Largest lakes & reservoirs in Illinois by acres
There is no widely-accepted minimum surface area that defines a lake. What LakeLubbers describes as a lake, you might call a pond. Acreage of a lake (or sometimes square kilometers) is most often measured at the top surface area when the lake is at normal elevation. The surface area can be considerably smaller or larger when lake levels are lower or higher than normal. North America’s Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by this measure.The other measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s water volume. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
You can find many of the world’s largest lakes (acres) on LakeLubbers in the comparison table below. Note: For some lakes, "Largest Lakes - Acres" data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 64 articles we have published for Illinois lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Illinois > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in Illinois, only the 64 Illinois lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Michigan-Huron (Canada, Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northeast Michigan, Northwest Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
29,062,400 ac | Lake Michigan and Lake Huron – two of North America’s Great Lakes – are contiguous and they share the same elevation of 577 feet above sea level. They… |
| Lake Michigan (Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northwest Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
14,336,000 ac | As the only Great Lake nestled completely within the boundaries of the United States, Lake Michigan is the pride and joy of Wisconsin, Illinois, India… |
| Carlyle Lake, IL (Illinois, Southwest Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
26,000 ac | Also known as Carlyle Reservoir Carlyle Lake, located in south-central Illinois, holds dual titles as largest artificial lake and largest body of water wholly contained within the st… |
| Rend Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
18,900 ac | Rend Lake, located in southern Illinois, is a fantastic place to enjoy all sorts of outdoor recreational activities. This reservoir, the second larges… |
| Lake Shelbyville, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
11,100 ac | Also known as Shelbyville Lake, Shelbyville Reservoir Seventeen miles and thousands of acres of water stretch out in front of power boaters leaving the dam at Lake Shelbyville. In addition to its wide exp… |
| Fox Chain O’Lakes, IL (Chicagoland Region, IL, Illinois, Northern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
7,110 ac | Also known as Fox Chain of Lakes, Channel Lake, Lake Catherine, Lake Marie, Bluff Lake, Petite Lake, Grass Lake, Fox Lake, Nippersink Lake, Pistakee Lake The Fox Chain O’Lakes is a collection of 15 navigable lakes on the Fox River, each with its own flavor. Called the “Key West of the Midwest,” the Chai… |
| Crab Orchard Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
6,695 ac | Crab Orchard Lake is the largest of three reservoirs that are part of the 43,899-acre Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Williamson… |
| Clinton Lake, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
4,900 ac | Also known as Clinton Reservoir Travel to central Illinois and you’ll find Clinton Lake, a 4,900 acre lake just 3 miles east of Clinton. Though the lake was originally built as a coo… |
| Lake Springfield, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
4,234 ac | Lake Springfield at Springfield, Illinois is the largest municipally owned lake in Illinois at 4,234 acres. City Water, Light & Power built the re… |
| Horseshoe Lake, IL (Illinois, Southwest Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,400 ac | Horseshoe Lake is an “oxbow” lake in west-central Illinois, created more than 3,000 years ago when a section of the mighty Mississippi River was cut o… |
| Kinkaid Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,350 ac | Kinkaid Lake is a scenic 2,350-acre reservoir surrounded by sandstone bluffs and rolling hills of oaks and hickories on the edge of the Shawnee Nation… |
| Lake of Egypt, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,300 ac | She settles herself into the kayak and pushes away from the shore. The small boat cuts through the fog rising from the surface of the lake, and she tu… |