22 lakes with water-quality readings within 4 hr of downtown
Driving from Houston to a lake worth swimming in
Lake Houston is the closest lake with water-quality readings to Houston, 28 min away. Fairfield Lake has clear, low-nutrient readings and takes 3 hr 33 min, 3 hr 5 min more in the car, each way, for cleaner water.
Every lake below is ranked by how long the drive is, and each links to its own water-quality readings. Closest is not the same as cleanest, and this page will not pretend otherwise.
Closer, or cleaner — the whole ladder
22 lakes, sorted by drive time from downtown Houston. 2 of them have clear, low-nutrient readings. The furthest entry is Upper Lake Palestine at 3 hr 56 min.
| Drive | Lake | Road miles | County | Size | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 min | Lake Houston | 21.1 | Harris County, TX | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 31 min | Lynchburg Reservoir | 21.3 | Harris County, TX | 200 ac | ✓ Public |
| 41 min | Lake Houston S Union Pacific Rr Bridge | 25 | Harris County, TX | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 1 hr 16 min | Lake Conroe | 56.4 | Montgomery County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 1 hr 40 min | Shallow Prong Lake | 82.2 | Jefferson County, TX | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 1 hr 42 min | Livingston Reservoir | 83.6 | Polk County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 4 min | Lake Somerville Mid Lake | 92.8 | Burleson County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 25 min | B A Steinhagen Reservoir | 123.6 | Jasper County, TX | 14,700 ac | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 41 min | Houston County Lake | 140.9 | Houston County, TX | 1,282 ac | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 48 min | Sam Rayburn Lake | 131.9 | Nacogdoches County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 49 min | Sam Rayburn Reservoir | 142.9 | San Augustine County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 58 min | New Marlin City Lake | 154.2 | Falls County, TX | 485 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 5 min | Walter E Long Lake Mid Lake | 161.2 | Travis County, TX | 1,269 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 10 min | Springfield Lake | 164.8 | Limestone County, TX | 700 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 22 min | Lake Mexia | 171.3 | Limestone County, TX | 1,009 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 33 min | Fairfield Lake | 164.3 | Freestone County, TX | 2,350 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 34 min | Navarro Mills Lake | 197.5 | Navarro County, TX | 5,070 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 39 min | Lake Jacksonville | 183.7 | Cherokee County, TX | 1,325 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 39 min | Lake Palestine | 196.5 | Smith County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 44 min | Lake Murvaul | 180.7 | Panola County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 47 min | Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir | 182.7 | McLennan County, TX | 2,012 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 56 min | Upper Lake Palestine | 204.6 | Smith County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
What the numbers are, and are not
Drive times and road miles are one-way road routing from downtown Houston to the nearest public road at each lake, over the OpenStreetMap network via OSRM (router.project-osrm.org) over OpenStreetMap, driving profile, free-flow. Free-flow means no traffic model and no time of day, so a weekend morning will beat these numbers and a Friday afternoon will not.
Each lake’s water-quality readings, phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll-a and turbidity measured over years by state and federal agencies, are on its own page. They describe the lake’s record; they do not clear the water for a particular afternoon, and they say nothing about the beach, the boat ramp or the view. Lakes with no nutrient or algae reading on record are not listed here, because the water is the only axis this page ranks on.
Size and access come from the lake record where the agency published them. “Not recorded” means nobody documented it — it is a gap in the paperwork, not a statement about the lake.
More lakes near Houston
Nearby cities
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Fairfield Lake in Freestone County, Texas. Its nutrient and algae readings are among the most favourable within reach, and the drive is 3 hr 33 min, or 164.3 road miles. The closest lake of any kind with readings on record is Lake Houston at 28 min.
3 hr 5 min each way. Lake Houston is 28 min out; Fairfield Lake, with the more favourable readings, is 3 hr 33 min out.
17 of the 22 lakes here have a public access point on the record, and the closest is Lynchburg Reservoir, 31 min away. The rest of the table shows "Not recorded" where no access point was documented, which is not the same as no access — check with the managing agency before you trailer a boat.
By road, from downtown Houston to the nearest public road at each lake, over the OpenStreetMap road network. They are free-flow times: no traffic, no time of day, no stops. Treat them as the floor, and add for rush hour and for the last stretch to the water.
No. The readings summarise years of phosphorus, nitrogen, algae and turbidity measurements; they describe the lake, not this afternoon. A beach closure, a bloom, or a heavy rain can change conditions overnight. Whether a lake is safe to swim in is a call for the state water agency and the county health department: check the lake's own page for its measurement record, and check the managing agency for current advisories before you get in.
Stay by the water, not by the highway
Cabins, hotels and rentals around Fairfield Lake in Freestone County, the closest lake to Houston with the most favourable readings in range. 3 hr 33 min from downtown.
Top-rated places to stay near Fairfield Lake
Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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