Miramonte Reservoir
San Miguel County, Colorado410 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Miramonte Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Oxygen depletion (low DO)
- 13 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Miramonte Reservoir in San Miguel County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.3 µg/L. Surface area: 410 acres.
Miramonte Reservoir is a 410-acre lake in San Miguel County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 13 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-09-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Miramonte Reservoir covers about 410 acres in San Miguel County. It has 2 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Miramonte Reservoir on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Miramonte Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Miramonte Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Miramonte Reservoir 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 Miramonte Reservoir
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Miramonte Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.3 µg/L. TSI 54.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 25µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.3µg/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. | 54 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Miramonte Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~13 ft est.
Surface area
410 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 Miramonte Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
38 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
7,707 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
- Dan Noble State Wildlife AreaPublic
- Dan Noble State Wildlife AreaPublic
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 Miramonte Reservoir
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Fishing Miramonte Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Miramonte Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Miramonte (completed 1978), built primarily for recreation on the West Naturita Creek; earth-type dam, 87 ft tall and 620 ft long.
- Surface area
- 410 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,851 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 11,620 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 36 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE
All listed purposes: Recreation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO00162 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Miramonte Reservoir 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COGUSM20_B · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in San Miguel County
Frequently asked questions about Miramonte Reservoir
Where is Miramonte Reservoir?
- Miramonte Reservoir is a lake in San Miguel County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Miramonte Reservoir?
- Miramonte Reservoir in San Miguel County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.3 µg/L. Surface area: 410 acres.
Is Miramonte Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Miramonte Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Miramonte Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Miramonte Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 13 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 410 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Miramonte Reservoir?
- Miramonte Reservoir has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Dan Noble State Wildlife Area, Dan Noble State Wildlife Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Miramonte Reservoir?
- Miramonte Reservoir 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 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