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LakeQuality

Skaneateles Lake

Onondaga County, New YorkView mapDirections

NR
Not rated

Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.

Water temp
No reading
No gauge
Clarity
27.4 ft
Secchi · sampled 2020
Max depth
~77 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Level
No reading
No gauge
Trend
No reading
Not enough history
  • 77 ft max depth
  • Public access
  • Limited data

Skaneateles Lake in Onondaga County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 27.4 ft visibility.

Clarity
27.4 ft
Max depth
~77 ft est.
Public access
Yes
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Why Skaneateles Lake has no grade

Skaneateles Lake has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Skaneateles Lake is Not Rated — not an F. Its 27.4-foot median from 15 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.

Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.

Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.

Skaneateles Lake is a lake in Onondaga County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 77 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-28. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

What Skaneateles Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water27.4 ft of visibility
  • Boat launch1 documented ramp

Swimming Safety

Not rated

Limited data

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

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Water quality measurements for Skaneateles Lake

These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.

Crystal clear, you can see 27.4 ft down. TSI 29.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)27.4 ftNot graded
PhosphorusNo recent samples
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No recent samples
Trophic State Index (TSI)29Oligotrophic

Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~77 ft est.
Average Depth~13 ft est.
Public AccessYes

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Skaneateles Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
73 sq mi
Surface area
8,468 acres
Shoreline
31.9 mi
Elevation
860 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

1
Boat Landings
Yes
Public Access
  • Skaneateles LakePublic

Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps

Fishing Skaneateles Lake

Graded lakes near Skaneateles Lake

Skaneateles Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.

Nearby Lakes in Onondaga County

Frequently asked questions about Skaneateles Lake

Where is Skaneateles Lake?

Skaneateles Lake is a lake in Onondaga County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.

What is the water quality grade for Skaneateles Lake?

Skaneateles Lake in Onondaga County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 27.4 ft visibility.

Is Skaneateles Lake safe to swim in?

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

How deep is Skaneateles Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Skaneateles Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 77 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.

Are there boat ramps on Skaneateles Lake?

Skaneateles Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Skaneateles Lake. Public access is listed as yes.

Where this data comes from

15 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • North American Lake Management SocietyNALMS15 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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