Bear Creek Lake
Lee County, Arkansas520 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Bear Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 45 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Bear Creek Lake in Lee County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.9 µg/L. Surface area: 520 acres.
Bear Creek Lake is a 520-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Lee County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet. Phosphorus level is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Lee County, Bear Creek Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2025-11-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Bear Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping3 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. Bear Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bear Creek Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Bear Creek Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Bear Creek 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 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 42.9 µg/L. TSI 65.
| 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 | 60µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 42.9µg/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. | 65 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Bear Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Surface area
520 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Arkansas DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arkansas has not published bathymetry for Bear Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
253 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
- Bear Creek Lake Recreation AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Bear Creek Lake
- Beech Point Cg0.3 km
- Lone Pine Cg0.6 km
- Maple Flat Cg0.8 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 Bear Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Bear Creek Lake in Lee County, Arkansas — 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 Bear Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Bear Creek Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 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 Bear Creek Lake → · more Arkansas lake trips
Follow Bear Creek Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Bear Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2023–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+10 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-7.05 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Bear Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Bear Creek (completed 1938), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Bear Creek; earth-type dam, 42 ft tall and 1,200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 520 ac
- Normal storage
- 9,200 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 9,200 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- USDA FS
All listed purposes: Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR00969 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Bear Creek Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AR_08020203_4020 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lee County
Frequently asked questions about Bear Creek Lake
Where is Bear Creek Lake?
- Bear Creek Lake is a lake in Lee County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bear Creek Lake?
- Bear Creek Lake in Lee County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.9 µg/L. Surface area: 520 acres.
Is Bear Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Bear Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Bear Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Bear Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 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 520 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Bear Creek Lake?
- Bear Creek Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Bear Creek Lake Recreation Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Bear Creek Lake?
- Bear Creek 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 Arkansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Bear Creek Lake?
- Bear Creek Lake has 3 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Beech Point Cg, Lone Pine Cg, Maple Flat Cg. 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 Bear Creek Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Arkansas
Other Lakes in Arkansas
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Arkansas
Where this data comes from
34 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX34 samples · 2023–2025
Analytical methods
- 4500 P J ~ Persulfate Method for Simultaneous Determination of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
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