Lakefullness

Lewis and Clark Lake water level: Lewis and Clark Lewis and Clark Lake 3.7 ft high

Lewis and Clark Lake is 3.7 ft above full pool, much higher than usual for early November. The Gavins Point Dam & Reservoir gauge read 1,208.17 ft at 8:00 AM CST, November 4, 2026.

Check your dock

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NWDM district. Agency page.

How Lewis and Clark stands today

1203 1203.5 1204 1204.5 1205 1205.5 1206 1206.5 1207 1207.5 1208 1208.5 1209 1209.5 Today 1,208.17 ft Normal today 1,207.59 ft A year ago 1,207.54 ft Full pool 1,204.50 ft Feet above sea level (NGVD29)
Gavins Point Dam
Gavins Point Dam. Photograph by Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The past year, day by day

The shaded band is where Lewis and Clark usually sits on each date: the middle 80% of years from 1996 to 2025. The blue line is the past 12 months; the sand line is the 12 months before. Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.

  • Past 12 months
  • The 12 months before
  • Normal range (middle 80% of years)
  • Median
  • Full pool
1,204 1,205 1,206 1,207 1,208 DecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov Full pool 1,204.50 Today Year ago
1,204 1,205 1,206 1,207 1,208 DecFebAprJunAugOct Full pool 1,204.50 Today Year ago

Monthly average since 2006

1,2041,2061,2082006200920122015201820212024
1,2041,2061,20820062011201620212026
Readings for the last 30 days
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
November 4, 20261,208.151,207.59
November 3, 20261,208.081,207.61
November 2, 20261,208.031,207.64
November 1, 20261,208.001,207.65
October 31, 20261,208.071,207.65
October 30, 20261,208.111,207.66
October 29, 20261,208.081,207.64
October 28, 20261,208.081,207.65
October 27, 20261,207.971,207.65
October 26, 20261,207.831,207.62
October 25, 20261,207.851,207.65
October 24, 20261,207.931,207.64
October 23, 20261,207.911,207.63
October 22, 20261,207.851,207.63
October 21, 20261,207.891,207.60
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
October 20, 20261,207.981,207.57
October 19, 20261,207.971,207.56
October 18, 20261,207.921,207.58
October 17, 20261,207.901,207.60
October 16, 20261,208.021,207.62
October 15, 20261,207.691,207.63
October 14, 20261,207.561,207.66
October 13, 20261,207.521,207.62
October 12, 20261,207.521,207.61
October 11, 20261,207.501,207.57
October 10, 20261,207.511,207.55
October 9, 20261,207.451,207.50
October 8, 20261,207.451,207.49
October 7, 20261,207.601,207.46
October 6, 20261,207.621,207.41

Is the water above your dock?

Enter the elevation of your dock, ramp end or a mark on your shoreline, in feet above sea level (NGVD29, the datum the Army Corps of Engineers uses for this gauge). You will see how far the water is above or below it today, and how often it dipped below it in each month since 2016.

Today the lake is at 1,208.17 ft.

Typical Lewis and Clark Lake level by month since 2016
MonthLow year (10th %)MedianHigh year (90th %)Days above your mark
January 1,205.51 1,207.23 1,207.81 —
February 1,205.68 1,206.58 1,207.61 —
March 1,206.13 1,206.54 1,207.34 —
April 1,205.94 1,206.37 1,206.99 —
May 1,206.00 1,206.39 1,207.17 —
June 1,205.97 1,206.45 1,207.11 —
July 1,206.04 1,206.38 1,206.85 —
August 1,206.20 1,206.55 1,207.08 —
September 1,206.51 1,207.12 1,207.67 —
October 1,207.07 1,207.67 1,208.10 —
November 1,206.49 1,207.67 1,208.09 —
December 1,206.60 1,207.63 1,208.08 —

Other South Dakota lakes, lowest first

Lewis and Clark Lake
Lewis and Clark Lake
South Dakota lakes ranked by how full they are
Lake Level (ft) Vs full pool For the date
Lake Francis Case 1,337.88 12.1 ft below Much lower than usual
Pactola Reservoir 4,559.51 71.3% full Lower than usual
Lake Oahe 1,592.70 14.8 ft below About normal
Shadehill Reservoir 2,264.95 58.0% full About normal
Lake Traverse 976.94 At pool About normal
Lake Sharpe 1,421.18 1.2 ft above Much higher than usual

All 7 South Dakota lakes →

Lewis and Clark questions

What is full pool at Lewis and Clark Lake?

Full pool at Lewis and Clark Lake is 1,204.50 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of conservation.”

Is Lewis and Clark Lake full right now?

It is over full: 3.7 ft above full pool, with flood storage up to 1,210.00 ft. Water above full pool is flood water the dam is holding back and releasing over time.

Is Lewis and Clark Lake lower than normal for early November?

No, it is higher than normal. The median level on Nov 4 across 1996–2025 is 1,207.59 ft, and today's 1,208.17 ft is +0.58 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 1,206.79 and 1,207.97 ft.

How does Lewis and Clark Lake compare with last year?

A year ago, on November 4, 2025, it stood at 1,207.54 ft. It is 0.63 ft higher now.

What are the highest and lowest levels since 1994?

In the daily record we hold, which starts in 1994, the highest daily level was 1,212.14 ft on March 15, 2019 and the lowest was 1,201.89 ft on January 21, 2020.

How often is this page updated?

We pull new readings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers several times a day. This page was last rebuilt on Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:13:17 UTC. Readings are provisional and can be revised by the agency.