Where is Hillsborough-Estes Lake?

Hillsborough-Estes Lake is a lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. LakeQuality grades it B for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.

Is Hillsborough-Estes Lake safe to swim in?

Good for swimming, clear water with low algae levels. Hillsborough-Estes Lake has a water quality grade of B (Good). Always check local health department advisories before swimming.

Hillsborough-Estes Lake

Grade B — Good

Good · #70 of 124 lakes in the county · 3.3 ft clear · Eutrophic · ↑ from C

Eutrophic

Hillsborough-Estes Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has a water quality grade of B (Good). Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L.

Clarity: 3.3 ft
Type: Eutrophic
Trend: ↑ Improving

Where to stay →Safe to swim?

Next lake in Hillsborough County

BBrant Lake5.6 ft clear · Hillsborough CountyView →

PrevHillsborough-Crystal Lake Where to stay NextBrant Lake

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Hillsborough-Estes Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Water quality is graded B based on 1 sampling years through 2024. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 123 other monitored lakes in Hillsborough County, Hillsborough-Estes Lake ranks #70 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2024-04-10. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

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Swimming Safety

Grade only

Low algae

Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.

Good for swimming, clear water with low algae levels

Get alerts for Hillsborough-Estes Lake →

Water Quality Grade: B (Good)

Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus level: 33 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 57.

Metric	Value	Grade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)	3.3 ft	Not graded
Phosphorus	33 µg/L	Good
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)	No recent samples
Trophic State Index (TSI)	57	Eutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Where to stay near Hillsborough-Estes Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hillsborough-Estes Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida — 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 Hillsborough-Estes Lake

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 Florida’s top lakes →

Fishing Hillsborough-Estes Lake

→ Hillsborough-Estes Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)

Water Quality Trend: ↑ Improving

Based on 5 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).

Metric	Trend	Change/Year	Years
Water Clarity	↑ Improving	+0.11 m/yr	5
Phosphorus	↑ Improving	-1.8 µg/L/yr	5

See year-by-year chart →

EPA Impairment Status

Hillsborough-Estes Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Algal growthImpaired biota (cause unknown)

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1502A · Official waterbody report · Matched by proximity (0.07 km)

County Ranking

Ranked #70 of 124 lakes in Hillsborough County

Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County

NRHillsborough-Shady Pines Lake2.1 ft clearView →BHillsborough-Brant Lake5.8 ft clear · EutrophicView →BBrant Lake5.6 ft clear · EutrophicView →NRHillsborough-Chapman LakeView →NRHillsborough-Charles Lake4 ft clearView →BHillsborough-Crystal Lake3.5 ft clear · EutrophicView →

Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough-Estes Lake

Where is Hillsborough-Estes Lake?: Hillsborough-Estes Lake is a lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. LakeQuality grades it B for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Hillsborough-Estes Lake?: Hillsborough-Estes Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has a water quality grade of B (Good). Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L.
Is Hillsborough-Estes Lake safe to swim in?: Good for swimming, clear water with low algae levels. Hillsborough-Estes Lake has a water quality grade of B (Good). Always check local health department advisories before swimming.

Explore Hillsborough-Estes Lake across LakeQuality

Lake Fishing Forecast

Species activity outlook by water temperature and season

Florida Lake Trips

Where to stay at Florida's top lakes, each with its grade

Eutrophic Lakes

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

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Grade A/B + low algae filter

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All Florida lakes

Full state directory

Other Grade B Lakes in Florida

Pasco-Bird Lake

Pasco County · 5.8 ft

Camp Lake South

Pasco County · 4.6 ft

Lake Linda

Pasco County · 3.3 ft

Pasco-Big Vienna Lake

Pasco County · 4.4 ft

Pasco-Padgett North Lake

Pasco County · 5.6 ft

Pasco-East Lake

Pasco County · 11.9 ft

Eutrophic Lakes in Florida

Pasco-Bird Lake Lake Linda Pasco-Big Vienna Lake Pasco-Bell Lake

Where this data comes from

91 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2022–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

FLORIDA LAKEWATCH21FLKWAT_WQX91 samples · 2022–2024

Monitoring station identifiers (3)

Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.

Other records on this page

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database