Turquoise Reservoir
Lake County, Colorado1,788 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Turquoise Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 112 ft max depth
- Limited data
Turquoise Reservoir in Lake County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 46 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 1788 acres.
Turquoise Reservoir is a 1,788-acre mesotrophic lake in Lake County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 112 feet. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Lake County, Turquoise Reservoir ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2024-09-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Turquoise Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water16.1 ft of visibility
- Camping7 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water1,788 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 Turquoise 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 Turquoise Reservoir
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Turquoise Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 16.1 ft down. Phosphorus 46 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.1 µg/L. TSI 45.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 16.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 46µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.1µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 45 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Turquoise Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~112 ft est.
Surface area
1,788 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Turquoise Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
29 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
9,879 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 Turquoise Reservoir
- Matchless Campground0.8 km
- Silver Dollar Campground1.4 km
- Molly Brown1.6 km
- Belle Of Colorado1.9 km
- Baby Doe2.1 kmReserve
- Printer Boy Campground2.3 km
- Tabor2.3 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 Turquoise Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Turquoise Reservoir in Lake 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Turquoise Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Turquoise Reservoir
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Turquoise Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Turquoise Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Sugar Loaf Dam (completed 1968), built primarily for irrigation on the Lake Fork of Arkansas River; earth-type dam, 162 ft tall and 2,020 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,788 ac
- Normal storage
- 129,398 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,833,700 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 27.56 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO01669 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Lake County
Frequently asked questions about Turquoise Reservoir
Where is Turquoise Reservoir?
- Turquoise Reservoir is a lake in Lake County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Turquoise Reservoir?
- Turquoise Reservoir in Lake County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 46 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 1788 acres.
Is Turquoise Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Turquoise Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Turquoise Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 112 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 1788 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Turquoise Reservoir?
- Turquoise Reservoir has 7 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Matchless Campground, Silver Dollar Campground, Molly Brown, Belle Of Colorado. 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 Turquoise Reservoir across LakeQuality
19 mi away · 300 ft
17.6 mi away · recorded at 75°F
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
18 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2024. 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 · 2024
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)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles