Burke Lake
Fairfax County, Virginia223 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Burke Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Oxygen depletion (low DO)
- 32 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Burke Lake in Fairfax County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.4 µg/L. Surface area: 223 acres.
Burke Lake is a 223-acre mesotrophic lake in Fairfax County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Overall water quality 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 Fairfax County, Burke Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Burke Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground 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. Burke Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Burke Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Burke Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Burke Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.4 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.4µg/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. | 52 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Burke Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Surface area
223 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Burke Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
322 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
- Lake BurkePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Burke Lake
- Burke Lake Campgrounds1.1 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 Burke Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Burke Lake in Fairfax County, Virginia — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Burke Lake
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Fishing Burke Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2017–2026). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+20 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+7.1 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Burke Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Burke Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the South Run; earth-type dam, 50 ft tall and 1,150 ft long.
- Surface area
- 223 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,983 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,589.4 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.18 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA059002 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Burke 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAN-A16L_SOH01A06 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Fairfax County
Frequently asked questions about Burke Lake
Where is Burke Lake?
- Burke Lake is a lake in Fairfax County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Burke Lake?
- Burke Lake in Fairfax County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.4 µg/L. Surface area: 223 acres.
Is Burke Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Burke Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Burke Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Burke Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 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 223 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Burke Lake?
- Burke Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Burke. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Burke Lake?
- Burke 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 Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Burke Lake?
- Burke Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Burke Lake Campgrounds. 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 Burke Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Virginia
Other Lakes in Virginia
Mesotrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
142 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2017–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB142 samples · 2017–2026
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 446.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophylls and Pheopigments in Phytoplankton by Spectrophotometry
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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