Hidden Valley Lake
Washington County, Virginia60 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Hidden Valley Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 27 ft max depth
- Public access
Hidden Valley Lake in Washington County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.1 µg/L. Surface area: 59.7 acres.
Hidden Valley Lake is a 60-acre mesotrophic lake in Washington County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 27 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 1 other monitored lakes in Washington County, Hidden Valley Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2024-10-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Hidden Valley Lake covers about 60 acres in Washington County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Hidden Valley Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Hidden Valley Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hidden Valley Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hidden Valley Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Hidden Valley Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.7 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.1 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.1µg/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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Hidden Valley Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Surface area
60 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Hidden Valley Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
3,619 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
- Hidden Valley LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hidden Valley Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hidden Valley Lake in Washington County, Virginia — 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 Hidden Valley 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.
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Fishing Hidden Valley Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.11 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hidden Valley Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hidden Valley Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Brumley Creek; earth-type dam, 32 ft tall and 560 ft long.
- Surface area
- 59.7 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,350 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,975 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA191004 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Washington County
Frequently asked questions about Hidden Valley Lake
Where is Hidden Valley Lake?
- Hidden Valley Lake is a lake in Washington County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hidden Valley Lake?
- Hidden Valley Lake in Washington County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.1 µg/L. Surface area: 59.7 acres.
Is Hidden Valley Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Hidden Valley Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hidden Valley Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 27 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 59.7 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Hidden Valley Lake?
- Hidden Valley Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Hidden Valley Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Hidden Valley Lake?
- Hidden Valley 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 Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Hidden Valley Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
111 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB111 samples · 2012–2024
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory