Coles Pond
Caledonia County, Vermont125 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Coles Pond. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 12 ft max depth
Coles Pond in Caledonia County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.9 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Coles Pond is a 125-acre mesotrophic lake in Caledonia County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 12 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 8 other monitored lakes in Caledonia County, Coles Pond ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Coles Pond is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.8 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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 Coles Pond is safe to swim in today is a call for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Coles Pond
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Coles Pond, 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 11.8 ft. Phosphorus 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.9 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 11.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 8.8µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 39 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Coles Pond
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~12 ft est.
Surface area
125 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Coles Pond.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,188 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.
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Fishing Coles Pond
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.76 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.39 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Coles Pond is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Coles Pond (completed 1900), built primarily for recreation on the Steam Mill Brook-Tr; earth-type dam, 12 ft tall and 83 ft long.
- Surface area
- 125 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 520 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.16 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- STATE OF VERMONT - DFW
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00090 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Caledonia County
Frequently asked questions about Coles Pond
Where is Coles Pond?
- Coles Pond is a lake in Caledonia County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Coles Pond?
- Coles Pond in Caledonia County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.8 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.9 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Is Coles Pond safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Coles Pond?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Coles Pond, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 12 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 125 acres.
Explore Coles Pond across LakeQuality
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Vermont
Where this data comes from
182 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ182 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- EPA approved Alternate Test Procedure for 4500 P H. Has a 28 day hold without acid preservation.
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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)