Perry Lake
Jefferson County, Kansas12,200 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Perry Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 79 ft max depth
- Public access
Perry Lake in Jefferson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.3 µg/L. Surface area: 12200 acres.
Perry Lake is a 12,200-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Jefferson County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 79 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 14 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Jefferson County, Perry Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2022-08-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
At about 12,000 acres, Perry Lake is large enough that where you stay decides which shore you see most of. It has 14 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 Perry Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Perry Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch14 documented ramps
- Camping4 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water12,200 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Perry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Perry Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Perry Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Perry Lake, 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 3.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 37.3 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 77µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 37.3µg/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. | 65 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Perry Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Perry Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~79 ft est.
Surface area
12,200 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Perry Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,131 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
53 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
899 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
- Perry-SouthPublic
- SerenityPublic
- Pelican PointPublic
- Rock CreekPublic
- Slough Creek BridgePublic
- Devils GapPublic
Showing 6 of 14 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Perry Lake
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 Perry Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Perry Lake in Jefferson County, Kansas — 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 Perry Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Perry 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 Perry Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Perry Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Perry Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Perry Dam (completed 1966), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Delaware River; earth-type dam, 121 ft tall and 1,740 ft long.
- Surface area
- 12,200 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 770,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,117 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Navigation;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00009 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Perry Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM029001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Jefferson County
Frequently asked questions about Perry Lake
Where is Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake is a lake in Jefferson County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake in Jefferson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.3 µg/L. Surface area: 12200 acres.
Is Perry Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Perry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Perry Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Perry Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 79 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 12200 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake has 14 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Perry-South, Serenity, Pelican Point, Rock Creek, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake has 14 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake has 4 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Slough Creek, Rock Creek (ks), Longview, Perry. 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 Perry Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Kansas
Other Lakes in Kansas
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
44 measurements from 9 monitoring stations, 2012–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Kansas Water Science Center
USGS-KS30 samples · 2020–2022 - Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX14 samples · 2012–2018
Analytical methods
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- YSI EXO turbidity sensor, FNU
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (9)
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles