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Montana · Energy Keepers Inc (CSKT) - SKQ Dam; USGS gauge

Flathead Lake water level

Today's reading against full pool and Flathead Lake's own seasonal history.

Searched “Flathead lake level” or “lake level for Flathead Lake”? Same lake, same reading — you're in the right place. The current reading is right here too, whether you typed “current Flathead Lake water level” or “current water level at Flathead Lake”.

FULL POOL 2888 2890 2892
Elevation, feet (operator datum (SKQ Dam))

as of September 23, 2026

2893.01 ft operator datum (SKQ Dam)

level At full pool — unusually high for late September

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 12371550) and updates live when you load this page.

Is Flathead Lake full?

Yes — at full pool as of September 23, 2026

How full is Flathead Lake? Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

Flathead Lake through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1999–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

full pool 2885 2890 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1999–2026 · elevation, feet (operator datum (SKQ Dam))

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.

full pool 2884 2886 2888 2890 2892 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2005 (wettest on record)
  • 2023 (driest on record)

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 2893.00 ft operator datum (SKQ Dam) · per Energy Keepers Inc (CSKT) - SKQ Dam; USGS gauge full-pool reference
Gauge USGS gauge 12371550 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum operator datum (SKQ Dam) — The gauge reads straight in lake-elevation feet, on the same scale as the operator's 2,893 ft full pool.
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

What is the lake level for Flathead Lake today?

Flathead Lake is at 2893.01 ft (operator datum (SKQ Dam)) as of September 23, 2026 — At full pool — unusually high for late September.

Is Flathead Lake full?

Yes — at 2893.01 ft on September 23, 2026, Flathead Lake is at full pool (2893.00 ft operator datum (SKQ Dam)).

How full is Flathead Lake?

Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

What is full pool for Flathead Lake?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Flathead Lake is 2893.00 ft operator datum (SKQ Dam), per Energy Keepers Inc (CSKT) - SKQ Dam; USGS gauge full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.