East Lynn Lake Water Level
East Lynn Lake is at 662.32 ft today (Oct 31), 0.32 ft above its 662 ft full pool, down 0.03 ft this week.
West Virginia · Twelvepole Creek
Get a text when East Lynn Lake crosses a level you pick →
Sponsor East Lynn Lake
Put your marina, real-estate, or local business in front of everyone checking this lake's level. One exclusive sponsor per lake.
Renews automatically each month or year until you cancel. Cancel anytime online. Terms · Manage or cancel · Questions?
Water level history
About East Lynn Lake
East Lynn Lake is a reservoir on the Twelvepole Creek in West Virginia, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 662 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding East Lynn Lake's water level
East Lynn Lake is a flood control reservoir first and a lake second. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, finished the dam in 1971 on the East Fork of Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County, 1.6 miles south of the community of East Lynn and 42 miles above the creek's mouth at the Ohio River. It regulates runoff from 133 square miles of hills upstream. The main beneficiary is the town of Wayne, 13 river miles below the dam, with additional protection for Lavalette and the rest of the valley down to the Ceredo-Kenova levee where Twelvepole meets the Ohio. The embankment is rolled rock fill with an impervious core, 113 feet high and 652 feet long. Releases go through three sluice gates and a low-flow system, and a 230-foot uncontrolled spillway cut through the left valley wall carries anything the gates cannot, dropping into a ravine that rejoins the creek about half a mile downstream. The Corps credits the project with $284.2 million in flood damages prevented from 1971 through 2018, in 2024 dollars.
The level follows a simple seasonal schedule. Summer pool is 662 feet, and the lake holds there from mid-April through October to keep ramps and the marina usable. On November 1 the Corps starts lowering it about two tenths of a foot a day, and the water control manual calls for reaching winter pool of 656 feet by December 1. The extra six feet of empty space is held through the wet months, and the refill runs from April 1 to April 15. The pool is only 1,005 acres, so storms show up fast. The flood pool tops out at 701 feet with 82,500 acre-feet stored, compared with about 17,200 at summer pool, and the top of the dam is 722. The highest level on record is 684.55 feet. Recent peaks include 676.2 feet on March 4, 2021 and 676.5 feet on April 7, 2025, both about fourteen feet over summer pool. In May 2009 a rise of nine feet put East Fork Campground, boat ramps and parking lots under water.
The lake is long and narrow, running about twelve miles up the valley with 44 miles of shoreline and rarely more than a quarter mile across. Filling it covered the community of Stiltner at the mouth of Brush Creek and forced a long relocation of State Route 37, and families had to move homes and gravesites, some after fighting the project. Around the water the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources manages 22,928 acres as the East Lynn Lake Wildlife Management Area, steep ground that is about ninety percent oak and hickory forest. DNR lists hybrid striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, channel catfish, black crappie and muskellunge as game fish, with trout stocked seasonally in the tailwater and five acre Lick Creek Pond. Two state records came from the lake: an 8.73 pound saugeye caught by Everett Chapman in 2006 and a 3.6 pound, 17.7 inch black crappie landed by Jerry Porter of Harts in May 2025.
East Lynn Lake — frequently asked
What is East Lynn Lake's full pool?
Summer pool is 662 feet above sea level, which the Corps of Engineers labels the top of the recreation pool. At that level the lake covers 1,005 acres and holds about 17,200 acre-feet. Winter pool is six feet lower at 656 feet. The flood control pool above summer pool extends to 701 feet, where storage reaches 82,500 acre-feet, and the top of the dam sits at 722 feet.
When is East Lynn Lake drawn down for winter?
The Corps starts lowering the lake on November 1 and brings it down gradually, roughly a fifth of a foot a day, so that it reaches winter pool of 656 feet by December 1, the deadline in the lake's water control manual. Dry falls can change that. In 2022 the Huntington District paused drawdowns at East Lynn and ten other lakes while it evaluated drought conditions, and gauge readings show East Lynn still above 662 feet on December 1 that year.
When does East Lynn Lake fill back up to summer pool?
The Corps' guide curve holds the lake at 656 feet from December through the end of March, then raises it six feet between April 1 and April 15. By mid-April the target is 662 feet, and it stays there through October. Spring rain usually makes the refill easy; the more common problem in April is too much water, as in 2025 when the lake reached 676.5 feet on April 7, more than fourteen feet over summer pool.
What is the record high level at East Lynn Lake?
The Corps lists 684.55 feet as the top of record, about 22.5 feet above summer pool and still more than 16 feet below the 701 foot top of the flood pool. Its recent highest readings were 676.2 feet on March 4, 2021 and 676.5 feet on April 7, 2025.
Why is East Lynn Lake so high after heavy rain?
Because that is its job. When Twelvepole Creek threatens Wayne and the towns below, the Corps closes down releases and stores runoff from the 133 square mile watershed, then lets it out in a controlled way once the creek drops. A small lake fills that space quickly. In May 2009 the pool rose nine feet above summer level, flooding East Fork Campground and putting ramps and parking lots under water until the Corps could release it.
What fish are in East Lynn Lake?
DNR lists hybrid striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, channel catfish, black crappie and muskellunge, with trout stocked in the tailwater. A DNR biologist said in 2019 that he routinely sees bass of six to seven pounds and sometimes eight during electrofishing surveys, with plenty of shad and spotted suckers for forage and fish holding in timbered coves improved by DNR habitat work. The lake also produced state records for saugeye in 2006 and black crappie in 2025.
How big is East Lynn Lake?
About 1,005 acres at summer pool, stretched along twelve miles of the East Fork valley with 44 miles of shoreline and a width that seldom exceeds a quarter mile. The surrounding public land is much larger. The East Lynn Lake Wildlife Management Area covers 22,928 acres, owned by the Corps of Engineers and managed jointly with the West Virginia DNR for hunting, fishing and forestry.
Other lakes near East Lynn Lake
- R.D. Bailey LakeWV
- Burnsville LakeWV
- Summersville LakeWV
- Bluestone LakeWV
- Sutton LakeWV
- Beech Fork LakeWV
See current levels for all 7 West Virginia lakes and reservoirs →
Add this gauge to your website
Run a marina, boat rental, guide service, or real-estate site on East Lynn Lake? Put this free live-level widget on your page — just copy and paste the code: