Lookout Shoals Lake
Catawba County, North Carolina835 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lookout Shoals Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 41 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lookout Shoals Lake in Catawba County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.1 µg/L. Surface area: 835 acres.
Lookout Shoals Lake is a 835-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Catawba County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 41 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Catawba County, Lookout Shoals Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2022-09-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lookout Shoals Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
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 Lookout Shoals Lake 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 Lookout Shoals Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lookout Shoals Lake, 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 8.1 µg/L. TSI 49.
| 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) | 8.1µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 49 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lookout Shoals Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~41 ft est.
Surface area
835 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 Lookout Shoals Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,469 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
17.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
850 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
- SharonPublic
- Lookout ShoalsPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Lookout Shoals Lake
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Fishing Lookout Shoals Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lookout Shoals Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lookout Shoals (completed 1915), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Catawba; gravity-type dam, 88 ft tall and 2,731.08 ft long.
- Surface area
- 835 ac
- Normal storage
- 26,390 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 26,390 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,450 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Duke Energy
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00394 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Catawba County
Frequently asked questions about Lookout Shoals Lake
Where is Lookout Shoals Lake?
- Lookout Shoals Lake is a lake in Catawba 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 Lookout Shoals Lake?
- Lookout Shoals Lake in Catawba County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.1 µg/L. Surface area: 835 acres.
Is Lookout Shoals Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lookout Shoals Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lookout Shoals Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 41 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 835 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lookout Shoals Lake?
- Lookout Shoals Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Sharon, Lookout Shoals. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lookout Shoals Lake?
- Lookout Shoals Lake 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 Lookout Shoals Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
39 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
21NC03WQ39 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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory