Harris Lake
Wake County, North CarolinaView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Harris Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 47 ft max depth
- Public access
Harris Lake in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 90 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 43 µg/L.
Harris Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Wake County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 47 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 13 other monitored lakes in Wake County, Harris Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-10-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Harris Lake has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Harris Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Harris Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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 Harris 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 Harris Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Harris 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 2.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 90 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 43 µg/L. TSI 67.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 90µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 43µg/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. | 67 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Harris Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~47 ft est.
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 Harris Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
75 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
3,427 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
42.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
230 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
- Cross Point LandingPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Harris Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Harris Lake in Wake 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Harris Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Harris 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 trip? Cabins and lodging at Harris Lake → · more North Carolina lake trips
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Fishing Harris Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2023–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-5 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Nearby Lakes in Wake County
Frequently asked questions about Harris Lake
Where is Harris Lake?
- Harris Lake is a lake in Wake 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 Harris Lake?
- Harris Lake in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 90 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 43 µg/L.
Is Harris Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Harris Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Harris Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 47 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Harris Lake?
- Harris Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cross Point Landing. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Harris Lake?
- Harris Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.
Explore Harris Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Hypereutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
160 measurements from 4 monitoring stations, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ160 samples · 2023–2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (4)
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory