Clarks Hill Lake
Columbia County, GeorgiaView mapDirections
Georgia EPD publishes the water-quality measurements for Clarks Hill Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 61 ft max depth
- Public access
Clarks Hill Lake in Columbia County, Georgia has water-quality measurements published by Georgia EPD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.8 µg/L.
Clarks Hill Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Columbia County, Georgia with an estimated average depth of about 61 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 22 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Georgia EPD, last sampled 2025-10-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Clarks Hill Lake has 22 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Clarks Hill Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Clarks Hill Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch22 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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 Clarks Hill Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Clarks Hill Lake
These are the measurements Georgia EPD publishes for Clarks Hill Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.9 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.8 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.8µg/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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Clarks Hill Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~61 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Georgia EPD
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Georgia has not published bathymetry for Clarks Hill Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
712 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
9,565 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
79.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
338 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
- Amity Recreation AreaPublic
- Below Clarkes Hill DamPublic
- Bussey Point CampgroundPublic
- Cherokee Recreation AreaPublic
- Clay Hill CampgroundPublic
- Double Branches RampPublic
Showing 6 of 22 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
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Clarks Hill Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Clarks Hill Lake in Columbia County, Georgia — 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 Clarks Hill 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.
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Fishing Clarks Hill Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 13 years of monitoring (2013–2025).
Water clarity
Stable12 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.42 µg/L/yr13 years
Nearby Lakes in Columbia County
Frequently asked questions about Clarks Hill Lake
Where is Clarks Hill Lake?
- Clarks Hill Lake is a lake in Columbia County, Georgia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Georgia EPD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Clarks Hill Lake?
- Clarks Hill Lake in Columbia County, Georgia has water-quality measurements published by Georgia EPD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.8 µg/L.
Is Clarks Hill Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Clarks Hill Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Clarks Hill Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 61 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 Clarks Hill Lake?
- Clarks Hill Lake has 22 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Amity Recreation Area, Below Clarkes Hill Dam, Bussey Point Campground, Cherokee Recreation Area, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Clarks Hill Lake?
- Clarks Hill Lake has 22 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Georgia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Clarks Hill Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
221 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division
21GAEPD_WQX221 samples · 2013–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 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