Lake Clay: depth, boat ramps and water quality
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Lake Clay Public Boat Ramp (West Side), 1 lane, concrete.
The lake
Lake Clay covers 355 acres in Florida, across Highlands County. It is a lake: 90.5% of it is 16 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 25 feet (7.6 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 25 ft (7.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.5% of the water is 16 feet or shallower. We hold 45 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–2 ft: 4.3% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 9.8% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 13.5% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 16.4% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 29% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 7.8% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 5.2% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 4.5% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 3.5% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 3% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 2.2% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 0.8% of the water
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.
- Lake Clay Public Boat Ramp (West Side) — 1 lane, concrete, parking for 20 trailers (firm unpaved), no fee, daylight hours. Lake Placid, Highlands County. 1300 Lake Clay Drive, Lake Placid 33852 · website highlandsfl.gov/departments/parks_and_facilities/parks/boat_ramps.php
- Lake Clay Public Boat Ramp (East Side) — 1 lane, concrete, parking for 6 trailers (soft unpaved), no fee, daylight hours. Lake Placid, Highlands County. 1650 Lake Clay Drive, Lake Placid 33852 · website highlandsfl.gov/departments/parks_and_facilities/parks/boat_ramps.php
Our ramp table for this water is not complete: there may be more.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 3–7.4 feet on our readings, averaging 5.4 feet, from 47 readings. Our water temperature readings average 83°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.8. These readings span 2018–2025.
What is hard here
Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish. Alligators live in Florida fresh water. Keep clear of the bank edge at dawn and dusk, and keep pets away from it.
Where this data comes from
- Florida DEP — Florida Department of Environmental Protection: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
