738.03 ft US Army Corps of Engineers
level Reading is typical for mid-August.
Reading from California DWR — California Data Exchange Center (CDEC station COY); it refreshes with each site update rather than live.
Lake Mendocino through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1985–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.
This year vs the years that matter
This year's trace against last year and the driest and wettest years on record — the drought-context question every lake regular asks.
- 2010 (wettest on record)
- 2021 (driest on record)
- 2025 (last year)
- 2026 (this year)
Full pool, datum, and the gauge
"Full pool" here means the conservation pool — the level the lake is designed to hold for water supply and recreation, not the flood-control space above it. The full explainer covers flood pool and dead pool too.
| Full pool | not published by the operator |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 122,400 acre-feet · per US Army Corps of Engineers (Sonoma Water) capacity reference |
| Gauge | CDEC station COY · California DWR — California Data Exchange Center |
| Datum | US Army Corps of Engineers — Full pool null by design: FIRO/variable seasonal conservation pool (68,400-111,000 AF guide curve) — no single full-pool elevation is honest |
| Last verified | August 15, 2026 |
LakeDates reports lake level, not ramp status. Whether a given ramp or marina is usable at this level varies ramp by ramp — call the marina before you tow.
Quick answers
How full is Lake Mendocino right now?
Lake Mendocino is at 738.03 ft (US Army Corps of Engineers) as of August 14, 2026 — Reading is typical for mid-August.
Is Lake Mendocino full?
US Army Corps of Engineers (Sonoma Water) doesn't publish a conservation-pool figure for Lake Mendocino, so this page shows the reading against the lake's own seasonal history instead.
What is full pool for Lake Mendocino?
US Army Corps of Engineers (Sonoma Water) doesn't publish a single conservation-pool elevation for Lake Mendocino. The seasonal chart shows the range the lake actually runs instead.