Ridgway Reservoir
Ouray County, Colorado1,109 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Ridgway Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 130 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Ridgway Reservoir in Ouray County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L. Surface area: 1109 acres.
Ridgway Reservoir is a 1,109-acre mesotrophic lake in Ouray County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 130 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-09-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Ridgway Reservoir covers about 1,100 acres in Ouray County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Ridgway Reservoir on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Ridgway Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water9.8 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,109 acres
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 Ridgway 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 Ridgway Reservoir
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Ridgway Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.8 ft. Phosphorus 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.2 µg/L. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 45µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.2µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Ridgway Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Ridgway Reservoir water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~130 ft est.
Surface area
1,109 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 Ridgway Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
257 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
8.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
6,877 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
- Ridgway 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 Ridgway Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Ridgway Reservoir in Ouray 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 Ridgway Reservoir
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Fishing Ridgway Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Ridgway Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Ridgway Dam (completed 1987), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Umcompahgre River; earth-type dam, 330 ft tall and 2,340 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,109 ac
- Normal storage
- 84,410 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 93,945 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 264.58 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Irrigation;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO02706 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Ouray County
Frequently asked questions about Ridgway Reservoir
Where is Ridgway Reservoir?
- Ridgway Reservoir is a lake in Ouray County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ridgway Reservoir?
- Ridgway Reservoir in Ouray County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L. Surface area: 1109 acres.
Is Ridgway Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ridgway Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Ridgway Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 130 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 1109 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Ridgway Reservoir?
- Ridgway Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Ridgway State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Ridgway Reservoir?
- Ridgway Reservoir 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 Ridgway Reservoir across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 21.8 mi, nearest Box Canyon Falls
3 thermal springs within 22.3 mi, nearest Orvis Hot Spring
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
18 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_WQX18 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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory