold miners and Euro-American settlers working in the timber and agriculture industries.

[6]: 10  The State Supervisor of Hydraulics had issued Permit Number 828 in January 1927 for the appropriation of surrounding lakes.

The Department of Public Lands approved this request in an order that allowed the irrigation district to inundate lakeshores on the lake.

[8][2]: 19 The Snow Lakes system is owned and operated by United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

[2]: 17  In 1939, the Bureau of Reclamation acquired an easement on portions adjacent to Snow and Nada Lakes from the IPID.

[1]: 5  The reservoir is contained by a dam consisting of a rock and masonry structure with an embankment section that extends into a tunnel 7 x 9 feet cut into solid granite, reaching 2,250 feet long that works as an outlet and a valve gate to regulate flow out of the lake.

[2]: 6, 11  The hatchery serves as mitigation for fish losses resulting from the construction of Grand Coulee Dam and the creation of the Columbia Basin Project.

[1]: 3 [6]: 10  The year-round water supply to the hatchery ensures current production goals of 1.2 million fish annually.

The majority of visitors remain in the Southeast shore where the trail system approaches Upper Snow Lake.