Largest lakes & reservoirs in Central Illinois by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 15 articles we have published for Central Illinois lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Illinois > Central Illinois > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in Central Illinois, only the 15 Central Illinois lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Shelbyville, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
172 mi | 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… |
| Clinton Lake, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
130 mi | 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) |
57 mi | Lake Springfield at Springfield, Illinois is the largest municipally owned lake in Illinois at 4,234 acres. City Water, Light & Power built the re… |
| Lake Mattoon, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
56 mi | Surrounded by farmlands in the Central region of Illinois is Lake Mattoon. A quiet and tranquil retreat for many Illinoisans and out-of-towners, the l… |
| Lake Taylorville, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
50 mi | Completed in 1962 by the City of Taylorville, Illinois, Lake Taylorville is the city’s source of water and a major recreation facility. The reservoir… |
| Lake Lou Yaeger (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
45 mi | Also known as Lake Lou, Lou Yaeger Reservoir One of the hidden gems in the central Illinois heartland, Lake Lou Yaeger provides over 1200 acres of recreational enjoyment to residents and visitors… |
| Lake Glenn Shoals, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
27 mi | Also known as Glenn Shoals Lake Lake Glenn Shoals, also known as Glenn Shoals Lake, is located near Hillsboro, Illinois. The City of Hillsboro built the lake for flood control and wa… |
| Lake Sara, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
27 mi | Also known as Sara Reservoir Lake Sara – a refreshing oasis in central Illinois! What does a community like Effingham Illinois do when they run out of water? They build a reservoi… |
| Evergreen Lake (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
22 mi | Also known as Evergreen Reservoir One of Central Illinois’ best-kept secret lies just north of Bloomington: Evergreen Lake. When the growing city needed additional water supply in 1971… |
| Lake Petersburg, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
15 mi | Also known as Petersburg Lake, Petersburg Reservoir Something in human nature seems to require a water body to feel complete: Lake Petersburg fills that need. The people of Petersburg on the border betw… |
| Lake Wildwood IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
7 mi | Build it and they will come’ is the true story behind Lake Wildwood in Central Illinois. As the population grew in the 1960s and 1970s, developers fou… |
| Lake Carlinville, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
5 mi | Also known as Carlinville Lake, Lake 1 and Lake 2 Located in the Central region of Illinois, Lake Carlinville (also known as Carlinville Lake) is a 355-acre lake used for drinking water and recreation… |