Dickey Lake
Lincoln County, MontanaView mapDirections
Montana DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Dickey Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 75 ft max depth
Dickey Lake in Lincoln County, Montana has water-quality measurements published by Montana DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 11.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L.
Dickey Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Lincoln County, Montana with an estimated average depth of about 75 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 17 other monitored lakes in Lincoln County, Dickey Lake ranks #8 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Montana DEQ, last sampled 2023-07-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Dickey Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Dickey Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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 Dickey Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Dickey Lake
These are the measurements Montana DEQ publishes for Dickey 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. Phosphorus 11.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.2 µg/L. TSI 39.
| 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 | 11.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.2µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 39 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Dickey Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~75 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Montana has not published bathymetry for Dickey Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
13 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
581 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
3,117 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
Public campgrounds near Dickey Lake
- South Dickey Lake0.3 kmReserve
- North Dickey Lake1.7 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Dickey Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Dickey Lake
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Follow Dickey Lake’s readings
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Fishing Dickey Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 12 years of monitoring (2012–2023).
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.67 µg/L/yr11 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.14 µg/L/yr12 years
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Dickey Lake
Where is Dickey Lake?
- Dickey Lake is a lake in Lincoln County, Montana. Its water-quality measurements are published by Montana DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Dickey Lake?
- Dickey Lake in Lincoln County, Montana has water-quality measurements published by Montana DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 11.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L.
Is Dickey Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Dickey Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Dickey Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 75 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 campgrounds on Dickey Lake?
- Dickey Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including South Dickey Lake, North Dickey Lake. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Dickey Lake across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Montana
Mesotrophic Lakes in Montana
Where this data comes from
26 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Montana Watershed
MTWTRSHD_WQX26 samples · 2012–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 4500 N C ~ Persufate Method for Total Nitrogen
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)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles