Overview
Pomme de Terre Lake is a roughly 7,820-acre reservoir on the Pomme de Terre River in Hickory and Polk counties in the west-central Missouri Ozarks. It was completed in 1961 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a Missouri River Basin flood-control plan. The project provides flood risk management, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and water-quality benefits for the Osage River system.
At multipurpose pool the lake has about 113 miles of mostly tree-lined shoreline and reaches near 95 feet deep near the dam, with two main arms following the Pomme de Terre River and Lindley Creek. Clear Ozark water, rocky points, and wooded coves give the reservoir a compact highland character, and during heavy rains the pool can expand to roughly 16,000 acres as flood storage is used.
Pomme de Terre is popular for boating, camping, and fishing for muskellunge, largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye, and catfish, with fisheries managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Corps parks, campgrounds, marinas, and boat ramps provide public access around Hermitage and the surrounding hills.
Water levels on Pomme de Terre Lake are managed by the Corps of Engineers around a multipurpose pool of 839 feet above mean sea level (NGVD29), with a flood-control pool extending to 874 feet. The lake works with Truman Lake and other Osage Basin reservoirs for downstream flood protection, so elevations can rise quickly after storms—monitoring current lake levels is important for boating, fishing, and dock access.
Pomme de Terre Lake Right Now
Pomme de Terre Lake is currently 0.33 feet below full pool and has fallen 0.13 feet over the past week. Watershed conditions are in moderate drought. Today's forecast calls for partly sunny with a high around 80°F.
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Pomme de Terre Lake is a 7,820-acre reservoir on the Pomme de Terre River managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Kansas City District).