Oligotrophic Lakes in Virginia

29 oligotrophic lakes in Virginia. Low nutrients, clear water, excellent for swimming.

An oligotrophic lake is what most people picture when they think of pristine northern lake country: clarity to depth, no algal scum, cold water that holds dissolved oxygen all the way to the bottom even in August. Across {{stateName}}, 29 lakes register as oligotrophic — 0% of them break 50 feet of depth, which is the structural condition that underwrites the trophic class. Without depth and a low-nutrient watershed, oligotrophy is hard to sustain.

On the LakeGrade rubric, oligotrophic lakes almost always pull an A or B — the same low-nutrient conditions that produce the trophic class also produce the high grade.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth	TSI
1	Nla Lake	Augusta	A	9.7 ft	-	36
2	Nla Lake	Patrick	A	11.9 ft	-	38
3	Mouth of Witcher Cr. Lake	Bedford	A	11.2 ft	-	39
4	Lower Blackwater River Lake	Franklin	A	12.1 ft	-	39
5	Dam Lake	Franklin	A	12.1 ft	-	38
6	Dam Lake	Pittsylvania	A	10.5 ft	-	39
7	Dam Lake	Alleghany	A	12.1 ft	-	38
8	Goose Point Lake	Franklin	A	10.2 ft	-	38
9	Mouth Craddock Cr. Lake	Bedford	A	10.2 ft	-	39
10	Above Dam Lake	Albemarle	A	13.1 ft	-	38
11	Cool Branch Lake	Franklin	A	10.5 ft	-	39
12	Confl. Blackwater River Lake	Bedford	A	9.8 ft	-	40
13	Mouth of Bull Run Lake	Franklin	A	10.2 ft	-	40
14	Carvins Cove Reservoir	Botetourt	A	11.5 ft	-	37
15	Bolar Mtn. Campground Lake	Bath	A	9.2 ft	-	40
16	Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake	Alleghany	A	12.5 ft	-	38
17	Motts Run Reservoir	Spotsylvania	A	10.2 ft	-	40
18	Wise Lake	Wise	A	10.5 ft	-	40
19	Lake Robertson	Rockbridge	A	13.9 ft	-	38
20	North Fork Pound Reservoir@Dam	Wise	A	12.1 ft	-	38
21	John Flannagan Reservoir@ Dam	Dickenson	A	17.1 ft	-	36
22	Near Spillway Lake Mooney	Stafford	A	9.2 ft	-	39
23	Lake Witten	Tazewell	A	11.3 ft	-	39
24	Horseshoe Point Lake	Patrick	A	9.8 ft	-	39
25	John Flannagan Reservoir	Dickenson	A	13.1 ft	-	37
26	Mussel Lab Pond Water	Montgomery	A	-	-	37
27	Silver Lake	Rockingham	A	-	-	37
28	Lunga Reservoir	Stafford	A	-	-	37
29	Lake Merriweather	Rockbridge	A	-	-	37

All oligotrophic lakes →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Michigan version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →South Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →All Virginia lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.