Crystal Lake
Orleans County, Vermont778 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Crystal Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 73 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Crystal Lake in Orleans County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 5.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.9 µg/L. Surface area: 778 acres.
Crystal Lake is a 778-acre lake in Orleans County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 73 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-10-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Crystal Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water19.4 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Crystal Lake 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 Crystal Lake
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Crystal Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 19.4 ft down. Phosphorus 5.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 0.9 µg/L. TSI 31.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 19.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 5.4µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 0.9µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 31 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Crystal Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~73 ft est.
Surface area
778 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Vermont DEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Crystal Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
23 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
942 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
- Crystal LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Crystal Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Crystal Lake in Orleans County, Vermont — 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.
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Fishing Crystal Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.3 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.1 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Crystal Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Crystal Lake (completed 1860), built primarily for recreation on the Barton River-Tr; concrete-type dam, 17 ft tall and 65 ft long.
- Surface area
- 778 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,740 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 22.58 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- STATE OF VERMONT - DEC
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00008 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Orleans County
Frequently asked questions about Crystal Lake
Where is Crystal Lake?
- Crystal Lake is a lake in Orleans County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Crystal Lake?
- Crystal Lake in Orleans County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 5.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.9 µg/L. Surface area: 778 acres.
Is Crystal Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Crystal Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Crystal Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 73 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 778 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Crystal Lake?
- Crystal Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Crystal Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Crystal Lake?
- Crystal 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 Vermont's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
101 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ101 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
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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