Vermont · USGS (natural lake, Richelieu River outlet)

Lake Champlain water level

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

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

92 94 96
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of September 24, 2026

94.07 ft NGVD29

level Reading is unusually low for late September.

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 04294500) and updates live when you load this page.


Lake Champlain through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1980–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

94 96 98 100 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1980–2026 · elevation, feet (NGVD29)

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.

95 100 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2011 (wettest on record)
  • 1980 (driest on record)

Lake Champlain water temperature

73° as of August 25, 2026

Read from the USGS lake gauge at Burlington. It reads the lake off Burlington, and its year runs from the mid-thirties in February to about 74° in July, so what it reports is the top of the water rather than the depths. One sensor is one spot on the lake. A shallow cove on a still afternoon runs warmer than this, and the water a few feet down runs colder.

Water temperature is not water safety. A warm surface says nothing about what is under it — colder water a few feet down, currents near the dam or the spillway, or a bacteria advisory — so check with the lake office before you get in.


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
Gauge USGS gauge 04294500 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum NGVD29 — A natural lake with no defined full pool: summer levels usually run about 95-96 ft, and flood stage is 100 ft.
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 Lake Champlain today?

Lake Champlain is at 94.07 ft (NGVD29) as of September 24, 2026 — Reading is unusually low for late September.

Is Lake Champlain full?

USGS (natural lake, Richelieu River outlet) doesn't publish a conservation-pool figure for Lake Champlain, so this page shows the reading against the lake's own seasonal history instead.

What is full pool for Lake Champlain?

USGS (natural lake, Richelieu River outlet) doesn't publish a single conservation-pool elevation for Lake Champlain. The seasonal chart shows the range the lake actually runs instead.

What is the water temperature at Lake Champlain?

Lake Champlain was 73° on August 25, 2026. Read from the USGS lake gauge at Burlington. It reads the lake off Burlington, and its year runs from the mid-thirties in February to about 74° in July, so what it reports is the top of the water rather than the depths. One sensor is one spot on the lake. A shallow cove on a still afternoon runs warmer than this, and the water a few feet down runs colder.