Hillsdale Lake
Miami County, Kansas4,580 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Hillsdale Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 73 ft max depth
- Public access
Hillsdale Lake in Miami County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17 µg/L. Surface area: 4580 acres.
Hillsdale Lake is a 4,580-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Miami County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 73 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 8 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Miami County, Hillsdale Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2022-07-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Hillsdale Lake covers about 4,600 acres in Miami County. It has 8 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 Hillsdale Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Hillsdale Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch8 documented ramps
- Big water4,580 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Hillsdale Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hillsdale Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hillsdale Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Hillsdale Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.7 ft. Phosphorus 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17 µg/L. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 29µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 17µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hillsdale Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Hillsdale Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~73 ft est.
Surface area
4,580 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Hillsdale Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
145 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
28.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
912 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
- Hillsdale-AntiochPublic
- Hillsdale-Cedar NilesPublic
- Hillsdale-PointPublic
- Hillsdale-MarysvillePublic
- Hillsdale-Wade Branch NorthPublic
- Hillsdale-Russel CritesPublic
Showing 6 of 8 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hillsdale Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hillsdale Lake in Miami County, Kansas — 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 Hillsdale Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Hillsdale Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Hillsdale Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2014–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+3.33 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.07 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hillsdale Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hillsdale Dam (completed 1981), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Big Bull Creek; earth-type dam, 105 ft tall and 11,640 ft long.
- Surface area
- 4,580 ac
- Normal storage
- 76,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 160,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 144 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS82201 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Hillsdale Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM035001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Miami County
Frequently asked questions about Hillsdale Lake
Where is Hillsdale Lake?
- Hillsdale Lake is a lake in Miami County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hillsdale Lake?
- Hillsdale Lake in Miami County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17 µg/L. Surface area: 4580 acres.
Is Hillsdale Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hillsdale Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Hillsdale Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hillsdale Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 73 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 4580 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Hillsdale Lake?
- Hillsdale Lake has 8 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Hillsdale-Antioch, Hillsdale-Cedar Niles, Hillsdale-Point, Hillsdale-Marysville, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Hillsdale Lake?
- Hillsdale Lake has 8 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Hillsdale Lake across LakeQuality
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Eutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
26 measurements from 6 monitoring stations, 2014–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Kansas Water Science Center
USGS-KS15 samples · 2022 - Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2017
Analytical methods
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- YSI EXO turbidity sensor, FNU
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (6)
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