Overview
Bluestone Lake is a roughly 2,040-acre flood-control reservoir on the New River at Hinton in Summers County, West Virginia, with the Bluestone River arm joining the pool upstream. Bluestone Dam was completed for operation in 1949 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, as part of the Kanawha River Basin flood-risk system. The project also supports fish and wildlife, recreation, and low-flow augmentation on one of the largest drainage areas of any dam in West Virginia.
At summer pool the lake is about 10.7 miles long with roughly 40 miles of shoreline of riverine channels, wooded banks, and the Bluestone River confluence near Bluestone State Park. During major floods the pool can lengthen dramatically upstream into Virginia, transforming the normally compact reservoir into a long storage reach.
Boating, camping, and fishing for bass, catfish, and other warmwater species draw visitors to Bluestone State Park, Bluestone Wildlife Management Area, and Corps recreation sites. Fisheries guidance for West Virginia waters is available from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
The Corps manages Bluestone on a seasonal guide curve with a summer pool near 1,410 feet NGVD29 (about 1,410–1,411 feet) and a winter pool near 1,406 feet, with design flood storage extending to about 1,520 feet. High inflows can push the lake well above summer pool for flood storage, inundating ramps and low-lying recreation areas, so monitoring current lake levels is important for boating safety and shoreline access.
Current Conditions
Bluestone Lake is currently 0.31 feet above full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week.
- 7-day trendFallingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeNo meaningful change
- 30-day changeDown 0.11 ft
- Drought conditionsAbnormally Dry
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Bluestone Lake is a 2,040-acre reservoir on the New River managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District.