Lake Mackintosh
Guilford County, North Carolina1,125 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Mackintosh. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Mackintosh in Guilford County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1125 acres.
Lake Mackintosh is a 1,125-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Guilford County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 39 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Guilford County, Lake Mackintosh ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2023-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Mackintosh is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Big water1,125 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 Mackintosh 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 Mackintosh
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Mackintosh, 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15.5 µg/L. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | 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) | 15.5µg/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. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Mackintosh
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Surface area
1,125 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 Mackintosh.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
141 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
20.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
554 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
- Unnamed RampPublic
- Lake Mackintosh MarinaPublic
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 Mackintosh
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Mackintosh in Guilford 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 Mackintosh are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Mackintosh
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lake Mackintosh
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Mackintosh is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Mackintosh Dam (completed 1992), built primarily for other on the Great Alamance Creek; concrete-type dam, 69 ft tall and 400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,125 ac
- Normal storage
- 23,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 30,825 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 135 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Burlington
All listed purposes: Other;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC04954 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Guilford County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Mackintosh
Where is Lake Mackintosh?
- Lake Mackintosh is a lake in Guilford 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 Mackintosh?
- Lake Mackintosh in Guilford County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1125 acres.
Is Lake Mackintosh safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Mackintosh?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Mackintosh, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 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 1125 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Mackintosh?
- Lake Mackintosh has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Unnamed Ramp, Lake Mackintosh Marina. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Mackintosh?
- Lake Mackintosh 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 North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Mackintosh across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
118 measurements from 6 monitoring stations, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ118 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (6)
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