Martin Lake
Huerfano County, Colorado190 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Martin Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)
- 17 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Martin Lake in Huerfano County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 17 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L. Surface area: 190 acres.
Martin Lake is a 190-acre lake in Huerfano County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 17 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-07-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Martin Lake covers about 190 acres in Huerfano County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Martin Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Martin Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Martin Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Martin Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Martin Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Martin Lake, 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 4.8 ft. Phosphorus 17 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.1 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 17µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.1µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Martin Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~17 ft est.
Surface area
190 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Colorado WQCD
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Martin Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
6,404 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
- Lathrop State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Martin Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Martin Lake in Huerfano County, Colorado — 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 Martin Lake
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Fishing Martin Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Martin Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Martin Lake (completed 1910), built primarily for recreation on the Cucharas River-Os; earth-type dam, 29 ft tall and 1,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 190 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,077 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,076 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF WALSENBURG
All listed purposes: Recreation;Irrigation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO01327 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Martin Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COARMA26_C · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Huerfano County
Frequently asked questions about Martin Lake
Where is Martin Lake?
- Martin Lake is a lake in Huerfano County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Martin Lake?
- Martin Lake in Huerfano County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 17 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L. Surface area: 190 acres.
Is Martin Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Martin Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Martin Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Martin Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 17 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 190 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Martin Lake?
- Martin Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lathrop State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Martin Lake?
- Martin Lake 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 Colorado's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX6 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk depth measurement
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory