Hershey Lake
Lincoln County, NebraskaView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Hershey Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 21 ft max depth
- Public access
Hershey Lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L.
Hershey Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 21 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 2 other monitored lakes in Lincoln County, Hershey Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2024-09-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Hershey Lake has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Hershey Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Hershey Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water13.6 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Hershey Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hershey 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 Hershey Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Hershey Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 13.6 ft. Phosphorus 51.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.1 µg/L. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 13.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 51.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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 Hershey Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~21 ft est.
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 Hershey Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
57 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,900 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
- HersheyPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hershey Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hershey Lake in Lincoln 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Hershey Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Hershey Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 8 years of monitoring (2017–2024).
Water clarity
Improving8 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+47.15 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.05 µg/L/yr8 years
EPA Impairment Status
Hershey 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-SP1-L0050 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Hershey Lake
Where is Hershey Lake?
- Hershey Lake is a lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hershey Lake?
- Hershey Lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L.
Is Hershey Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hershey Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Hershey Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hershey Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 21 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 Hershey Lake?
- Hershey Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Hershey. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Hershey Lake?
- Hershey 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 Nebraska's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Hershey Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
108 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2017–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX108 samples · 2017–2024
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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