Shasta Lake

Planning a day at Shasta Lake

Its coordinates are 40.7602, -122.3720. It lies at roughly 1,067 feet of elevation. Releases go downstream into the Sacramento River. Maximum depth is around 518 feet.

Nearby water includes Keswick Reservoir (California, 10 mi), Whiskeytown Lake (California, 14 mi) and Trinity Lake (California, 21 mi). In all, 86 lakes in California are covered here.

Water temperature is not measured at this lake by any public agency we read. Freshwater advisories are issued locally, so check the state health department before you swim. Season dates vary by park; the operating agency publishes them each spring.

If you need a named beach, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area on Whiskeytown Lake is some 16 miles from here. Shoreline access on lakes like this one is often informal and unsigned. Shasta Lake has no catalogued swimming beach in the sources we read, so plan around the managing agency's own facilities.

The level comes from CDEC - California Data Exchange Center (DWR). The top of the dam sits at 1,077.5 ft. The Corps of Engineers puts the top of the flood pool at 1,067.0 ft. Check the reading the morning you go if your plan depends on a specific ramp.