Grove Lake
Antelope County, Nebraska54 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Grove Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 22 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Grove Lake in Antelope County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 91.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 84.8 µg/L. Surface area: 54 acres.
Grove Lake is a 54-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Antelope County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 22 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2016-09-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Grove Lake covers about 54 acres in Antelope County. It has 2 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Grove Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Grove Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
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. Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Grove Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Grove Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Grove Lake, 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 2.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 91.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 84.8 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 91.3µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 84.8µg/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. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Grove Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~22 ft est.
Surface area
54 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Nebraska DEE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Nebraska has not published bathymetry for Grove Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
42 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,709 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
- North RampPublic
- Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area SouthPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Grove Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Grove Lake in Antelope County, Nebraska — 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 Grove Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Grove Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 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 Nebraska’s top lakes →
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Fishing Grove Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2014–2016). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+6.7 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Grove Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Grove Lake Dam (completed 1953), built primarily for recreation on the E Br Verdigre Creek; earth-type dam, 43 ft tall and 593 ft long.
- Surface area
- 54 ac
- Normal storage
- 592 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 800 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 11.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE00176 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Grove 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NE-NI2-L0060 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Antelope County
Frequently asked questions about Grove Lake
Where is Grove Lake?
- Grove Lake is a lake in Antelope County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Grove Lake?
- Grove Lake in Antelope County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 91.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 84.8 µg/L. Surface area: 54 acres.
Is Grove Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Grove Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Grove Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 22 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 54 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Grove Lake?
- Grove Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include North Ramp, Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area South. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Grove Lake?
- Grove Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Nebraska's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Grove Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
30 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX30 samples · 2014–2016
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
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
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