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LakeQuality
Late afternoon sun over Slim Lake, scattering a bright path across wind-textured water

37 graded lakes within 4 hr of downtown

Driving from Oklahoma City to a lake worth swimming in

Wes Watkins Reservoir is the closest graded water to Oklahoma City, 38 min away, and it grades D. Bois D'Arc Lake grades B and takes 3 hr 54 min — 3 hr 16 min more in the car, each way, for water that clears the bar.

Every lake below is ranked by how long the drive is, and labelled with the water-quality letter it earned. Closest is not the same as cleanest, and this page will not pretend otherwise.

Slim Lake, Washburn County, Wisconsin. Photo: Tim AdairOriginal photograph
Closest water
38 min
25.8 road miles · Pottawatomie County, OK
The shortest drive on this page. Its letter is D.
Closest A
No A within 4 hr. The best letter in range is B.
Closest B
3 hr 54 min
204.9 road miles · Fannin County, TX
Closest public access
38 min
25.8 road miles · Pottawatomie County, OK
A boat landing or launch point is on the record for this lake.

Closer, or cleaner — the whole ladder

37 lakes, sorted by drive time from downtown Oklahoma City. Letters in range: 1 B, 6 C, 19 D, 11 F. Some of the best water is over a state line — this list crosses into Kansas, Texas, Arkansas. The furthest entry is Lake Fort Smith at 4 hr.

DriveLakeGradeRoad milesCountySizeAccess
38 minWes Watkins ReservoirD25.8Pottawatomie County, OK1,142 ac✓ Public
48 minThunderbird Lake Hog CreekD28.4Cleveland County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
51 minThunderbird Lake Fisherman'SD34.3Cleveland County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
55 minLake ThunderbirdD31Cleveland County, OK6,070 ac✓ Public
1 hr 24 minFt. Cobb LakeD64.4Caddo County, OK13 acNot recorded
1 hr 36 minSportsman LakeD65Seminole County, OK590 acNot recorded
1 hr 39 minWewoka LakeD73.2Seminole County, OK371 acNot recorded
1 hr 42 minLake KonawaD73.7Seminole County, OK1,350 acNot recorded
2 hr 10 minSandy Beach LakeD116.9Osage County, OK16,750 ac✓ Public
2 hr 18 minOsage Cove LakeD118.5Osage County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
2 hr 19 minCoon Creek LakeD119.7Kay County, OKNot recordedNot recorded
2 hr 22 minSarge Creek LakeC123.8Kay County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
2 hr 24 minPioneer Cover LakeD122.9Osage County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
2 hr 41 minWashunga Bay LakeD130.9Kay County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
2 hr 41 minLake TexomaD137.9Marshall County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
2 hr 44 minWellington New City LakeF135.5Sumner County, KS675 acNot recorded
2 hr 50 minGreenleaf LakeD152.6Muskogee County, OK739 ac✓ Public
2 hr 52 minRay Roberts LakeD157.4Cooke County, TX29,350 ac✓ Public
3 hr 6 minAugusta Santa Fe LakeF172.9Butler County, KSNot recordedNot recorded
3 hr 10 minAugusta City LakeF175.8Butler County, KS181 acNot recorded
3 hr 11 minCopan LakeD164.6Washington County, OK4,850 ac✓ Public
3 hr 14 minLake AftonF173.8Sedgwick County, KS238 acNot recorded
3 hr 16 minLake TexomaC175.6Grayson County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
3 hr 17 minLake Amon G CarterF159.3Montague County, TX1,540 ac✓ Public
3 hr 22 minAnthony City LakeF150.8Harper County, KS130 acNot recorded
3 hr 25 minEl Dorado LakeC188Butler County, KS8,400 ac✓ Public
3 hr 34 minSiloam Springs LakeF193.6Benton County, ARNot recordedNot recorded
3 hr 37 minLake Sardis ClaytonD181.1Pushmataha County, OKNot recorded✓ Public
3 hr 40 minLake Nahni Waiya TuskahommaD176.4Pushmataha County, OK131 ac✓ Public
3 hr 44 minHarvey Co West Park LakeF200.1Harvey County, KSNot recordedNot recorded
3 hr 49 minCrystal LakeF204.8Benton County, AR42 acNot recorded
3 hr 49 minPat Mayse ReservoirC214Lamar County, TX5,993 ac✓ Public
3 hr 54 minBois D'Arc LakeB204.9Fannin County, TX16,500 acNot recorded
3 hr 54 minUpper Pat Mayse ReservoirC216Lamar County, TXNot recorded✓ Public
3 hr 56 minLake Crook Mid LakeF220.7Lamar County, TXNot recorded✓ Public
3 hr 58 minLincoln LakeF211.1Washington County, AR89 acNot recorded
4 hrLake Fort SmithC215.9Crawford County, AR470 acNot recorded

What the numbers are, and are not

Drive times and road miles are one-way road routing from downtown Oklahoma City 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.

The letter is the lake’s A–F water-quality grade: clarity, total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a measured over years, not a rating of the beach, the boat ramp or the view. An A describes the lake’s record; it does not clear the water for a particular afternoon. Lakes with no letter are not listed here, because the letter 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.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Bois D'Arc Lake in Fannin County, Texas. It grades B and the drive is 3 hr 54 min, or 204.9 road miles. The closest graded lake of any kind is Wes Watkins Reservoir at 38 min, and it grades D.

3 hr 16 min each way. Wes Watkins Reservoir is 38 min out and grades D; Bois D'Arc Lake is 3 hr 54 min out and grades B.

21 of the 37 lakes here have a public access point on the record, and the closest is Wes Watkins Reservoir, 38 min away, grading D. 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 Oklahoma City 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 letter summarises years of phosphorus, nitrogen, algae and turbidity measurements — it describes the lake, not this afternoon. A beach closure, a bloom, or a heavy rain can change conditions on an A lake overnight. 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 Bois D'Arc Lake in Fannin County — the closest lake to Oklahoma City that grades B. 3 hr 54 min from downtown.

Top-rated places to stay near Bois D'Arc Lake

Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.

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