Bolton Lake
Tolland County, Connecticut176 acresView mapDirections
CT DEEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Bolton Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Public access
- Limited data
Bolton Lake in Tolland County, Connecticut has water-quality measurements published by CT DEEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 176 acres.
Bolton Lake is a 176-acre lake in Tolland County, Connecticut. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2021-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Bolton Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bolton Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Bolton Lake
These are the measurements CT DEEP publishes for Bolton Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Bolton Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
176 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by CT DEEP
No bathymetric survey has been published for Bolton Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Bolton Lake (Lower)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Bolton Lake
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Fishing Bolton Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Bolton Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lower Bolton Lake Dam (completed 1940), built primarily for recreation on the Bolton Pond Brook; earth-type dam, 20 ft tall and 1,080 ft long.
- Surface area
- 176 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,325 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,325 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.98 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Connecticut DEEP
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CT00509 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Tolland County
Frequently asked questions about Bolton Lake
Where is Bolton Lake?
- Bolton Lake is a lake in Tolland County, Connecticut. Its water-quality measurements are published by CT DEEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bolton Lake?
- Bolton Lake in Tolland County, Connecticut has water-quality measurements published by CT DEEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 176 acres.
Is Bolton Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Bolton Lake?
- Bolton Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Bolton Lake (Lower). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Bolton Lake?
- Bolton 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 Connecticut's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Bolton Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
47 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS47 samples · 2020–2021
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory