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LakeQuality

Marion-Horseshoe Lake

Marion County, FloridaView mapDirections

Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Marion-Horseshoe Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
9 ft
Clearer than most
Secchi · sampled 2023
Phosphorus
14 µg/L
Less phosphorus than most
Measured by Florida DEP
Max depth
~40 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Type
Mesotrophic
Trophic class
Trend
Improving
5 years of samples
  • Mesotrophic
  • 40 ft max depth

Marion-Horseshoe Lake in Marion County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L.

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Marion-Horseshoe Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Marion County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 40 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 17 other monitored lakes in Marion County, Marion-Horseshoe Lake ranks #3 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2023-03-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Low algae

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 Marion-Horseshoe Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Marion-Horseshoe Lake

These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Marion-Horseshoe Lake, 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 9 ft. Phosphorus 14 µg/L. TSI 44.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)9ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus14µg/LGood
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.44Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Marion-Horseshoe Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

~40 ft est.

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Florida has not published bathymetry for Marion-Horseshoe Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

0 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Surface area

30 acres

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Shoreline

1.1 mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

105 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.

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Marion-Horseshoe Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Marion-Horseshoe Lake in Marion County, Florida — 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 Marion-Horseshoe Lake

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Fishing Marion-Horseshoe Lake

Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).

  • Water clarity

    Improving

    5 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -0.7 µg/L/yr5 years

See year-by-year chart →

Nearby Lakes in Marion County

Frequently asked questions about Marion-Horseshoe Lake

Where is Marion-Horseshoe Lake?

Marion-Horseshoe Lake is a lake in Marion County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Marion-Horseshoe Lake?

Marion-Horseshoe Lake in Marion County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Marion-Horseshoe Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Marion-Horseshoe Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Marion-Horseshoe Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 40 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.

Where this data comes from

158 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • FLORIDA LAKEWATCH21FLKWAT_WQX158 samples · 2020–2023
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)