Cougar Lake
Lane County, Oregon1,280 acresView mapDirections
Oregon DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Cougar Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 64 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Cougar Lake in Lane County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1280 acres.
Cougar Lake is a 1,280-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Lane County, Oregon with an estimated average depth of about 64 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Lane County, Cougar Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Oregon DEQ, last sampled 2021-09-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Cougar Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,280 acres
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 Cougar Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Cougar Lake
These are the measurements Oregon DEQ publishes for Cougar 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. Chlorophyll-a 0.5 µg/L. TSI 24.
| 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 0.5µg/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. | 24 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Cougar Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Cougar Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~64 ft est.
Surface area
1,280 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Oregon DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oregon has not published bathymetry for Cougar Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
205 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,598 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
- EchoPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Cougar Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Cougar Lake in Lane County, Oregon — 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 Cougar Lake
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Fishing Cougar Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cougar Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cougar Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the South Fork Mckenzie River; rockfill-type dam, 519 ft tall and 1,600 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,280 ac
- Normal storage
- 208,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 220,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 208 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Portland District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Irrigation;Navigation;Recreation;Hydroelectric.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OR00015 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Lane County
Frequently asked questions about Cougar Lake
Where is Cougar Lake?
- Cougar Lake is a lake in Lane County, Oregon. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oregon DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cougar Lake?
- Cougar Lake in Lane County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1280 acres.
Is Cougar Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Cougar Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Cougar Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 64 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 1280 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Cougar Lake?
- Cougar Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Echo. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cougar Lake?
- Cougar 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 Oregon's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Cougar Lake across LakeQuality
3 documented falls within 19.6 mi, nearest Proxy Falls
4 thermal springs within 12.1 mi, nearest Cougar Reservoir Hot Springs
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Oregon's top lakes, each with its readings
Oregon's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Other Lakes in Oregon
Oligotrophic Lakes in Oregon
Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Oregon Water Science Center
USGS-OR6 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
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