Horseshoe Point Lake
Patrick County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Horseshoe Point Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Horseshoe Point Lake in Patrick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L.
Horseshoe Point Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Patrick County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Patrick County, Horseshoe Point Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2024-10-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Horseshoe Point Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water9.8 ft of visibility
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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. Horseshoe Point Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Horseshoe Point 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 Horseshoe Point Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Horseshoe Point 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 9.8 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.7 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.8ft | 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) | 1.7µg/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. | 39 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Horseshoe Point Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Recreation & Access
Public campgrounds near Horseshoe Point Lake
- Horseshoe Point0.8 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
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Stays near Horseshoe Point Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Horseshoe Point Lake
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Fishing Horseshoe Point Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 7 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Stable7 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.35 µg/L/yr7 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable+0.02 µg/L/yr7 years
EPA Impairment Status
Horseshoe Point Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L51L_SRE02A02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Patrick County
Frequently asked questions about Horseshoe Point Lake
Where is Horseshoe Point Lake?
- Horseshoe Point Lake is a lake in Patrick County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Horseshoe Point Lake?
- Horseshoe Point Lake in Patrick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L.
Is Horseshoe Point Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Horseshoe Point Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there campgrounds on Horseshoe Point Lake?
- Horseshoe Point Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Horseshoe Point. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Horseshoe Point Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
117 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB117 samples · 2019–2024
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles