Pearl Lake
Routt County, Colorado166 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Pearl Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)
- 22 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Pearl Lake in Routt County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 12.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2 µg/L. Surface area: 166 acres.
Pearl Lake is a 166-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Routt County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 22 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Routt County, Pearl Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2020-09-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Pearl Lake covers about 170 acres in Routt County. It has one public boat landing. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Pearl Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Pearl Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14.1 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Pearl Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pearl 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 Pearl Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Pearl 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 14.1 ft. Phosphorus 12.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 14.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 12.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| 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 Pearl Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~22 ft est.
Surface area
166 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 Pearl Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
14 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
8,077 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
- Pearl Lake 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 Pearl Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Pearl Lake in Routt 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 Pearl Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Pearl Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Pearl Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lester Creek (completed 1962), built primarily for recreation on the Lester Creek; earth-type dam, 110 ft tall and 525 ft long.
- Surface area
- 166 ac
- Normal storage
- 5,592 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,739 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE (TAYLOR, MARGARET)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO01022 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Pearl 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COUCYA22_D · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Routt County
Frequently asked questions about Pearl Lake
Where is Pearl Lake?
- Pearl Lake is a lake in Routt County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pearl Lake?
- Pearl Lake in Routt County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 12.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2 µg/L. Surface area: 166 acres.
Is Pearl Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pearl Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Pearl Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pearl Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 22 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 166 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Pearl Lake?
- Pearl Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Pearl Lake State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Pearl Lake?
- Pearl 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.
Explore Pearl Lake across LakeQuality
2 thermal springs within 20.8 mi, nearest Routt Hot Springs
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Colorado's top lakes, each with its readings
Colorado's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Other Lakes in Colorado
Oligotrophic Lakes in Colorado
Where this data comes from
18 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX18 samples · 2020
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