Glendale Lake
Pope County, Illinois84 acresView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Glendale Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 37 ft max depth
- Limited data
Glendale Lake in Pope County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 23 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 38 µg/L. Surface area: 84 acres.
Glendale Lake is a 84-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Pope County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Pope County, Glendale Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2020-11-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Glendale Lake covers about 84 acres in Pope County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Glendale Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Glendale 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Glendale Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Glendale Lake
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Glendale Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.8 ft. Phosphorus 23 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 38 µg/L. TSI 57.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 23µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 38µg/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. | 57 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Glendale Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Glendale Lake typically sits around 64°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 75°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 77°F) and coldest in Nov (about 54°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (54°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 332 field readings (2010–2020) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Glendale Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Surface area
84 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Glendale Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
420 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 Glendale Lake
- Oak Point - Lake Glendale0.4 km
- Duck Bay - Lake Glendale0.5 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 Glendale Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Glendale Lake in Pope County, Illinois — 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 Glendale Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Glendale Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 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 whole trip? See where to stay at Illinois’s top lakes →
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Fishing Glendale Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Glendale Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Glendale (completed 1938), built primarily for recreation on the TR-SUGAR; earth-type dam, 38 ft tall and 975 ft long.
- Surface area
- 84 ac
- Normal storage
- 860 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,814 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- USDA FS
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IL00102 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Pope County
Frequently asked questions about Glendale Lake
Where is Glendale Lake?
- Glendale Lake is a lake in Pope County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Glendale Lake?
- Glendale Lake in Pope County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 23 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 38 µg/L. Surface area: 84 acres.
Is Glendale Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Glendale Lake?
- Glendale Lake typically sits around 64°F at the surface in October, from 332 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2020). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Glendale Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Glendale Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 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 84 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Glendale Lake?
- Glendale Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Oak Point - Lake Glendale, Duck Bay - Lake Glendale. 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 Glendale Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
52 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- illinois epa
IL_EPA_WQX52 samples · 2020
Analytical methods
- MEASURED IN FIELD
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles