What is the cleanest lake in Vermont?

Lake St. Catherine in Rutland County has the cleanest nutrient and algae readings in Vermont, with 15.4 feet of measured water clarity.

How are these rankings calculated?

Nutrients and algae, total phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll-a and turbidity, are read against EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition classes for that lake’s ecoregion. Water clarity (Secchi depth) is measured and shown separately. Lakes without enough recent samples are listed without a condition class rather than ranked low. Source data comes from the EPA Water Quality Portal.

Best Lakes to Swim In in Vermont

50 lakes in Vermont lead the swimming list on clear, low-nutrient water with chlorophyll-a (algae) under 10 µg/L. Always check local advisories on the day you swim.

Ranked List

#	Lake	County	Clarity	Phosphorus	Algae
1	Lake St. Catherine	Rutland	15.4 ft	13.2 µg/L	2.7 µg/L
2	Malletts Bay Lake	Chittenden	13.8 ft	10.2 µg/L	4 µg/L
3	Peacham Pond	Caledonia	15.6 ft	10.7 µg/L	2 µg/L
4	Wallingford Pond	Rutland	7.1 ft	15.3 µg/L	3.9 µg/L
5	Berlin Pond	Washington	21.7 ft	7.1 µg/L	1.1 µg/L
6	Caspian Lake	Orleans	29.5 ft	7.8 µg/L	1.3 µg/L
7	Harveys Lake	Caledonia	21 ft	8.4 µg/L	1.3 µg/L
8	Maidstone Lake	Essex	28.5 ft	7.2 µg/L	1.5 µg/L
9	Lake Groton	Caledonia	13.1 ft	11.3 µg/L	3.3 µg/L
10	Rescue Lake	Windsor	15.1 ft	10.7 µg/L	2.2 µg/L
11	Lake Hortonia	Rutland	14.8 ft	15.5 µg/L	2.8 µg/L
12	Coles Pond	Caledonia	11.8 ft	8.8 µg/L	2.9 µg/L
13	Seymour Lake	Orleans	24.6 ft	7.8 µg/L	1.3 µg/L
14	Sabin Pond	Washington	15.7 ft	9.7 µg/L	2.1 µg/L
15	Lake Raponda	Windham	11.3 ft	10.1 µg/L	2.4 µg/L
16	Curtis Pond	Washington	15.3 ft	13.2 µg/L	3.2 µg/L
17	Lowell Lake	Windham	13.5 ft	8.2 µg/L	1.8 µg/L
18	Lake Fairlee	Orange	21.7 ft	14.3 µg/L	2.7 µg/L
19	Echo Lake	Orleans	23 ft	8 µg/L	1.6 µg/L
20	Echo Lake	Windsor	13.9 ft	8.3 µg/L	1.6 µg/L
21	Echo Lake	Rutland	24.3 ft	10.1 µg/L	1.3 µg/L
22	Lake Morey	Orange	19.7 ft	15.2 µg/L	2.8 µg/L
23	Little Averill Pond	Essex	19.4 ft	6.6 µg/L	1.6 µg/L
24	Lake Willoughby	Orleans	28.2 ft	7.8 µg/L	1.6 µg/L
25	South Pond	Lamoille	15.4 ft	8.2 µg/L	2.3 µg/L
26	Lake Eden	Lamoille	12.8 ft	12.3 µg/L	3.5 µg/L
27	Lake Mirror	Washington	21.3 ft	10.8 µg/L	2.6 µg/L
28	Joes Pond	Caledonia	13.5 ft	11.5 µg/L	4.5 µg/L
29	Lake Dunmore	Addison	16.4 ft	10.9 µg/L	2.9 µg/L
30	Sunset Lake	Rutland	36.1 ft	8.5 µg/L	1.3 µg/L
31	Newark Pond	Caledonia	20.4 ft	10.3 µg/L	1.9 µg/L
32	Chipman Lake	Rutland	9.4 ft	15.9 µg/L	4.1 µg/L
33	Shadow Lake	Orleans	28.9 ft	8.3 µg/L	1.4 µg/L
34	Shadow Lake	Essex	16.4 ft	7.3 µg/L	1.5 µg/L
35	Lake Elmore	Lamoille	9.8 ft	15.9 µg/L	3 µg/L
36	Lake Salem	Orleans	13.1 ft	14.8 µg/L	2.6 µg/L
37	Cole Pond	Windham	9.8 ft	9.9 µg/L	2.2 µg/L
38	Lake Greenwood	Washington	18 ft	11.1 µg/L	3.3 µg/L
39	Holland Pond	Orleans	7.9 ft	10.4 µg/L	4.5 µg/L
40	Lake Bomoseen	Rutland	23.6 ft	9.7 µg/L	1.2 µg/L
41	Miles Pond	Essex	13.1 ft	10.6 µg/L	2.5 µg/L
42	Big Pond	Bennington	7.5 ft	13 µg/L	3.9 µg/L
43	Lake Parker	Orleans	13.1 ft	15.7 µg/L	4.2 µg/L
44	Halls Lake	Orange	13.9 ft	13.1 µg/L	4.4 µg/L
45	Forest Lake	Washington	25.6 ft	7 µg/L	1.2 µg/L
46	Elfin Lake	Rutland	10.8 ft	13.6 µg/L	4 µg/L
47	Waterbury Reservoir	Washington	-	9.1 µg/L	2.6 µg/L
48	Fairfield Pond	Franklin	19.7 ft	15.9 µg/L	2.2 µg/L
49	Lake Ninevah	Rutland	8.2 ft	11.4 µg/L	2 µg/L
50	Lake Mansfield	Lamoille	6.9 ft	12.1 µg/L	3.1 µg/L

Ranked List

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