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

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Vermont: Lake Bomoseen (2,360 acres)

Lake Bomoseen is Vermont's largest inland lake per the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (Watershed Management Division, Vermont Lake Inventory). Below: 50 Vermont lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Vermont is Lake Bomoseen at 2,360 acres , in Rutland County, according to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (Watershed Management Division, Vermont Lake Inventory). Lake Champlain is larger at about 278,400 acres (435 sq mi). Shared with New York and Quebec - only part of the lake is Vermont water (Vermont's DEC inventory splits its Vermont sections separately, e.g. 42,010 acres for the Main Lake section alone). Lake Memphremagog, 5,966 Vermont acres, is likewise shared with Quebec.

See our Lake Bomoseen water-quality report card A

Source: Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (Watershed Management Division, Vermont Lake Inventory) (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the Vermont lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

2,360

Largest (acres)

331

Median of top 50

40/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Vermont's size profile

Vermont's largest lake by surface area is Lake Bomoseen in Rutland County, spanning 2,360 acres. Most of Vermont'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 Vermont by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	Lake Bomoseen	Rutland	2,360 acres	-	A
2	Harriman Reservoir	Windham	1,875 acres	-	NR
3	Seymour Lake	Orleans	1,777 acres	-	A
4	Somerset Reservoir	Windham	1,514 acres	-	NR
5	Lake Carmi	Franklin	1,375 acres	-	D
6	Lake St. Catherine	Rutland	1,024 acres	-	A
7	Lake Dunmore	Addison	985 acres	-	A
8	Waterbury Reservoir	Washington	850 acres	-	A
9	Great Averill Pond	Essex	812 acres	-	A
10	Maidstone Lake	Essex	800 acres	-	A
11	Caspian Lake	Orleans	789 acres	-	A
12	Crystal Lake	Orleans	778 acres	-	NR
13	Arrowhead Mountain Lake	Chittenden	720 acres	-	NR
14	Chittenden Reservoir	Rutland	693 acres	-	NR
15	Green River Reservoir	Lamoille	625 acres	-	A
16	Zack Woods Pond	Lamoille	620 acres	-	NR
17	Norton Pond	Essex	583 acres	-	A
18	Echo Lake	Orleans	508 acres	-	A
19	Little Averill Pond	Essex	483 acres	-	A
20	Lake Fairlee	Orange	463 acres	-	A
21	Lake Hortonia	Rutland	449 acres	-	A
22	Lake Groton	Caledonia	414 acres	-	A
23	Mollys Falls Reservoir	Washington	411 acres	-	NR
24	Harveys Lake	Caledonia	409 acres	-	A
25	Joes Pond	Caledonia	396 acres	-	A
26	Peacham Pond	Caledonia	331 acres	-	A
27	Berlin Pond	Washington	256 acres	-	A
28	Lake Ninevah	Rutland	237 acres	-	A
29	Lake Iroquois	Chittenden	229 acres	-	C
30	North Hartland Reservoir	Windsor	215 acres	-	NR
31	Lake Derby	Orleans	212 acres	-	NR
32	Miles Pond	Essex	206 acres	-	A
33	Clyde Pond	Orleans	200 acres	-	A
34	Shadow Lake	Orleans	199 acres	-	A
35	Lake Eden	Lamoille	198 acres	-	NR
36	Gale Meadows Pond	Bennington	195 acres	-	NR
37	Glen Lake	Rutland	191 acres	-	NR
38	Sadawga Lake	Windham	191 acres	-	NR
39	Pensioner Pond	Orleans	187 acres	-	NR
40	Little Hosmer Pond	Orleans	183 acres	-	A
41	Colchester Pond	Chittenden	182 acres	-	C
42	Wrightsville Reservoir	Washington	181 acres	-	NR
43	Rescue Lake	Windsor	180 acres	-	A
44	East Long Pond	Washington	177 acres	-	A
45	Nichols Pond	Washington	167 acres	-	NR
46	Sherman Reservoir	Windham	161 acres	-	NR
47	Richville Pond	Addison	156 acres	-	NR
48	Stiles Pond	Caledonia	155 acres	-	NR
49	Sabin Pond	Washington	148 acres	-	NR
50	Great Hosmer Pond	Orleans	147 acres	-	NR

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Vermont?

Lake Bomoseen, at 2,360 acres, in Rutland County. Lake Champlain is larger at about 278,400 acres (435 sq mi). Shared with New York and Quebec - only part of the lake is Vermont water (Vermont's DEC inventory splits its Vermont sections separately, e.g. 42,010 acres for the Main Lake section alone). Lake Memphremagog, 5,966 Vermont acres, is likewise shared with Quebec. Source: Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (Watershed Management Division, Vermont Lake Inventory), 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 Vermont's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Vermont lakes by area, 40 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 10 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 Vermont lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Vermont lakes by surface area, the median is 331 acres (Peacham Pond). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Vermont lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Vermont's largest lakes

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

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