Silver Lake
Addison County, Vermont110 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Silver Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 40 ft max depth
- Limited data
Silver Lake in Addison County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 6.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.2 µg/L. Surface area: 110 acres.
Silver Lake is a 110-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Addison County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 40 feet. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Addison County, Silver Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2023-08-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Silver Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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 Silver Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Silver Lake
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Silver Lake, 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 8.2 ft. Phosphorus 6.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.2 µg/L. TSI 37.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 6.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.2µg/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. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Silver Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~40 ft est.
Surface area
110 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Silver Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,247 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
Public campgrounds near Silver Lake
- Silver Lake Campground0.8 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 Silver Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Silver Lake in Addison County, Vermont — 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 Silver Lake
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Fishing Silver Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Silver Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Silver Lake (completed 1917), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Sucker Brook; earth-type dam, 30 ft tall and 283.5 ft long.
- Surface area
- 110 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,450 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,003 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Green Mountain Power Corporation
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00196 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Addison County
Frequently asked questions about Silver Lake
Where is Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake is a lake in Addison County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake in Addison County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 6.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.2 µg/L. Surface area: 110 acres.
Is Silver Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Silver Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Silver Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 40 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 110 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Silver Lake Campground. 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 Silver Lake across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 10.9 mi, nearest Texas Falls
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Oligotrophic Lakes in Vermont
Where this data comes from
13 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ13 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- EPA approved Alternate Test Procedure for 4500 P H. Has a 28 day hold without acid preservation.
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles