Cane Creek Lake
Lincoln County, Arkansas1,620 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Cane Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 37 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Cane Creek Lake in Lincoln County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.1 µg/L. Surface area: 1620 acres.
Cane Creek Lake is a 1,620-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Lincoln County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet. Phosphorus level is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2026-01-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Cane Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Big water1,620 acres
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 Cane 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 Cane Creek Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Cane 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 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 14.1 µg/L. TSI 55.
| 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 | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 14.1µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Cane Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Surface area
1,620 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 Cane Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
171 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
- Cane Creek State ParkPublic
- Cane Creek State ParkPublic
- Cane Creek State Park (East)Public
- Cane Creek State Park (West)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Cane Creek Lake
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Fishing Cane 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+5 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.8 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cane Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cane Creek (completed 1989), built primarily for recreation on the Cane Crk Trb Bayou Bartho; earth-type dam, 27 ft tall and 21,000 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,620 ac
- Normal storage
- 9,800 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 22,600 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 21 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR01460 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Cane Creek Lake
Where is Cane Creek Lake?
- Cane Creek Lake is a lake in Lincoln County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cane Creek Lake?
- Cane Creek Lake in Lincoln County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.1 µg/L. Surface area: 1620 acres.
Is Cane Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Cane Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Cane Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 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 1620 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Cane Creek Lake?
- Cane Creek Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cane Creek State Park, Cane Creek State Park, Cane Creek State Park (East), Cane Creek State Park (West). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cane Creek Lake?
- Cane Creek Lake has 4 documented boat landings 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.
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Where this data comes from
33 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX33 samples · 2023–2026
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory