Holiday Shores Lake
Madison County, Illinois345 acresView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Holiday Shores Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 47 ft max depth
- Limited data
Holiday Shores Lake in Madison County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 136.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32.1 µg/L. Surface area: 345 acres.
Holiday Shores Lake is a 345-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Madison County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 47 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Madison County, Holiday Shores Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2020-11-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Holiday Shores Lake covers about 350 acres in Madison County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Holiday Shores Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
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. Holiday Shores Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Holiday Shores Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Holiday Shores Lake
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Holiday Shores 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 1.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 136.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 32.1 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 137µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 32.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Holiday Shores Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Holiday Shores Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 79°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 80°F) and coldest in Nov (about 51°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (51°F) to its warmest (80°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 175 field readings (2010–2020) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Holiday Shores Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~47 ft est.
Surface area
345 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Holiday Shores Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
6.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
505 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Holiday Shores Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Holiday Shores Lake in Madison County, Illinois — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Holiday Shores Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Holiday Shores 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.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Illinois’s top lakes →
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Fishing Holiday Shores Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Holiday Shores Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Holiday Shores Lake Dam (completed 1965), built primarily for recreation on the JOULTERS CREEK; earth-type dam, 47 ft tall and 960 ft long.
- Surface area
- 345 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,605 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,610 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- HOLISHOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IL00190 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Holiday Shores Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Other.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IL_RJN · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Madison County
Frequently asked questions about Holiday Shores Lake
Where is Holiday Shores Lake?
- Holiday Shores Lake is a lake in Madison County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Holiday Shores Lake?
- Holiday Shores Lake in Madison County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 136.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32.1 µg/L. Surface area: 345 acres.
Is Holiday Shores Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Holiday Shores Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Holiday Shores Lake?
- Holiday Shores Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October, from 175 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2020). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Holiday Shores Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Holiday Shores Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 47 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 345 acres.
Explore Holiday Shores Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Illinois's top lakes, each with its readings
Illinois's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
Planning a trip around Gateway Arch?
Holiday Shores Lake is about 25 miles from Gateway Arch National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Gateway Arch →More lakes in Illinois
Other Lakes in Illinois
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Illinois
Where this data comes from
46 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- illinois epa
IL_EPA_WQX46 samples · 2020
Analytical methods
- MEASURED IN FIELD
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)