Desoto Lake
Phillips County, ArkansasView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Desoto Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
Desoto Lake in Phillips County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 75 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 44.1 µg/L.
Desoto Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Phillips County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 39 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Phillips County, Desoto Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2024-10-31. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Desoto Lake has 3 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Desoto Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Desoto Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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 Desoto Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Desoto Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Desoto Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 75 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 44.1 µg/L. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 75µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 44.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 68 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Desoto Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Arkansas DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arkansas has not published bathymetry for Desoto Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
25 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
1,243 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
14.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
128 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
- Desoto Lake (South)Public
- Topper LandingPublic
- Hillhouse LandingPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Desoto Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Desoto Lake in Phillips County, Arkansas — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Desoto Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Desoto Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Desoto Lake → · more Arkansas lake trips
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Fishing Desoto Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+3.1 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.23 µg/L/yr4 years
Nearby Lakes in Phillips County
Frequently asked questions about Desoto Lake
Where is Desoto Lake?
- Desoto Lake is a lake in Phillips County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Desoto Lake?
- Desoto Lake in Phillips County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 75 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 44.1 µg/L.
Is Desoto Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Desoto Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Desoto Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Desoto Lake?
- Desoto Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Desoto Lake (South), Topper Landing, Hillhouse Landing. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Desoto Lake?
- Desoto Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Arkansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Desoto Lake across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Arkansas
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Arkansas
Where this data comes from
124 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21MSWQ_WQX124 samples · 2012–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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