Lake Owen
Albany County, Wyoming120 acresView mapDirections
Wyoming DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Owen. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 23 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Owen in Albany County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 120 acres.
Lake Owen is a 120-acre mesotrophic lake in Albany County, Wyoming with an estimated average depth of about 23 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Albany County, Lake Owen ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wyoming DEQ, last sampled 2018-09-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Owen is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- 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 Owen is safe to swim in today is a call for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Owen
These are the measurements Wyoming DEQ publishes for Lake Owen, 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 8.1 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. TSI 42.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 42 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake Owen
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~23 ft est.
Surface area
120 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Wyoming DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wyoming has not published bathymetry for Lake Owen.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
8,957 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 OwenPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Lake Owen
- Lake Owen0.3 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 Owen
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Owen in Albany County, Wyoming — 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 Owen
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Fishing Lake Owen
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Owen is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Owen (completed 1963), built primarily for water supply on the Lake Owen Creek; earth-type dam, 30 ft tall and 775 ft long.
- Surface area
- 120 ac
- Normal storage
- 751 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,401 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF CHEYENNE-BOPU
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WY00117 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Albany County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Owen
Where is Lake Owen?
- Lake Owen is a lake in Albany County, Wyoming. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wyoming DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Owen?
- Lake Owen in Albany County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 120 acres.
Is Lake Owen safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Owen?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Owen, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 23 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 120 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Owen?
- Lake Owen has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Owen. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Owen?
- Lake Owen 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 Wyoming's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Lake Owen?
- Lake Owen has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Lake Owen. 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 Owen across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- State of Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Watershed Program
WYDEQ_WATERSHED6 samples · 2018
Analytical methods
- Secchi
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles