Goshen Hole Reservoir
Goshen County, Wyoming787 acresView mapDirections
Wyoming DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Goshen Hole Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 15 ft max depth
- Limited data
Goshen Hole Reservoir in Goshen County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 100 µg/L. Surface area: 787 acres.
Goshen Hole Reservoir is a 787-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Goshen County, Wyoming with an estimated average depth of about 15 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Goshen County, Goshen Hole Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wyoming DEQ, last sampled 2018-09-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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 Goshen Hole 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 Goshen Hole Reservoir
These are the measurements Wyoming DEQ publishes for Goshen Hole Reservoir, 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 1.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 100 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 100µg/L | Poor 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. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Goshen Hole Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~15 ft est.
Surface area
787 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wyoming has not published bathymetry for Goshen Hole Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
17 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
4,268 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.
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Stays near Goshen Hole Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Goshen Hole Reservoir in Goshen County, Wyoming — 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 Goshen Hole Reservoir are listed below.
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Fishing Goshen Hole Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Goshen Hole Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Goshen Hole (completed 1957), built primarily for irrigation on the Offstream Horse Creek; earth-type dam, 26 ft tall and 1,220 ft long.
- Surface area
- 787 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,961 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 8,109 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 25.6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- GOSHEN HOLE WATER USERS ASSOCIATION
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WY01669 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Goshen County
Frequently asked questions about Goshen Hole Reservoir
Where is Goshen Hole Reservoir?
- Goshen Hole Reservoir is a lake in Goshen County, Wyoming. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wyoming DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Goshen Hole Reservoir?
- Goshen Hole Reservoir in Goshen County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 100 µg/L. Surface area: 787 acres.
Is Goshen Hole Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Goshen Hole Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Goshen Hole Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 15 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 787 acres.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2018. 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_WATERSHED6 samples · 2018
Analytical methods
- Secchi
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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)