Two canoes crossing open water between forested points in the Boundary Waters

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Arkansas: Lake Ouachita (40,100 acres)

Lake Ouachita is Arkansas's largest inland lake per the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) — Table III-18 'Significant Publicly-Owned Lakes', 2018 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305(b)). Below: 50 Arkansas lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Arkansas is Lake Ouachita at 40,100 acres , in Garland County (also Montgomery County) County, according to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) — Table III-18 'Significant Publicly-Owned Lakes', 2018 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305(b)). Bull Shoals is larger (Arkansas DEQ lists 45,440 acres) but the reservoir extends north into Missouri, so Lake Ouachita is the largest lake entirely inside Arkansas — which is why Arkansas State Parks bills Lake Ouachita as 'Arkansas' largest lake.'.

See our Lake Ouachita water-quality report card C

Source: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) — Table III-18 'Significant Publicly-Owned Lakes', 2018 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305(b)) (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the Arkansas lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

40,100

Largest (acres)

921

Median of top 50

28/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Arkansas's size profile

Arkansas's largest lake by surface area is Lake Ouachita in Garland County, spanning 40,100 acres. Most of Arkansas's biggest waters are reservoirs — dammed river valleys built for water supply, flood control, and recreation, so their footprints shift with pool level.

Surface area is a poor proxy for water quality on its own — a large lake can hold a clean, deep core and a nutrient-loaded bay at the same time. Each lake below links to its full report card with grade, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; grades come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in Arkansas by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	Lake Ouachita	Garland	40,100 acres	-	C
2	Lake Dardanelle	Johnson	34,067 acres	-	NR
3	Lake Millwood	Little River	29,000 acres	-	D
4	Beaver Lake	Carroll	28,220 acres	-	A
5	Norfork Lake	Baxter	22,000 acres	-	C
6	Degray Lake	Clark	13,400 acres	-	C
7	Ozark Lake	Sebastian	9,421 acres	-	NR
8	Lake Maumelle Raw Water Intake	Pulaski	8,900 acres	-	NR
9	Lake Hamilton	Garland	6,897 acres	-	C
10	Murray Lake	Faulkner	5,216 acres	-	NR
11	Nimrod Lake	Yell	3,550 acres	-	D
12	Lake Columbia	Columbia	2,751 acres	-	C
13	Lake Erling	Lafayette	2,350 acres	-	F
14	Peckerwood Lake	Prairie	2,311 acres	-	NR
15	Lake Georgia-Pacific	Ashley	1,725 acres	-	B
16	Cane Creek Lake	Lincoln	1,620 acres	-	C
17	Old Town Lake	Phillips	1,416 acres	-	NR
18	Beaverfork Lake	Faulkner	1,394 acres	-	D
19	Dierks Lake	Howard	1,360 acres	-	D
20	Wild Cat Crossing	Jefferson	1,303 acres	-	NR
21	Gillham Lake	Howard	1,300 acres	-	D
22	Lake Winona	Saline	1,280 acres	-	A
23	Harris Break Lake	Perry	1,240 acres	-	F
24	Brewer Lake	Conway	1,165 acres	-	NR
25	Lower White Oak Lake	Ouachita	1,000 acres	-	C
26	Pecan Lake	Arkansas	921 acres	-	NR
27	Merrisach Lake	Arkansas	867 acres	-	NR
28	Old River Lake	Pulaski	849 acres	-	NR
29	Kate Adams Lake	Desha	805 acres	-	NR
30	Lake Atkins	Pope	752 acres	-	F
31	Lake Paradise	Chicot	730 acres	-	NR
32	Crown Lake	Izard	645 acres	-	C
33	Lee Creek Lake	Crawford	634 acres	-	D
34	Brother Reservoir	Arkansas	632 acres	-	NR
35	Mossy Lake	Ashley	622 acres	-	NR
36	Grand Marais	Union	610 acres	-	NR
37	Lumsdens Reservoir	Arkansas	608 acres	-	NR
38	Upper White Oak Lake	Ouachita	598 acres	-	C
39	Wapanocca Lake	Crittenden	596 acres	-	NR
40	The Chute	Mississippi	593 acres	-	NR
41	Halowell Reservoir	Arkansas	572 acres	-	NR
42	Lake Charles	Lawrence	562 acres	-	F
43	Rodgers Reservoir	Arkansas	562 acres	-	NR
44	Lake Poinsett	Poinsett	540 acres	-	C
45	Swepco Lake	Benton	530 acres	-	NR
46	Bear Creek Lake	Lee	520 acres	-	F
47	Hamptons Reservoir	Arkansas	517 acres	-	NR
48	Storm Creek Lake	Phillips	510 acres	-	F
49	Lake Port	Chicot	497 acres	-	NR
50	Calion Lake	Union	495 acres	-	NR

Get updates on Arkansas's largest lakes

New grades and algae readings on these waters as samples come in. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Arkansas?

Lake Ouachita, at 40,100 acres, in Garland County (also Montgomery County) County. Bull Shoals is larger (Arkansas DEQ lists 45,440 acres) but the reservoir extends north into Missouri, so Lake Ouachita is the largest lake entirely inside Arkansas — which is why Arkansas State Parks bills Lake Ouachita as 'Arkansas' largest lake.'. Source: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) — Table III-18 'Significant Publicly-Owned Lakes', 2018 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305(b)), 2026-07-30.

How is lake surface area measured?

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and, for reservoirs, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Inventory of Dams records. Area is reported in acres at normal pool level. Reservoirs rise and fall with management and drought, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

Are Arkansas's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Arkansas lakes by area, 28 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 22 are natural basins. Glacial states (MN, WI, MI, NY) skew natural; plains and southern states (MO, IA, ND, OH) skew toward reservoirs built for water supply, flood control, and recreation.

Do larger lakes have better water quality?

Not reliably. Quality varies more within a big lake than between lakes — a large lake can have a clean, deep main basin and a murky, algae-prone bay fed by a tributary, so one grade can mask wide swings. Depth, watershed land use, and how fast the lake flushes matter far more than raw surface area.

How big is the typical Arkansas lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Arkansas lakes by surface area, the median is 921 acres (Pecan Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Arkansas lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Arkansas's largest lakes

Planning a trip? Jump to live cabin, resort, and hotel availability near Arkansas's biggest lakes.

Deepest lakes in Arkansas →Cleanest lakes in Arkansas →Largest lakes (all states) →All Arkansas lakes →