Wolf Creek Reservoir
Jackson County, North Carolina40 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Wolf Creek Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 21 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Wolf Creek Reservoir in Jackson County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.5 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Wolf Creek Reservoir is a 40-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Jackson County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 21 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Jackson County, Wolf Creek Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-11-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Wolf Creek Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water19.7 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 Wolf Creek Reservoir 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 Wolf Creek Reservoir
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Wolf Creek 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 19.7 ft down. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.5 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 19.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.5µg/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. | 41 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Wolf Creek Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~21 ft est.
Surface area
40 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
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 Wolf Creek Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
16 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
3,120 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
- Wolf CreekPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Wolf Creek Reservoir
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Top-rated places to stay near Wolf Creek Reservoir
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Fishing Wolf Creek Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Wolf Creek Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Wolf Creek (completed 1955), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Wolf Creek; earth-type dam, 178 ft tall and 810 ft long.
- Surface area
- 40 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,340 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,340 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 15.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Duke Energy
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00789 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Jackson County
Frequently asked questions about Wolf Creek Reservoir
Where is Wolf Creek Reservoir?
- Wolf Creek Reservoir is a lake in Jackson 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 Wolf Creek Reservoir?
- Wolf Creek Reservoir in Jackson County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.5 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Is Wolf Creek Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Wolf Creek Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Wolf Creek Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 21 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 40 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Wolf Creek Reservoir?
- Wolf Creek Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Wolf Creek. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Wolf Creek Reservoir?
- Wolf Creek Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Wolf Creek Reservoir across LakeQuality
4 documented falls within 10.3 mi, nearest Courthouse Falls
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
Planning a trip around Blue Ridge?
Wolf Creek Reservoir is about 37 miles from Blue Ridge Parkway. 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 Blue Ridge →More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Oligotrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
38 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ38 samples · 2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory