
37 lakes with water-quality readings within 4 hr of downtown
Driving from Oklahoma City to a lake worth swimming in
Wes Watkins Reservoir is the closest lake with water-quality readings to Oklahoma City, 38 min away. Bois D'Arc Lake has clear, low-nutrient readings and takes 3 hr 56 min, 3 hr 18 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
37 lakes, sorted by drive time from downtown Oklahoma City. 1 of them have clear, low-nutrient readings. 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.
| Drive | Lake | Road miles | County | Size | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 min | Wes Watkins Reservoir | 25.8 | Pottawatomie County, OK | 1,142 ac | ✓ Public |
| 41 min | Lake Thunderbird | 27.9 | Cleveland County, OK | 6,070 ac | ✓ Public |
| 43 min | Thunderbird Lake Hog Creek | 29.3 | Cleveland County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 51 min | Thunderbird Lake Fisherman'S | 34.3 | Cleveland County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 1 hr 24 min | Ft. Cobb Lake | 64.4 | Caddo County, OK | 13 ac | Not recorded |
| 1 hr 36 min | Sportsman Lake | 65 | Seminole County, OK | 590 ac | Not recorded |
| 1 hr 39 min | Wewoka Lake | 73.2 | Seminole County, OK | 371 ac | Not recorded |
| 1 hr 42 min | Lake Konawa | 73.7 | Seminole County, OK | 1,350 ac | Not recorded |
| 2 hr 10 min | Sandy Beach Lake | 116.9 | Osage County, OK | 16,750 ac | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 18 min | Osage Cove Lake | 118.5 | Osage County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 19 min | Coon Creek Lake | 119.7 | Kay County, OK | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 2 hr 22 min | Sarge Creek Lake | 123.8 | Kay County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 24 min | Pioneer Cover Lake | 122.9 | Osage County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 41 min | Washunga Bay Lake | 130.9 | Kay County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 41 min | Lake Texoma | 137.9 | Marshall County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 44 min | Wellington New City Lake | 135.5 | Sumner County, KS | 675 ac | Not recorded |
| 2 hr 50 min | Greenleaf Lake | 152.6 | Muskogee County, OK | 739 ac | ✓ Public |
| 2 hr 55 min | Ray Roberts Lake | 157.5 | Cooke County, TX | 29,350 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 6 min | Augusta Santa Fe Lake | 172.9 | Butler County, KS | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 10 min | Augusta City Lake | 175.8 | Butler County, KS | 181 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 11 min | Copan Lake | 164.6 | Washington County, OK | 4,850 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 14 min | Lake Afton | 173.8 | Sedgwick County, KS | 238 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 17 min | Lake Amon G Carter | 159.3 | Montague County, TX | 1,540 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 19 min | Lake Texoma | 175.7 | Grayson County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 22 min | Anthony City Lake | 150.8 | Harper County, KS | 130 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 24 min | El Dorado Lake | 187.8 | Butler County, KS | 8,400 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 34 min | Siloam Springs Lake | 193.6 | Benton County, AR | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 37 min | Lake Sardis Clayton | 181.1 | Pushmataha County, OK | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 40 min | Lake Nahni Waiya Tuskahomma | 176.4 | Pushmataha County, OK | 131 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 44 min | Harvey Co West Park Lake | 200.1 | Harvey County, KS | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 49 min | Crystal Lake | 204.8 | Benton County, AR | 42 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 49 min | Pat Mayse Reservoir | 214 | Lamar County, TX | 5,993 ac | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 54 min | Upper Pat Mayse Reservoir | 216 | Lamar County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 56 min | Bois D'Arc Lake | 204.9 | Fannin County, TX | 16,500 ac | Not recorded |
| 3 hr 56 min | Lake Crook Mid Lake | 220.7 | Lamar County, TX | Not recorded | ✓ Public |
| 3 hr 58 min | Lincoln Lake | 211.1 | Washington County, AR | 89 ac | Not recorded |
| 4 hr | Lake Fort Smith | 215.9 | Crawford County, AR | 470 ac | Not 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.
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 Oklahoma City
Nearby cities
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Bois D'Arc Lake in Fannin County, Texas. Its nutrient and algae readings are among the most favourable within reach, and the drive is 3 hr 56 min, or 204.9 road miles. The closest lake of any kind with readings on record is Wes Watkins Reservoir at 38 min.
3 hr 18 min each way. Wes Watkins Reservoir is 38 min out; Bois D'Arc Lake, with the more favourable readings, is 3 hr 56 min out.
21 of the 37 lakes here have a public access point on the record, and the closest is Wes Watkins Reservoir, 38 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 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 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 Bois D'Arc Lake in Fannin County, the closest lake to Oklahoma City with the most favourable readings in range. 3 hr 56 min from downtown.
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