Cougar Lake
Lane County, Oregon1,280 acresView mapDirections
Clarity, phosphorus, and algae all sit in the cleanest band for this region.
- Oligotrophic
- #1 of 3 in the county
- 64 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Cougar Lake in Lane County, Oregon has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1280 acres.
- Max depth
- ~64 ft est.
- Area
- 1,280 acres
- Type
- Oligotrophic
- Chlorophyll-a
- 0.5 µg/L
- Public access
- Yes
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Watch Cougar Lake’s letter
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Cougar Lake is a 1,280-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Lane County, Oregon with an estimated average depth of about 64 feet. Water quality is graded A based on 1 sampling years through 2021. 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. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Cougar Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,280 acres
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The A is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: A (Excellent)
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 0.5 µg/L. TSI 24. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | No recent samples | |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 0.5 µg/L | Good |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 24 | Oligotrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 7, 2026, 4:00 PM from gauge 14159400 (COUGAR LAKE NEAR RAINBOW, OR). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Cougar Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~64 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 1,280 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
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
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
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
County Ranking
Ranked #1 of 3 lakes in Lane County
Nearby Lakes in Lane County
Frequently asked questions about Cougar Lake
Where is Cougar Lake?
- Cougar Lake is a lake in Lane County, Oregon. LakeQuality grades it A for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Cougar Lake?
- Cougar Lake in Lane County, Oregon has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1280 acres.
Is Cougar Lake safe to swim in?
- The A is nutrients and algae, 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.
What is the water level at Cougar Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Cougar Lake is 1556.42 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Sep 7, 2026, 4:00 PM at gauge 14159400. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
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.
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 grade
Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
Oregon's cleanest and most-polluted lakes, ranked
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Other Grade A 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)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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