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

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in North Carolina: Lake Mattamuskeet (40,000 acres)

Lake Mattamuskeet is North Carolina's largest inland lake per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge). Below: 50 North Carolina lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in North Carolina is Lake Mattamuskeet at 40,000 acres , in Hyde County, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge). Shared with Virginia. John H. Kerr Dam and roughly half the pool are in Virginia, so it is not a North Carolina lake (USACE NID VA117001: 48,900 acres). Lake Gaston, 20,300 acres, is likewise NC/VA shared.

Lake Mattamuskeet isn't in our water-quality index — we grade lakes with enough EPA Water Quality Portal samples to score, which leaves out many large reservoirs and border waters. The ranking below covers the 50 North Carolina lakes with nutrient and algae readings, led by Lake Mattamuskeet.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge) (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the North Carolina lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

26,110

Largest (acres)

1,605

Median of top 50

27/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading North Carolina's size profile

North Carolina's largest lake by surface area is Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County, spanning 26,110 acres. Most of North Carolina'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 page with nutrient readings, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; water-quality readings come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in North Carolina by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth
1	Lake Mattamuskeet	Hyde	26,110 acres	-
2	Lake Gaston	Northampton	20,300 acres	-
3	High Rock Lake	Davidson	15,180 acres	-
4	B Everett Jordan Lake	Chatham	13,940 acres	-
5	Fontana Lake	Graham	10,290 acres	-
6	Lake James	McDowell	5,965 acres	-
7	Persimmon Lake	Cherokee	5,914 acres	252 ft
8	Hiwassee Reservoir	Cherokee	5,870 acres	-
9	Badin Lake	Stanly	5,566 acres	-
10	New Lake	Hyde	4,909 acres	-
11	Lake Tillery	Stanly	4,847 acres	-
12	Roanoke Rapids Lake	Halifax	4,600 acres	-
13	Hyco Lake	Caswell	4,163 acres	49 ft
14	Hyco Lake	Person	4,015 acres	-
15	Belews Lake	Stokes	3,863 acres	-
16	Lake Hickory	Catawba	3,792 acres	-
17	Shearon Harris Reservoir	Wake	3,770 acres	40 ft
18	Mountain Island Lake	Gaston	3,235 acres	-
19	Randleman Lake	Randolph	3,070 acres	-
20	Santeetlah Lake	Graham	2,884 acres	-
21	Mayo Reservoir	Person	2,800 acres	-
22	Pungo Lake	Washington	2,786 acres	-
23	Tuckertown Reservoir	Rowan	2,238 acres	-
24	Lake Cheoah	Graham	1,767 acres	-
25	Lake Townsend	Guilford	1,635 acres	-
26	Nantahala Lake	Macon	1,605 acres	-
27	Thorpe Reservoir	Jackson	1,462 acres	-
28	Coddle Creek Reservoir	Cabarrus	1,300 acres	-
29	Kings Mountain Reservoir	Cleveland	1,284 acres	72 ft
30	Long Lake	Craven	1,147 acres	-
31	Lake Mackintosh	Guilford	1,125 acres	-
32	Apalachia Lake	Cherokee	1,100 acres	-
33	Lake Surf	Moore	1,016 acres	-
34	Tar River Reservoir	Nash	1,000 acres	-
35	Lookout Shoals Lake	Catawba	835 acres	-
36	Lake Brandt	Guilford	817 acres	-
37	Fontana Lake	Swain	799 acres	439.6 ft
38	Merchants Millpond	Gates	760 acres	-
39	Lake Burlington	Alamance	757 acres	-
40	Lake Lure	Rutherford	740 acres	-
41	Oak Hollow Lake	Guilford	705 acres	44 ft
42	Orton Pond	Brunswick	688 acres	-
43	Reidsville Lake	Rockingham	680 acres	-
44	T G Slimes Pond Number One	Beaufort	666 acres	-
45	Lake Thom-A-Lex	Davidson	650 acres	-
46	After Bay Reservoir	Person	646 acres	-
47	Little Singletary Lake	Bladen	626 acres	-
48	Lake Ellis Simon	Craven	587 acres	-
49	Quaker Creek Reservoir	Alamance	586 acres	-
50	Lake Tom-A-Lex	Davidson	586 acres	-

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in North Carolina?

Lake Mattamuskeet, at 40,000 acres, in Hyde County. Shared with Virginia. John H. Kerr Dam and roughly half the pool are in Virginia, so it is not a North Carolina lake (USACE NID VA117001: 48,900 acres). Lake Gaston, 20,300 acres, is likewise NC/VA shared. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge), 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 North Carolina's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 North Carolina lakes by area, 27 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 23 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 reading 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 North Carolina lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 North Carolina lakes by surface area, the median is 1,605 acres (Nantahala Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical North Carolina lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near North Carolina's largest lakes

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

Deepest lakes in North Carolina →Cleanest lakes in North Carolina →Largest lakes (all states) →All North Carolina lakes →