Lake Jacksonville
Cherokee County, Texas1,325 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Jacksonville. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 55 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Jacksonville in Cherokee County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 22.6 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.6 µg/L. Surface area: 1325 acres.
Lake Jacksonville is a 1,325-acre mesotrophic lake in Cherokee County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 55 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2025-09-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Jacksonville covers about 1,300 acres in Cherokee County. It has 2 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 Jacksonville, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lake Jacksonville is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Big water1,325 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 Jacksonville is safe to swim in today is a call for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Jacksonville
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Lake Jacksonville, 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 7.4 ft. Phosphorus 22.6 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.6 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 22.6µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.6µg/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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake Jacksonville
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~55 ft est.
Surface area
1,325 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TCEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Texas has not published bathymetry for Lake Jacksonville.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
39 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
15.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
443 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
- FM 3119Public
- Southshore ParkPublic
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 Jacksonville
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Jacksonville in Cherokee County, Texas — 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 Jacksonville
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Fishing Lake Jacksonville
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.55 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.17 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Jacksonville is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Buckner Dam (completed 1957), built primarily for water supply on the Gum Creek; earth-type dam, 75 ft tall and 2,700 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,325 ac
- Normal storage
- 25,670 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 49,500 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 41 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF JACKSONVILLE
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX00583 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.21 km)
Nearby Lakes in Cherokee County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Jacksonville
Where is Lake Jacksonville?
- Lake Jacksonville is a lake in Cherokee County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Jacksonville?
- Lake Jacksonville in Cherokee County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 22.6 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.6 µg/L. Surface area: 1325 acres.
Is Lake Jacksonville safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Jacksonville?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Jacksonville, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 55 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 1325 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Jacksonville?
- Lake Jacksonville has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include FM 3119, Southshore Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Jacksonville?
- Lake Jacksonville has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Texas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Jacksonville across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
45 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQMAIN45 samples · 2020–2025
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