Amherst Lake
Windsor County, Vermont76 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Amherst Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 33 ft max depth
- Public access
Amherst Lake in Windsor County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.2 µg/L. Surface area: 76 acres.
Amherst Lake is a 76-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Windsor County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 7 other monitored lakes in Windsor County, Amherst Lake ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Amherst Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water15.4 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Amherst Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Amherst Lake
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Amherst Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 15.4 ft down. Phosphorus 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.2 µg/L. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 15.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 8.8µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.2µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Amherst Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~33 ft est.
Surface area
76 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Vermont DEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Amherst Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,076 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Amherst LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Amherst Lake
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Fishing Amherst Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2021–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.98 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.36 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Amherst Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Amherst Lake, built primarily for recreation on the Echo Lake-Tr; concrete-type dam, 17 ft tall and 96 ft long.
- Surface area
- 76 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,050 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 19.06 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- LAKESIDE ASSOCIATES, INC.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00131 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Windsor County
Frequently asked questions about Amherst Lake
Where is Amherst Lake?
- Amherst Lake is a lake in Windsor County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Amherst Lake?
- Amherst Lake in Windsor County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.2 µg/L. Surface area: 76 acres.
Is Amherst Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Amherst Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Amherst Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 76 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Amherst Lake?
- Amherst Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Amherst Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Amherst Lake?
- Amherst Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Vermont's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Amherst Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
106 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ106 samples · 2021–2025
Analytical methods
- EPA approved Alternate Test Procedure for 4500 P H. Has a 28 day hold without acid preservation.
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory