Largest lakes & reservoirs in South Dakota 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 11 articles we have published for South Dakota lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > South Dakota > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in South Dakota, only the 11 South Dakota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Oahe, ND/SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, South Dakota, Southwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,250 mi | Lake Oahe, named after an Oahe Indian Mission, roughly translates “a foundation” or “a place to stand on.” Spanning 231 miles from Pierre, South Dakot… |
| Lake Francis Case, SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
540 mi | Lake Francis Case, one of the most popular recreation spots in the Great Plains, is located along the Missouri River in south-central South Dakota. La… |
| Lake Sharpe, SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
200 mi | Lake Sharpe, located on South Dakota Highways 50 and 47 near Chamberlain, and Reliance, is one of the four reservoirs constructed along the Missouri R… |
| Lewis and Clark Lake, NE/SD (Lewis and Clark Region, NE, Nebraska, South Dakota, Southeast Region, SD, US Midwest Region, USA) |
90 mi | Stretching 25 miles long and straddling the Nebraska and South Dakota border, 28,000-acre Lewis and Clark Lake is the smallest of the Missouri River r… |
| Big Stone Lake, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
62 mi | Big Stone Lake’s sparkling blue water covers 12,360 acres and forms the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. This picturesq… |
| Angostura Reservoir, SD (Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
36 mi | Also known as Angostura Recreation Area, Lake Angostura, Angostura Lake At the fringes of the unique Black Hills, or Paha Sapa in the Lakota language, is the Angostura Reservoir. Part of the Black Hills and Badlands wester… |
| Lake Traverse, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
35 mi | Lake Traverse straddles the border of Minnesota’s Central tourism region and South Dakota’s northeastern Great Lakes and Prairie region. Covering more… |
| Richmond Lake (Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
20 mi | Also known as Richmond Reservoir Richmond Lake turned 75 years old in 2012. Built near Aberdeen during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930s, Richmond Lake was one of 657 la… |
| Marindahl Lake, SD (South Dakota, Southeast Region, SD, US Midwest Region, USA) |
4 mi | Also known as Marindahl Reservoir Marindahl Lake, in South Dakotas’s Southeast Region, isn’t the kind of lake you’ll find on lists of the world’s greatest lakes. Indeed, you may not be… |
| Lakes of Custer State Park (Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
4 mi | Also known as Stockade Lake, Bismarck Lake, Legion Lake, Sylvan Lake, Center Lake Recreational travelers in South Dakota’s Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Region will find the vacationland of their dreams among the five lakes dotted… |