Lake Bonaparte
Lewis County, New York1,286 acresView mapDirections
NY DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Bonaparte. Here is what has been measured.
- 52 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Bonaparte in Lewis County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.8 ft visibility. Surface area: 1286 acres.
Lake Bonaparte is a 1,286-acre lake in Lewis County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 52 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Bonaparte covers about 1,300 acres in Lewis County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lake Bonaparte on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Lake Bonaparte is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water15.8 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,286 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Bonaparte is safe to swim in today is a call for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Bonaparte
These are the measurements NY DEC publishes for Lake Bonaparte, 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 15.8 ft down. TSI 37.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 15.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Lake Bonaparte
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~52 ft est.
Surface area
1,286 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NY DEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Lake Bonaparte.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
20 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
761 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
- Lake BonapartePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Bonaparte
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Bonaparte in Lewis County, New York — 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 Lake Bonaparte
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lake Bonaparte
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Bonaparte is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Alpina Dam (completed 1933), built primarily for other on the BONAPARTE CREEK; concrete-type dam, 7 ft tall and 120 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,286 ac
- Normal storage
- 39,739 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 39,739 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 18.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORPORATION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00778 · Operator website
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Lake Bonaparte under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Gouverneur Minerals Div #4 MineDiana, Town Of · 2.3 mi away · NPDES NY0110779Recent 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 Lewis County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Bonaparte
Where is Lake Bonaparte?
- Lake Bonaparte is a lake in Lewis County, New York. Its water-quality measurements are published by NY DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Bonaparte?
- Lake Bonaparte in Lewis County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.8 ft visibility. Surface area: 1286 acres.
Is Lake Bonaparte safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Bonaparte?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Bonaparte, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 52 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 1286 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Bonaparte?
- Lake Bonaparte has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Bonaparte. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Bonaparte?
- Lake Bonaparte has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by New York's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Bonaparte across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS8 samples · 2020
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory