Lake Placid
Essex County, New York2,173 acresView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- 118 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Placid in Essex County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 23.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 2173 acres.
- Clarity
- 23.1 ft
- Max depth
- ~118 ft est.
- Area
- 2,173 acres
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Watch Lake Placid’s letter
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Why Lake Placid has no grade
Lake Placid has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Lake Placid is Not Rated — not an F. Its 23.1-foot median from 8 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Lake Placid is a 2,173-acre lake in Essex County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 118 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-20. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Lake Placid is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water23.1 ft of visibility
- Big water2,173 acres
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Lake Placid
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Crystal clear, you can see 23.1 ft down. TSI 32.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 23.1 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 32 | Oligotrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~118 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~58 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 2,173 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Lake Placid.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Lake Placid
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Placid is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Placid Dam (completed 1904), built primarily for recreation on the OUTLET BROOK; concrete-type dam, 7 ft tall and 131 ft long.
- Surface area
- 2,173 ac
- Normal storage
- 112,996 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 112,996 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 19.85 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- LAKE PLACID SHORE OWNERS' ASSOCIATION INC.
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00216 · Operator website
Graded lakes near Lake Placid
Lake Placid has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.
Nearby Lakes in Essex County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Placid
Where is Lake Placid?
- Lake Placid is a lake in Essex County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Lake Placid?
- Lake Placid in Essex County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 23.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 2173 acres.
Is Lake Placid safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Placid?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Placid, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 118 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 2173 acres.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS8 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)