Saguaro Lake
Maricopa County, Arizona1,265 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from ADEQ for this lake.
- Limited data
Saguaro Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona has water-quality measurements published by ADEQ, shown here as reported. Surface area: 1265 acres.
Saguaro Lake is a 1,265-acre lake in Maricopa County, Arizona. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2025-11-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Saguaro Lake covers about 1,300 acres in Maricopa County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Saguaro Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Saguaro Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Big water1,265 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Saguaro Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Saguaro Lake
These are the measurements ADEQ publishes for Saguaro 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.
Ask about Saguaro Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
1,265 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Saguaro Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
Public campgrounds near Saguaro Lake
- Bagley Flat3.0 km
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 Saguaro Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Saguaro Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona — 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 Saguaro 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 whole trip? See where to stay at Arizona’s top lakes →
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Fishing Saguaro Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.38 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.78 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Saguaro Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Stewart Mountain Dam (completed 1930), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Salt River; concrete-type dam, 210 ft tall and 1,260 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,265 ac
- Normal storage
- 69,765 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 70,070 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6,191.12 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Irrigation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AZ10318 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Maricopa County
Frequently asked questions about Saguaro Lake
Where is Saguaro Lake?
- Saguaro Lake is a lake in Maricopa County, Arizona. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Saguaro Lake?
- Saguaro Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona has water-quality measurements published by ADEQ, shown here as reported. Surface area: 1265 acres.
Is Saguaro Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there campgrounds on Saguaro Lake?
- Saguaro Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Bagley Flat. 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 Saguaro Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
21.5 mi away · recorded at 118°F
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Arizona's top lakes, each with its readings
Arizona's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Great Lakes Environmental Center
GLEC10 samples · 2021–2025
Analytical methods
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 300.0 ~ EPA; Determination of Inorganic Anions by Ion Chromatography
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles