Highline Lake
Mesa County, Colorado155 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Highline Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 10 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Highline Lake in Mesa County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.9 µg/L. Surface area: 155 acres.
Highline Lake is a 155-acre mesotrophic lake in Mesa County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 10 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Mesa County, Highline Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2022-09-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Highline Lake covers about 160 acres in Mesa County. It has 3 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 Highline Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Highline Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Highline Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Highline Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Highline 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 3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 30.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.9 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.9µg/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. | 53 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Highline Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~10 ft est.
Surface area
155 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Colorado WQCD
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Highline Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
14 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
4,701 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
- Highline Lake State ParkPublic
- Highline Lake State ParkPublic
- Highline Lake State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Highline Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Highline Lake in Mesa County, Colorado — 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 Highline Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Highline Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Highline Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Upper Highline (completed 1967), built primarily for recreation on the Mack Wash-Tr; earth-type dam, 98 ft tall and 1,440 ft long.
- Surface area
- 155 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,400 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,125 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 13 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE (TAYLOR, MARGARET)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO00831 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Mesa County
Frequently asked questions about Highline Lake
Where is Highline Lake?
- Highline Lake is a lake in Mesa County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Highline Lake?
- Highline Lake in Mesa County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.9 µg/L. Surface area: 155 acres.
Is Highline Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Highline Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Highline Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 10 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 155 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Highline Lake?
- Highline Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Highline Lake State Park, Highline Lake State Park, Highline Lake State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Highline Lake?
- Highline 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 Colorado's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Highline Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX20 samples · 2021–2022
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk depth measurement
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory