Canyon Lake Water Level
Texas · Guadalupe River
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Water level history
About Canyon Lake
Canyon Lake is a reservoir on the Guadalupe River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 909 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Canyon Lake's water level
Canyon Lake did something in 2002 that no reservoir is supposed to do: it made a canyon. Rain began on 1 July, and on the fourth the lake went over its emergency spillway for the first time since the dam was finished in 1964. The flow peaked near 67,000 cubic feet per second, cresting about seven feet above the spillway, and it ran for roughly six weeks. In the process it stripped about 300,000 cubic yards of rock and soil and carried it two and a half miles downstream. A study later published in Nature Geoscience found the canyon was cut in about three days, excavating around seven metres of limestone and converting a soil-covered valley into a bedrock gorge, moving boulders a metre across on the way.
What it uncovered is the reason there are now guided tours. The flood exposed Cretaceous rock as old as about 111 million years, dinosaur tracks including Acrocanthosaurus and Pleurocoelus, marine fossils, and the previously unexamined Hidden Valley Fault. Access is managed by the Gorge Preservation Society under an agreement signed in November 2005, by reservation, on a designated route.
The lake itself sits at a 909-foot conservation pool with an uncontrolled spillway at 943, holding 378,852 acre-feet across 8,308 acres, on a 1,432-square-mile drainage. The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority holds the rights to everything at or below 909 feet and pays about 35 percent of the debt on the dam. Recent years have been hard: after the 2002 record high of 949.01 feet, the lake fell through a long drought to a record low of 876.96 feet in May 2025, about 45 percent full. Then the July 2025 Hill Country flood put roughly ten feet back in two days, and by late summer 2026 the lake had returned to full. Below the dam the Guadalupe is a trout tailwater with two special-regulation zones, and zebra mussels have been established in the lake since 2017.
Canyon Lake — frequently asked
What is Canyon Lake Gorge and how did it form?
A bedrock canyon cut by a single flood. In July 2002 the lake went over its emergency spillway for the first time since 1964, with flow peaking near 67,000 cubic feet per second about seven feet above the spillway and running for roughly six weeks. Research published in Nature Geoscience found the canyon formed in about three days, excavating around seven metres of limestone and moving boulders a metre across.
What was exposed in the Canyon Lake Gorge?
Cretaceous rock as old as about 111 million years, dinosaur tracks including Acrocanthosaurus and the Pleurocoelus that is Texas's state dinosaur, marine fossils including giant gastropods and clams, and the previously unexamined Hidden Valley Fault. The gorge is managed by the Gorge Preservation Society under an agreement signed in November 2005, with access by reservation on a guided route.
What is Canyon Lake's full pool elevation?
The conservation pool is 909 feet above sea level, holding 378,852 acre-feet across 8,308 surface acres. The uncontrolled emergency spillway crest, which is also the top of the flood-control pool, is 943 feet, and the top of the dam is 974. The drainage area is 1,432 square miles of the upper Guadalupe.
What are Canyon Lake's record high and low levels?
The record high is 949.01 feet on 6 July 2002, during the flood that carved the gorge. The record low is 876.96 feet on 26 May 2025, about 45 percent full, at the end of a multi-year decline. Those figures come from the daily elevation record, which begins in October 1988. The July 2025 Hill Country flood put roughly ten feet back into the lake in two days.
Who owns the water in Canyon Lake?
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority holds the rights to all water at or below the 909-foot conservation pool, under a permit granted in 1959, and pays about 35 percent of the debt on the dam plus a share of operating expenses. The federal government holds the flood pool between 909 and 943 feet. The authority also runs a six-megawatt hydroelectric plant near Sattler.
Is there trout fishing below Canyon Dam?
Yes, in two special-regulation zones on the Guadalupe, both artificial lures only. The upper zone runs from 800 yards below the release gate to the easternmost FM 306 bridge with a twelve to eighteen inch slot limit and five trout daily. The lower zone runs from that bridge to the second River Road crossing with an eighteen-inch minimum and one trout daily. Zebra mussels have been established in the lake since 2017.
Other lakes near Canyon Lake
- Lake ConroeTX
- Lake BuchananTX
- Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake)TX
- Benbrook LakeTX
- Lake Fork ReservoirTX
- Belton LakeTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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