Meadowlark Lake
Big Horn County, Wyoming276 acresView mapDirections
Wyoming DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Meadowlark Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 21 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Meadowlark Lake in Big Horn County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 276 acres.
Meadowlark Lake is a 276-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Big Horn County, Wyoming with an estimated average depth of about 21 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Big Horn County, Meadowlark Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wyoming DEQ, last sampled 2019-09-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Meadowlark Lake covers about 280 acres in Big Horn County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Meadowlark Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Meadowlark Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.7 ft of visibility
- Camping6 public campgrounds 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 Meadowlark Lake 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 Meadowlark Lake
These are the measurements Wyoming DEQ publishes for Meadowlark Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 11.7 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 11.7ft | 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. | 39 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Meadowlark Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~21 ft est.
Surface area
276 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 Meadowlark Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
36 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
8,461 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
Public campgrounds near Meadowlark Lake
- Lake View1.6 km
- Lakeview Bighorn1.7 kmReserve
- Boulder Park1.7 km
- Willow Park1.8 km
- Sitting Bull2.5 kmReserve
- Island Park4.3 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 Meadowlark Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Meadowlark Lake in Big Horn 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 Meadowlark Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Meadowlark Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Meadowlark Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Meadowlark (completed 1938), built primarily for recreation on the East Tensleep Creek; earth-type dam, 33 ft tall and 247 ft long.
- Surface area
- 276 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,509 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,505 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 39 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USDA FS
All listed purposes: Recreation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WY01334 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Big Horn County
Frequently asked questions about Meadowlark Lake
Where is Meadowlark Lake?
- Meadowlark Lake is a lake in Big Horn County, Wyoming. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wyoming DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Meadowlark Lake?
- Meadowlark Lake in Big Horn County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Surface area: 276 acres.
Is Meadowlark Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Meadowlark Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Meadowlark Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 21 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 276 acres.
Can I fish at Meadowlark Lake?
- Public access to Meadowlark Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Meadowlark Lake?
- Meadowlark Lake has 6 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Lake View, Lakeview Bighorn, Boulder Park, Willow Park. 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 Meadowlark Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019. 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 · 2019
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)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles