Falls Lake
Montgomery County, North Carolina204 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Falls Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · PCBs
- 51 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Falls Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.3 µg/L. Surface area: 204 acres.
Falls Lake is a 204-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 51 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Montgomery County, Falls Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Falls Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
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. Falls Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Falls Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Falls Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Falls 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 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.3 µg/L. TSI 49.
| 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 | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.3µg/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. | 49 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Falls Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~51 ft est.
Surface area
204 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Falls Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4,167 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
364 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 Falls Lake
- Morrow Mountain Group Campground2.6 km
- Morrow Mountain Family Camping Site3.6 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 Falls Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Falls Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Falls Lake
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Fishing Falls Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Falls Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Yadkin Falls (completed 1919), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Yadkin; gravity-type dam, 120 ft tall and 748 ft long.
- Surface area
- 204 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,840 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,875 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4,190 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Cube Yadkin Generation LLC
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00548 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Falls Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NC12-(136.3) · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Montgomery County
Frequently asked questions about Falls Lake
Where is Falls Lake?
- Falls Lake is a lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Falls Lake?
- Falls Lake in Montgomery County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.3 µg/L. Surface area: 204 acres.
Is Falls Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Falls Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Falls Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Falls Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 51 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 204 acres.
Can I fish at Falls Lake?
- Public access to Falls Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Falls Lake?
- Falls Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Morrow Mountain Group Campground, Morrow Mountain Family Camping Site. 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 Falls Lake across LakeQuality
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Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
24 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ24 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles