Grayson Lake
Carter County, Kentucky1,510 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Grayson Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 63 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Grayson Lake in Carter County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Surface area: 1510 acres.
Grayson Lake is a 1,510-acre mesotrophic lake in Carter County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 63 feet. Overall water quality is improving 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 Carter County, Grayson Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2017-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Grayson Lake covers about 1,500 acres in Carter County. It has 3 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Grayson Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Grayson Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water1,510 acres
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. Grayson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Grayson Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Grayson Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Grayson 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 18 µg/L. TSI 46.
| 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 | 18µg/L | Good 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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Grayson Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Grayson Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~63 ft est.
Surface area
1,510 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Grayson Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
197 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
23.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
666 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
- Bruin CreekPublic
- Clifty CreekPublic
- DamPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Grayson Lake
- Grayson Lake State Park Campground3.4 km
- Grayson Lake Damsite Shelters3.5 kmReserve
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 Grayson Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Grayson Lake in Carter County, Kentucky — 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 Grayson Lake
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Fishing Grayson Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-1.6 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Grayson Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Grayson Dam (completed 1968), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Little Sandy River; rockfill-type dam, 120 ft tall and 1,460 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,510 ac
- Normal storage
- 29,390 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 118,990 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 196 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Huntington District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY03030 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Grayson Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KY-830 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Carter County
Frequently asked questions about Grayson Lake
Where is Grayson Lake?
- Grayson Lake is a lake in Carter County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Grayson Lake?
- Grayson Lake in Carter County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Surface area: 1510 acres.
Is Grayson Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Grayson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Grayson Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Grayson Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 63 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 1510 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Grayson Lake?
- Grayson Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Bruin Creek, Clifty Creek, Dam. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Grayson Lake?
- Grayson 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 Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Grayson Lake?
- Grayson Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Grayson Lake State Park Campground, Grayson Lake Damsite Shelters. 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 Grayson Lake across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Kentucky
Mesotrophic Lakes in Kentucky
Where this data comes from
30 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2012–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX30 samples · 2012–2017
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles