Island Lake
Delta County, Colorado161 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Island Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 21 ft max depth
- Limited data
Island Lake in Delta County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 34 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.1 µg/L. Surface area: 161 acres.
Island Lake is a 161-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Delta County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 21 feet. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Delta County, Island Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2022-09-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Island Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water16.7 ft of visibility
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
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 Island 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 Island Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Island Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 16.7 ft down. Phosphorus 34 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.1 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 16.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 34µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.1µg/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. | 41 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Island Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~21 ft est.
Surface area
161 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Island Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
10,269 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
Public campgrounds near Island Lake
- Little Bear0.4 km
- Island Lake1.1 km
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
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Island Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Island Lake in Delta 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 Island Lake
Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Island Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Island Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Island Lake (completed 1954), built primarily for irrigation on the Ward Creek-Tr; earth-type dam, 23 ft tall and 620 ft long.
- Surface area
- 161 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,432 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,355 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- SURFACE CREEK DITCH & RESERVOIR CO. (WAIBEL, KEITH
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO00577 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Delta County
Frequently asked questions about Island Lake
Where is Island Lake?
- Island Lake is a lake in Delta County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Island Lake?
- Island Lake in Delta County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 34 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.1 µg/L. Surface area: 161 acres.
Is Island Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Island Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Island Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 21 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 161 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Island Lake?
- Island Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Little Bear, Island Lake. 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 Island Lake across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Black Canyon Of The Gunnison?
Island Lake is about 35 miles from Black Canyon Of The Gunnison 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 Black Canyon Of The Gunnison →More lakes in Colorado
Other Lakes in Colorado
Oligotrophic Lakes in Colorado
Where this data comes from
18 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX18 samples · 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 (2)
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)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles