Canyon Lake
Maricopa County, Arizona950 acresView mapDirections
ADEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Canyon Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 54 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Canyon Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona has water-quality measurements published by ADEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51.5 µg/L. Surface area: 950 acres.
Canyon Lake is a 950-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Maricopa County, Arizona with an estimated average depth of about 54 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 2 other monitored lakes in Maricopa County, Canyon Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2026-04-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Canyon Lake covers about 950 acres in Maricopa County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Canyon Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Canyon Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 Canyon Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Canyon Lake
These are the measurements ADEQ publishes for Canyon 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 3.4 ft. Phosphorus 51.5 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 51.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Canyon Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~54 ft est.
Surface area
950 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ADEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arizona has not published bathymetry for Canyon Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6,061 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
9.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,650 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
- Canyon Lake - 3Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Canyon Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Canyon Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona — 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 Canyon 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 Canyon Lake → · more Arizona lake trips
Follow Canyon Lake’s readings
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Fishing Canyon Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+4 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Canyon Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mormon Flat Dam (completed 1926), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Salt River; concrete-type dam, 224 ft tall and 380 ft long.
- Surface area
- 950 ac
- Normal storage
- 57,852 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 57,852 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6,072.9 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AZ10313 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Maricopa County
Frequently asked questions about Canyon Lake
Where is Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake is a lake in Maricopa County, Arizona. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona has water-quality measurements published by ADEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51.5 µg/L. Surface area: 950 acres.
Is Canyon Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Canyon Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Canyon Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 54 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 950 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Canyon Lake - 3. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Canyon Lake?
- Canyon 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 Arizona's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Canyon Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
13 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2022–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Great Lakes Environmental Center
GLEC10 samples · 2022–2026 - AZDEQ_SW
AZDEQ_SW3 samples · 2025–2026
Analytical methods
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 300.0 ~ EPA; Determination of Inorganic Anions by Ion Chromatography
- SM 4500 PF
- SM 4500-P-F
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory