Overview
Tenmile Lake is a roughly 1,960-acre coastal lake system near Lakeside in Coos County, Oregon, formed by connected North Tenmile and Tenmile basins behind Oregon Dunes topography. The lakes drain to the Pacific via Tenmile Creek. Warmwater fisheries are managed and publicized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which ranks the Tenmile lakes among the coast's best bass and panfish waters.
Combined shoreline is about 43 miles of long, narrow arms and vegetated inlets, with average depths near 15 feet and a maximum depth of about 27 feet. Pilings, docks, willows, and weed lines create abundant cover in a shallow, productive basin similar to other south-coast dune lakes.
Anglers pursue largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and brown bullhead; Tenmile Lake County Park in Lakeside provides a boat launch, fishing dock, and camping, while much of the shoreline is privately owned and best fished by boat. The lakes also host tournaments and family warmwater trips between Reedsport and Coos Bay.
Tenmile is not operated on a Corps-style full/winter/flood pool schedule. Levels respond to coastal rainfall, tributary inflow, and the outlet to Tenmile Creek, so checking conditions helps when navigating shallow arms and weed beds. To the north, Siltcoos Lake is the larger sister coastal warmwater lake near Florence.
Current Conditions
- Drought conditionsSevere Drought
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Tenmile Lake is a 1,958-acre natural lake with management context from Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (fishery). Levels respond to rainfall, runoff, and natural inflows and outflows.