Salem Lake
Forsyth County, North Carolina298 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Salem Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 43 ft max depth
- Limited data
Salem Lake in Forsyth County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26 µg/L. Surface area: 297.5 acres.
Salem Lake is a 298-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Forsyth County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 43 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Forsyth County, Salem Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-08-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Salem Lake covers about 300 acres in Forsyth County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Salem Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
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 Salem Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Salem Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Salem 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 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 26 µg/L. TSI 58.
| 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 | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 26µg/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. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Salem Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 ft est.
Surface area
298 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Salem Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
26 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
814 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Salem Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Salem Lake in Forsyth County, North Carolina — 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 Salem Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Salem Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 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 North Carolina’s top lakes →
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Fishing Salem Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Salem Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Salem Lake Dam (completed 2012), built primarily for recreation on the Salem Creek; earth-type dam, 37 ft tall and 200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 297.5 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,206 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 9,230 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 27.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utility Commission
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00327 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Forsyth County
Frequently asked questions about Salem Lake
Where is Salem Lake?
- Salem Lake is a lake in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Salem Lake?
- Salem Lake in Forsyth County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26 µg/L. Surface area: 297.5 acres.
Is Salem Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Salem Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Salem Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 297.5 acres.
Explore Salem Lake across LakeQuality
19.3 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Where this data comes from
41 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ41 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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)