The lower portion of the Stave is called Hayward Lake, formed by Ruskin Dam and formerly a canyon similar to Capilano and Lynn Canyons, and at its head in the grounds of the one-time community of worker's housing, there is a recreation area there and the beginning of a lakeside trail using the right-of-way of a railway line.

The Stave Falls Power Company, later a subsidiary of the British Columbia Electric Railway, dammed the river in the 1920-22 period.

As a result, the Upper Stave was raised and flooded the forests, as was also the case later with Hayward Lake, which was formed by the completion of Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse in 1930.

The whole set was dismantled, although a gazebo-type bandstand was moved to the Hayward Lake Recreation Site just below Stave dam.

A small number of private cabins are present on the east shores and Zajac Ranch, a summer camp for children with special needs, is on the south west side of the lake.