Lake Junaluska
Haywood County, North Carolina195 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Junaluska. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 16 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Junaluska in Haywood County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 195 acres.
Lake Junaluska is a 195-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Haywood County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 16 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Haywood County, Lake Junaluska ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2022-09-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Junaluska covers about 200 acres in Haywood County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lake Junaluska on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Lake Junaluska is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground 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 Lake Junaluska 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 Junaluska
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Junaluska, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 15µg/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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Junaluska
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~16 ft est.
Surface area
195 acres
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 Junaluska.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
65 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,572 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 Lake Junaluska
- Lake Junaluska Campground1.0 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 Lake Junaluska
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Junaluska in Haywood 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Lake Junaluska are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Junaluska
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 North Carolina’s top lakes →
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Fishing Lake Junaluska
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Junaluska is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Junaluska Dam (completed 1913), built primarily for recreation on the Richland Creek; earth-type dam, 35 ft tall and 725 ft long.
- Surface area
- 195 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,755 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,720 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 63.44 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lake Junaluska Assembly, Inc.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00187 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Haywood County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Junaluska
Where is Lake Junaluska?
- Lake Junaluska is a lake in Haywood 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 Junaluska?
- Lake Junaluska in Haywood County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 195 acres.
Is Lake Junaluska safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Junaluska?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Junaluska, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 16 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 195 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Lake Junaluska?
- Lake Junaluska has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Lake Junaluska Campground. 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 Lake Junaluska across LakeQuality
4 documented falls within 17.2 mi, nearest Soco Falls
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
Planning a trip around Blue Ridge?
Lake Junaluska is about 27 miles from Blue Ridge Parkway. 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 Blue Ridge →More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
41 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ41 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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