Carr Fork Lake
Knott County, KentuckyView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Carr Fork Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 68 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Carr Fork Lake in Knott County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L.
Carr Fork Lake is a lake in Knott County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 68 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2013-08-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Carr Fork Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Camping3 public campgrounds nearby
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Carr Fork Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Carr Fork Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Carr Fork Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Carr Fork 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 10 µg/L. TSI 37.
| 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 | 10µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Carr Fork Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Carr Fork Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~68 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Carr Fork Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
60 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
447 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
16.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,050 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
- Carr Creek MarinaPublic
- Little CarrPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Carr Fork Lake
- Carr Creek State Park Campground1.0 km
- Littcarr Campground3.6 kmReserve
- Carr Creek Lake Shelters3.9 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 Carr Fork Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Carr Fork Lake
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Fishing Carr Fork Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Carr Fork 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 KY-437 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Knott County
Frequently asked questions about Carr Fork Lake
Where is Carr Fork Lake?
- Carr Fork Lake is a lake in Knott County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Carr Fork Lake?
- Carr Fork Lake in Knott County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L.
Is Carr Fork Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Carr Fork Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Carr Fork Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Carr Fork Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 68 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Carr Fork Lake?
- Carr Fork Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Carr Creek Marina, Little Carr. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Carr Fork Lake?
- Carr Fork Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Carr Fork Lake?
- Carr Fork Lake has 3 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Carr Creek State Park Campground, Littcarr Campground, Carr Creek Lake Shelters. 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 Carr Fork Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 4 monitoring stations, 2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX8 samples · 2013
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
Monitoring station identifiers (4)
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