Windy Gap Reservoir
Grand County, Colorado108 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Windy Gap Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 15 ft max depth
Windy Gap Reservoir in Grand County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Surface area: 108 acres.
Windy Gap Reservoir is a 108-acre mesotrophic lake in Grand County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 15 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 6 other monitored lakes in Grand County, Windy Gap Reservoir ranks #7 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-07-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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 Windy Gap 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 Windy Gap Reservoir
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Windy Gap Reservoir, 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 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3 µg/L. TSI 51.
| 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 | 52µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3µg/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. | 51 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Windy Gap Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~15 ft est.
Surface area
108 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 Windy Gap Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
780 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
7,835 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 Windy Gap Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Windy Gap Reservoir in Grand 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 Windy Gap Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Windy Gap Reservoir
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Fishing Windy Gap Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-19.75 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.7 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Windy Gap Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Windy Gap (completed 1985), built primarily for irrigation on the Colorado River; earth-type dam, 43 ft tall and 4,955 ft long.
- Surface area
- 108 ac
- Normal storage
- 445 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,633 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 773 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- NORTHERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT (FRIA
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO02593 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Grand County
Frequently asked questions about Windy Gap Reservoir
Where is Windy Gap Reservoir?
- Windy Gap Reservoir is a lake in Grand County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Windy Gap Reservoir?
- Windy Gap Reservoir in Grand County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Surface area: 108 acres.
Is Windy Gap Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Windy Gap Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Windy Gap Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 15 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 108 acres.
Explore Windy Gap Reservoir across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Rocky Mountain?
Windy Gap Reservoir is about 23 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Rocky Mountain →More lakes in Colorado
Other Lakes in Colorado
Mesotrophic Lakes in Colorado
Where this data comes from
266 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Colorado Water Science Center
USGS-CO266 samples · 2021–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus, LL,wu,persulfate(CO)
- YSI EXO, 470/685/40,S bacillaris
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- YSI EXO turbidity sensor, FNU
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)