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

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Utah: Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake is Utah's largest lake per the Utah Geological Survey (Utah Department of Natural Resources). Below: 50 Utah lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Utah is Great Salt Lake , in Box Elder, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Tooele County, according to the Utah Geological Survey (Utah Department of Natural Resources).

Published figures for Great Salt Lake differ between sources — Utah Geological Survey (Utah Department of Natural Resources) gives 1,034,000 acres — so we name the lake but don't state a single acreage as settled.

Great Salt Lake 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 Utah lakes with nutrient and algae readings, led by Sevier Lake.

Source: Utah Geological Survey (Utah Department of Natural Resources) (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the Utah lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

122,528

Largest (acres)

412

Median of top 50

13/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Utah's size profile

Utah's largest lake by surface area is Sevier Lake in Millard County, spanning 122,528 acres. Most of Utah's biggest waters are natural basins left by glaciers, with stable shorelines and deep main basins.

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 Utah by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth
1	Sevier Lake	Millard	122,528 acres	-
2	Great Salt Lake	Tooele	34,764 acres	-
3	Strawberry Lake	Wasatch	17,163 acres	-
4	Cutler Reservoir	Cache	5,460 acres	-
5	South Bay	Box Elder	4,249 acres	-
6	Starvation Reservoir	Duchesne	3,310 acres	-
7	Scofield Reservoir	Carbon	2,810 acres	-
8	Salt Lake	Millard	2,053 acres	-
9	Quichapa Lake	Iron	1,664 acres	-
10	Great Salt Lake	Davis	1,118 acres	-
11	Neponset Reservoir	Rich	1,014 acres	-
12	Scipio Lake	Millard	989 acres	-
13	Rush Lake	Tooele	981 acres	-
14	Steinaker Reservoir	Uintah	850 acres	-
15	Moon Lake	Duchesne	773 acres	-
16	Hull Lake	Box Elder	732 acres	-
17	East Canyon Reservoir	Morgan	684 acres	-
18	Lake Powell	Garfield	655 acres	-
19	Rush Lake	Iron	621 acres	-
20	South East Bay	Box Elder	599 acres	-
21	Red Fleet Reservoir	Uintah	521 acres	-
22	White Lake	Utah	502 acres	-
23	Hyrum Reservoir	Cache	480 acres	-
24	Harrison Pool	Juab	431 acres	-
25	Egret Pool	Juab	419 acres	-
26	Bottle Hallow Reservoir	Uintah	412 acres	-
27	Lake Boreham	Duchesne	405 acres	-
28	Gadwall Pool	Juab	380 acres	-
29	Curlew Pool	Juab	372 acres	-
30	Lost Creek Reservoir Emap	Morgan	365 acres	-
31	Great Salt Lake	Weber	350 acres	-
32	Duck Lake	Box Elder	342 acres	-
33	Upper Stillwater Reservoir	Duchesne	329 acres	-
34	Wales Reservoir	Sanpete	325 acres	-
35	Pintail Lake	Box Elder	320 acres	-
36	Preuss Lake	Millard	313 acres	-
37	Chicken Creek Reservoir	Juab	308 acres	-
38	Newton Reservoir	Cache	297 acres	-
39	West Lake	Box Elder	259 acres	-
40	East Lake	Box Elder	255 acres	-
41	Carr Lake	Millard	236 acres	-
42	Avocet Pool	Juab	232 acres	-
43	Widgeon Lake	Box Elder	229 acres	-
44	Swan Lake	Millard	224 acres	-
45	Mallard Pool	Juab	215 acres	-
46	Crafts Lake	Millard	211 acres	-
47	Clear Lake	Millard	209 acres	-
48	Navajo Lake	Kane	207 acres	-
49	Lake Atwood	Duchesne	206 acres	-
50	Pintail Pool	Juab	198 acres	-

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Utah?

Great Salt Lake, in Box Elder, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Tooele County. Source: Utah Geological Survey (Utah Department of Natural Resources), 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 Utah's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Utah lakes by area, 13 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 37 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 Utah lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Utah lakes by surface area, the median is 412 acres (Bottle Hallow Reservoir). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Utah lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Utah's largest lakes

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

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