Lake Gaston
Northampton County, North Carolina20,300 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Gaston. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 62 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Gaston in Northampton County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11 µg/L. Surface area: 20300 acres.
Lake Gaston is a 20,300-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Northampton County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 62 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 6 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-10-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
At about 20,000 acres, Lake Gaston is large enough that where you stay decides which shore you see most of. It has 6 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Lake Gaston, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lake Gaston is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch6 documented ramps
- Big water20,300 acres
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 Lake Gaston is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Gaston
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Gaston, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5.4 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 11 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 11µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Gaston
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~62 ft est.
Surface area
20,300 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Lake Gaston.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8,421 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
177.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
203 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
- Salmons LandingPublic
- SummitPublic
- ThelmaPublic
- HenricoPublic
- VultarePublic
- Pea HillPublic
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 Gaston
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Gaston in Northampton County, North Carolina — 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 Gaston
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 trip? Cabins and lodging at Lake Gaston → · more North Carolina lake trips
Follow Lake Gaston’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Lake Gaston
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Gaston is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Gaston (completed 1963), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Roanoke; concrete-type dam, 99 ft tall and 3,600 ft long.
- Surface area
- 20,300 ac
- Normal storage
- 450,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 513,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 8,340 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Electric and Power Company
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00826 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Northampton County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Gaston
Where is Lake Gaston?
- Lake Gaston is a lake in Northampton County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Gaston?
- Lake Gaston in Northampton County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11 µg/L. Surface area: 20300 acres.
Is Lake Gaston safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Gaston?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Gaston, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 62 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 20300 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Gaston?
- Lake Gaston has 6 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Salmons Landing, Summit, Thelma, Henrico, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Gaston?
- Lake Gaston has 6 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Gaston across LakeQuality
More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ20 samples · 2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory