Mountain View Lake
Owyhee County, Idaho680 acresView mapDirections
Idaho DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Mountain View Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 21 ft max depth
- Public access
Mountain View Lake in Owyhee County, Idaho has water-quality measurements published by Idaho DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 39 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14 µg/L. Surface area: 680 acres.
Mountain View Lake is a 680-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Owyhee County, Idaho with an estimated average depth of about 21 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEQ, last sampled 2023-09-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Mountain View Lake covers about 680 acres in Owyhee County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Mountain View Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Mountain View Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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 Mountain View Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Mountain View Lake
These are the measurements Idaho DEQ publishes for Mountain View 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 39 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 14 µg/L. TSI 57.
| 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 | 39µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 14µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 57 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Mountain View Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~21 ft est.
Surface area
680 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Idaho DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Idaho has not published bathymetry for Mountain View Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
22 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
7.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
5,315 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
- Mountain ViewPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Mountain View Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mountain View Lake in Owyhee County, Idaho — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Mountain View Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Mountain View Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Mountain View Lake → · more Idaho lake trips
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Fishing Mountain View Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 9 years of monitoring (2012–2023).
Phosphorus
Improving-1.62 µg/L/yr9 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+1.17 µg/L/yr9 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Mountain View Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mountain View Dam (completed 1969), built primarily for irrigation on the Boyle Creek; earth-type dam, 25 ft tall and 2,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 680 ac
- Normal storage
- 5,500 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,818 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 15.53 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- BIA
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ID00286 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Owyhee County
Frequently asked questions about Mountain View Lake
Where is Mountain View Lake?
- Mountain View Lake is a lake in Owyhee County, Idaho. Its water-quality measurements are published by Idaho DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mountain View Lake?
- Mountain View Lake in Owyhee County, Idaho has water-quality measurements published by Idaho DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 39 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14 µg/L. Surface area: 680 acres.
Is Mountain View Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mountain View Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mountain View 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 680 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Mountain View Lake?
- Mountain View Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Mountain View. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Mountain View Lake?
- Mountain View 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 Idaho's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Mountain View Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
77 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2012–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Bureau of Reclamation
1119USBR_WQX76 samples · 2012–2023 - Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada (Tribal)
SHOPAITR_WQX1 sample · 2013
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Single Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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