Washington has more than 7,800 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, ranging from huge Columbia River impoundments to deep glacial lakes tucked into the Cascades and Olympics. Some of the state’s biggest bodies of freshwater are natural lakes. Others were created or enlarged as part of major water projects.
Because this list includes both natural lakes and reservoirs, it is not a strict 1-through-10 ranking by surface area. These are 10 of Washington’s biggest and most interesting lakes, along with what makes each one stand out and where you can get to the water.
1. Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan is Washington’s largest natural lake by surface area, covering roughly 32,600 acres. It stretches more than 50 miles from the city of Chelan toward Stehekin at the head of the lake. It is also extraordinarily deep, reaching 1,486 feet at its deepest point and ranking among the deepest lakes in the United States.
The Stehekin River is the lake’s main inflow, while the Chelan River is its only outflow. The lower lake around Chelan and Manson is popular for boating, swimming, kayaking, and fishing. Anglers can find kokanee, lake trout, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, and landlocked Chinook salmon. For an easy public access point, Lake Chelan State Park is at 7544 S Lakeshore Road, Chelan, WA 98816.
2. Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent (Image Credit: iStock / libre de droit)
©iStock.com/ libre de droit
Lake Crescent is an 11.8-mile-long glacial lake in Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula, west of Port Angeles along U.S. Highway 101. The lake reaches a maximum depth of 624 feet. Its basin was carved by glaciers, and a massive landslide roughly 7,000 years ago divided what had been a larger lake into today’s Lake Crescent and Lake Sutherland.
Lake Crescent’s clear, nutrient-poor water helps give it that deep blue-green color that barely looks real on a sunny day. It is also home to the Beardslee trout and Crescenti cutthroat trout, two distinctive fish found nowhere else. Visitors can swim, paddle, hike along the shoreline, or rent boats at Lake Crescent Lodge when seasonal services are operating. Lake Crescent Lodge is at 416 Lake Crescent Road, Port Angeles, WA 98363.
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, usually called Lake Roosevelt, is the enormous Columbia River reservoir created behind Grand Coulee Dam. The reservoir formed as the dam was constructed in the early 1940s and was named in honor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose administration backed Grand Coulee as a major public works project.
Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife lists Lake Roosevelt at roughly 77,700 acres, making it one of the largest bodies of water in the state. Its more than 600 miles of shoreline provide plenty of room for boating, camping, swimming, and fishing for rainbow trout, kokanee, walleye, smallmouth bass, and other species. Fort Spokane is also on the reservoir and offers a look at the area’s complicated history. A useful access point is the Fort Spokane Visitor Center and Museum at 44150 District Office Lane N, Davenport, WA 99122.
4. Moses Lake
Moses Lake covers roughly 6,700 acres in Grant County and sits right alongside the city that shares its name. The lake, the city, and nearby Moses Coulee were named for Chief Moses, a Columbia-Sinkiuse leader. The settlement on the lake was originally known as Neppel before becoming the town of Moses Lake in 1938.
The lake is also an important part of the larger Columbia Basin irrigation system, which has dramatically changed how water moves through this part of central Washington. For visitors, though, the big draw is recreation. Walleye and smallmouth bass are major targets for anglers, along with largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, and other warmwater fish. Cascade Park offers shoreline access, swimming, fishing, camping, and a public boat launch at 2001 W Valley Road, Moses Lake, WA 98837.
5. Potholes Reservoir
Potholes Reservoir is a large Columbia Basin Project reservoir south of Moses Lake, formed by O’Sullivan Dam across Crab Creek. The dam was built in the late 1940s, and the reservoir has an important job: it collects irrigation return flows from the northern portion of the Columbia Basin Project so that water can be reused farther south.
The surrounding landscape is famous for the smaller pothole lakes and depressions carved into the scablands by enormous Ice Age floods, but the modern reservoir itself is one connected body of water. Today it is also one of central Washington’s major fishing destinations, particularly for walleye and largemouth and smallmouth bass. Rainbow trout, crappie, perch, and other species are found here as well. Potholes State Park sits directly on the reservoir at 6762 Highway 262 East, Othello, WA 99344.
6. Lake Washington
Lake Washington covers roughly 21,500 acres, making it the largest lake in King County and Washington’s second-largest natural lake after Lake Chelan. Seattle lines much of its western shore, while Bellevue and Kirkland sit to the east, Renton is at the south end, and Kenmore is near the north. Mercer Island sits in the southern half of the lake. Its two major inflows are the Cedar River and Sammamish River, while water now leaves through the Lake Washington Ship Canal toward Puget Sound.
In 1854, settler Thomas Mercer proposed the name Lake Washington in honor of George Washington. Long before that, Coast Salish communities lived around the lake, and Seattle historical materials describe the Duwamish people associated with its shores as the “Lake People.” Today the lake is heavily used for boating, fishing, paddling, and swimming. Seward Park provides beaches, shoreline trails, fishing access, and hand-carry boat launches at 5900 Lake Washington Blvd. S, Seattle, WA 98118.
7. Banks Lake
Banks Lake is a roughly 27-mile-long reservoir that fills part of the Grand Coulee between North Dam and Dry Falls Dam. Water is pumped uphill from Lake Roosevelt into Banks Lake, which serves as a huge equalizing reservoir for the Columbia Basin Project. Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife lists its surface area at about 26,900 acres, or roughly 42 square miles.
Its irrigation role is only half the story. Banks Lake is also a major recreation destination, especially for anglers chasing walleye, smallmouth bass, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, and kokanee. Boating, swimming, paddling, camping, and hiking are all popular around the reservoir. Steamboat Rock State Park provides one of the best developed access points at 51052 Highway 155, Electric City, WA 99123.
8. Ross Lake
(Image Credit: Anna Abramskaya/Shutterstock)
©Anna Abramskaya/Shutterstock.com
Ross Lake is a large Skagit River reservoir surrounded by the mountains of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. It covers roughly 11,500 acres in Washington and extends north across the international border into British Columbia. The lake is long, narrow, and lined by largely undeveloped mountain terrain, which is a big part of its appeal.
Access takes a little more planning than it does at most lakes on this list. There is no road from State Route 20 directly to the southern shoreline. From Washington, hikers can reach the lake from the Ross Dam Trailhead around milepost 134 on State Route 20, while paddlers can approach through Diablo Lake and use the portage around Ross Dam. The only road access to Ross Lake’s shoreline is at Hozomeen from British Columbia. Ross Lake Resort, established in 1952, operates seasonally and can only be reached by hiking or boat.
9. Ozette Lake
Ozette Lake sits near the Pacific coast inside Olympic National Park and is the third-largest natural lake in Washington. Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife measures it at roughly 7,400 acres. Despite being only a few miles from the ocean, the lake feels remarkably remote, surrounded by forests, wetlands, and miles of parkland.
Boaters can launch from the Ozette Ranger Station area or Swan Bay, and backcountry campsites are available around portions of the shoreline for properly prepared paddlers. The same area is also the starting point for the famous boardwalk trails leading west toward Cape Alava and Sand Point on the Pacific coast. For vehicle access, the Ozette Ranger Station is at 21261 Hoko-Ozette Road, Clallam Bay, WA 98326.
10. Osoyoos Lake
Osoyoos Lake straddles the international border between Oroville, Washington, and Osoyoos, British Columbia. Washington’s portion of the lake covers a little more than 2,000 acres. The lake sits above Zosel Dam in Oroville and forms part of the Okanogan River system, with water continuing south through Washington after leaving the lake.
The lake is popular for boating, swimming, and fishing, with smallmouth bass and kokanee among the species anglers pursue. The public park on the Washington side is no longer a Washington state park. It is now operated by the City of Oroville as Osoyoos Lake Veteran’s Memorial Park, with a sandy swimming beach, boat launch, campground, and other recreation facilities. The park is at 2207 Juniper St., Oroville, WA 98844.
