Largest lakes & reservoirs in West Virginia 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 12 articles we have published for West Virginia lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > West Virginia > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in West Virginia, only the 12 West Virginia lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Stonewall Jackson Lake, WV (Mountain Lakes Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
82 mi | Stonewall Jackson Lake, a young West Virginia lake that only finished completion in 1990, was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide flo… |
| Stonecoal Reservoir, WV (Mountain Lakes Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
82 mi | Also known as Stonecoal Lake Stonecoal Reservoir is a 550-acre lake nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains between the cities of Weston and Buckhannon, West Virginia.… |
| Summersville Lake, WV (Mountain Lakes Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
60 mi | Also known as Summersville Reservoir Scenic Summersville Lake is the largest lake in West Virginia. The reservoir was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control on the Ga… |
| Beech Fork Lake, WV (Metro Valley Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
31 mi | Nestled in the verdant West Virginia hills off of Interstate 64 in Wayne County, Beech Fork Lake provides endless entertainment for visitors seeking a… |
| Tygart Lake, WV (Mountaineer Country, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
31 mi | The wilderness song of Tygart Lake calls to fishing enthusiasts, boaters, campers, hikers, writers and artisans. Located near the beautiful Appalachia… |
| Burnsville Lake, WV (Mountain Lakes Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
30 mi | Also known as Burnsville Reservoir Beautiful Burnsville Lake was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to control flooding along the Little Kanawha River. The Corps began construc… |
| Cheat Lake, WV (Mountaineer Country, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
30 mi | Also known as Lake Lynn A dam built across the Cheat River in 1925 created the scenic reservoir of Cheat Lake. Originally called Lake Lynn, the dam sits nearly at the border… |
| Bluestone Lake, WV (New River-Greenbrier Valley Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
28 mi | Amidst the beautiful scenery of southern West Virginia lies the long, narrow Bluestone Lake. This reservoir, the third largest lake in West Virginia,… |
| Jennings Randolph Lake, MD/WV (Maryland, Potomac Highlands Region, WV, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US South Region, USA, West Virginia, Western Maryland) |
14 mi | Also known as Jennings Randolph Reservoir, Bloomington Lake Jennings Randolph Lake is nestled in a scenic valley along the North Branch Potomac River. This portion of the Potomac creates the county and state bo… |
| Spruce Knob Lake (Potomac Highlands Region, WV, US South Region, USA, West Virginia) |
1 mi | Spruce Knob Lake, in West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands, proves that good things come in small packages. Only 23 acres, the little reservoir was create… |