Discover the Deepest Lake in Wyoming

Key Points:

• The deepest lake in Wyoming is Fremont Lake.
• It is located about halfway between Yellowstone Lake and the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
• Fremont Lake gets its name from John C. Fremont, who was mapping out the Oregon Trail and surveyed the area in 1842.

Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which includes the picturesque Yellowstone Lake. Thousands of other lakes (around 4,000) are scattered across the state. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir is on the southern border, Jackson Lake is in Grand Teton National Park, and the Glendo Reservoir is in eastern Wyoming. Some of the biggest lakes are also the deepest lakes. Occasionally, glaciers will carve out a smaller deep lake. Smaller deep lakes can also form in the crater of volcanoes.

Is one of the biggest lakes in Wyoming also the deepest? How deep is Yellowstone Lake? What fish prefer deeper cooler lakes? Let’s find out all about the deepest lake in Wyoming!

What Is the Deepest Lake in Wyoming?

The deepest lake in Wyoming is Fremont Lake. Fremont is located about halfway between Yellowstone Lake and Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Fremont is a long skinny lake that is 12 miles long but only half a mile wide. On the southern shore, you will find a nice sandy beach and the CCC Ponds Recreation Area.

There is a great campground on the eastern shore with 54 campsites and a boat ramp for putting your boat in to explore the lake or try fishing. The Fremont Lake Campground is 7 miles northeast of Pinedale and a great option for staying on this mostly undeveloped lake.

Where Is Fremont Lake Located on a Map?

Fremont Lake is in Sublette County. It is about four miles from the city of Pinedale in western Wyoming.

How Deep Is the Deepest Lake in Wyoming?

The deepest lake in Wyoming is 600 feet deep. Glaciers formed Fremont Lake thousands of years ago. Similar to how the Great Lakes formed, the glaciers melted and dragged across the landscape gouging out deep depressions that filled in with melting ice water. For comparison, 600 feet is how tall the Space Needle is in Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle is 604 feet so if you dropped the Space Needle in the lake just the top four feet would be sticking out (depending on lake levels for the day, of course!).

Why Is Fremont Lake Called Fremont Lake?

The lake gets its name from John C. Fremont who was mapping out the Oregon Trail and surveyed the area in 1842. The Oregon Trail was an over 2,000-mile route from Missouri to Oregon used by pioneers in the mid-1800s to immigrate west. It is also a simple educational computer game that taught kids about the life of a 19th-century pioneer.

How Is the Fishing on Fremont Lake?

A beautiful, cool, deep lake will be home to some amazing fish. Some of the best catches in Fremont Lake are lake trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, and kokanee salmon. You can try fly fishing or take a boat out to find the perfect fishing hole. In the winter you can rent snowmobiles (or bring your own) and head out on the lake for some epic ice fishing.

Are There Any Fishing Records From Fremont Lake?

No, there are not any current state fishing records from Fremont Lake. Surprisingly there are not any current fishing records from Yellowstone Lake, although the lake is known to have excellent Cutthroat trout. The lake with the most fishing records is not a lake but the North Platte River. There are 6 rod and reel records from the North Platte. There are five records each from the Boysen Reservoir and the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Jackson Lake, Pilot Butte, Keyhole, and Glendo Reservoirs all have record-breaking fish as well.

What Is the Biggest Lake Trout Ever Caught in Wyoming?

Lake trout love cool, deep lakes so it is no surprise that Wyoming has some trophy-sized lake trout in many of its lakes. The biggest lake trout in Wyoming is a tie! A 50-pound lake trout was caught by Doris Budge back in 1983 on Jackson Lake in the Grand Teton National Park. The 50-pound lake trout was the sole record holder for 12 years until another 50-pound lake trout was caught in Wyoming. On March 11, 1985, Randy Calkins reeled in a lake trout that tied the record while fishing on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

How Deep Is the Flaming Gorge Reservoir?

The Flaming Gorge Reservoir is 436 feet deep. The deepest point on the lake is at the Flaming Gorge Dam which is actually in Utah, not Wyoming. The reservoir spreads across the border of both states. The dam was dedicated by “Lady Bird” Johnson on August 17, 1964.

How Deep Is Jackson Lake?

Jackson Lake is 438 feet deep. One of the interesting facts about Jackson Lake is that it is a natural lake but in 1916 a dam was added to enlarge the size of the lake. The Jackson Lake Dam increased the size to 790,000 acre-feet of water. The new dam replaced an older log-crib dam that had failed. Being located in the Grand Tetons, Jackson Lake is one of the largest “high altitude” lakes so you can bet that it is pretty chilly, even in the summer!

How Does the Deepest Lake in Wyoming Compare to the Deepest Lake in the U.S.?

The deepest lake in Wyoming is 600 feet deep which is pretty deep for any lake but compared to the deepest lake in the U.S. it doesn’t come close. The deepest lake in the U.S. is Crater Lake in Oregon. Crater Lake is 1,943 feet deep, 1,343 feet deeper than Fremont Lake. Fremont Lake was formed by glaciers but Crater Lake was formed in the crater of a blown-out volcano. At the top of the old Mount Mazama sits the royal blue waters of what is now known as Crater Lake. Mount Mazama erupted 7,700 years ago and left a collapsed crater that was more than a thousand feet deep. Rainwater and snow melt filled in the hole to create a lake.

Crater Lake sits at a high elevation of 6,178 feet, but the largest “high elevation lake” in North America is Yellowstone Lake! Yellowstone Lake is at 7,733 feet above sea level. The highest lake in Wyoming is an entirely different article!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Katherine D/Shutterstock.com