Badin Lake
Montgomery County, North CarolinaView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Badin Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 72 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Badin Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20 µg/L.
Badin Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 72 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 5 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Montgomery County, Badin Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Badin Lake has 5 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Badin Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Badin Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch5 documented ramps
- Camping4 public campgrounds nearby
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Badin Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Badin Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Badin Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 20 µg/L. TSI 57.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 20µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 57 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Badin Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~72 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Badin Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4,162 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
5,461 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
50.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
522 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
- Circle DrivePublic
- LakemontPublic
- Morrow Mountain Boat LaunchPublic
- Badin Lake Boat RampPublic
- ArrowheadPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Badin Lake
- Badin Lake Campground2.4 kmReserve
- King'S Mountain Point Picnic Pavilion (nc)2.6 kmReserve
- Badin Lake Group Camp3.0 kmReserve
- Arrowhead Campground3.0 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Badin Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Badin Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Badin Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Badin Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Badin Lake → · more North Carolina lake trips
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Fishing Badin Lake
Nearby Lakes in Montgomery County
Frequently asked questions about Badin Lake
Where is Badin Lake?
- Badin Lake is a lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Badin Lake?
- Badin Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20 µg/L.
Is Badin Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Badin Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Badin Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 72 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Badin Lake?
- Badin Lake has 5 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Circle Drive, Lakemont, Morrow Mountain Boat Launch, Badin Lake Boat Ramp, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Badin Lake?
- Badin Lake has 5 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Badin Lake?
- Badin Lake has 4 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Badin Lake Campground, King'S Mountain Point Picnic Pavilion (nc), Badin Lake Group Camp, Arrowhead Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Badin Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
57 measurements from 4 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ57 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (4)
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles