Crystal Reservoir
Laramie County, Wyoming136 acresView mapDirections
Wyoming DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Crystal Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 12 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Crystal Reservoir in Laramie County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 136 acres.
Crystal Reservoir is a 136-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Laramie County, Wyoming with an estimated average depth of about 12 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 7 other monitored lakes in Laramie County, Crystal Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wyoming DEQ, last sampled 2022-08-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Crystal Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.6 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 Crystal Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Crystal Reservoir
These are the measurements Wyoming DEQ publishes for Crystal Reservoir, 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 11.6 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 11.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 40 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Crystal Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~12 ft est.
Surface area
136 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Wyoming DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wyoming has not published bathymetry for Crystal Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
41 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
6,972 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 ReservoirPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Crystal Reservoir
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Fishing Crystal Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2015–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Crystal Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Crystal Lake (completed 1922), built primarily for water supply on the Middle Crow Creek; concrete-type dam, 108 ft tall and 170 ft long.
- Surface area
- 136 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,075 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,500 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 39.8 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF CHEYENNE-BOPU
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WY00002 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Laramie County
Frequently asked questions about Crystal Reservoir
Where is Crystal Reservoir?
- Crystal Reservoir is a lake in Laramie County, Wyoming. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wyoming DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Crystal Reservoir?
- Crystal Reservoir in Laramie County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 136 acres.
Is Crystal Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Crystal Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Crystal Reservoir, 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 136 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Crystal Reservoir?
- Crystal Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Crystal Reservoir. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Crystal Reservoir?
- Crystal Reservoir 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 Wyoming's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Crystal Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
12 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2015–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- State of Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Watershed Program
WYDEQ_WATERSHED12 samples · 2015–2022
Analytical methods
- Secchi
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory