Lake Arrowhead
Clinton County, Missouri87 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Arrowhead. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 32 ft max depth
Lake Arrowhead in Clinton County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 68.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.2 µg/L. Surface area: 87 acres.
Lake Arrowhead is a 87-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Clinton County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2023-08-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Arrowhead covers about 87 acres in Clinton County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lake Arrowhead on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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 Lake Arrowhead is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Arrowhead
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Lake Arrowhead, 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 2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 68.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 28.2 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 68.2µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 28.2µg/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. | 65 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Arrowhead
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Lake Arrowhead typically sits around 80°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 81°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 82°F) and coldest in Jun (about 80°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (80°F) to its warmest (82°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 8 field readings (2022–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Lake Arrowhead water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Surface area
87 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Lake Arrowhead.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
9 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
938 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 Lake Arrowhead
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Arrowhead in Clinton County, Missouri — 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 Lake Arrowhead are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Arrowhead
Prices for Oct 23–25, 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 Missouri’s top lakes →
Follow Lake Arrowhead’s readings
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Fishing Lake Arrowhead
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+5.3 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.4 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Arrowhead is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Arrowhead Dam (completed 1975), built primarily for recreation on the MUDDY FORK; earth-type dam, 51 ft tall and 890 ft long.
- Surface area
- 87 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,754 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,209 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7.86 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- LAKE ARROWHEAD POA
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO11016 · Operator website
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Lake Arrowhead under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Holt Wastewater LagoonHolt · 3.6 mi away · NPDES MO0109002Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Clinton County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Arrowhead
Where is Lake Arrowhead?
- Lake Arrowhead is a lake in Clinton County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Arrowhead?
- Lake Arrowhead in Clinton County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 68.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.2 µg/L. Surface area: 87 acres.
Is Lake Arrowhead safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Lake Arrowhead?
- Lake Arrowhead typically sits around 80°F at the surface in August, from 8 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2022–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Lake Arrowhead?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Arrowhead, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 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 87 acres.
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Where this data comes from
36 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC36 samples · 2022–2023
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)