Canyon Lake
Comal County, Texas8,308 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Canyon Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
- Limited data
Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.8 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.8 µg/L. Surface area: 8308 acres.
Canyon Lake is a 8,308-acre lake in Comal County, Texas. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 17 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2026-04-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
At about 8,300 acres, Canyon Lake is large enough that where you stay decides which shore you see most of. It has 17 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Canyon Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Canyon Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10.8 ft of visibility
- Boat launch17 documented ramps
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Big water8,308 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Canyon Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Canyon Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Texas Commission on 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 TCEQ 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.
Good clarity, visible to about 10.8 ft. Chlorophyll-a 0.8 µg/L. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10.8ft | 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) | 0.8µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Canyon Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Canyon Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Surface area
8,308 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TCEQ
No bathymetric survey has been published for Canyon Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Jacobs Creek Recreation ParkPublic
- Canyon Lake 16Public
- Canyon Lake 18 - 3Public
- Canyon Lake 23Public
- Canyon Lake 8Public
- Canyon Lake 7Public
Showing 6 of 17 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Canyon Lake
- North Park0.4 kmReserve
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 Canyon Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas — 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 23–25, 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 Texas 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 (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Canyon Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Canyon Lake Dam (completed 1964), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Guadalupe River; earth-type dam, 224 ft tall and 210 ft long.
- Surface area
- 8,308 ac
- Normal storage
- 378,900 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,208,350 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,425 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Fort Worth District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Hydroelectric;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX00004 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Canyon Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit TX-1805_04 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Comal County
Frequently asked questions about Canyon Lake
Where is Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake is a lake in Comal County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.8 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.8 µg/L. Surface area: 8308 acres.
Is Canyon Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Canyon Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake has 17 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Jacobs Creek Recreation Park, Canyon Lake 16, Canyon Lake 18 - 3, Canyon Lake 23, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake has 17 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Texas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Canyon Lake?
- Canyon Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including North Park. 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 Canyon Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
12 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Texas's top lakes, each with its readings
Texas's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Other Lakes in Texas
Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQMAIN15 samples · 2020–2026
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles