Lakes / South Dakota / Day County / Bitter Lake
Bitter Lake, Day County, South Dakota
85.5 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - South Dakota
45.33 degrees N, 97.70 degrees W - Day County. State and county outlines drawn from Census boundary data; the lake marker is placed by its USGS National Hydrography Dataset coordinates, not by eye. Schematic - not a survey map.
How Bitter Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 35% of the 533 lakes counted in South Dakota.
- About 39 miles from Aberdeen, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmquist Slough | Day | 3.8 mi | 105.02 acres |
| Buchner Slough | Day | 6.9 mi | 61.78 acres |
| Mud Lake | Day | 7.2 mi | 62.76 acres |
| Lynn Lake | Day | 9.0 mi | 56.83 acres |
| Horseshoe Lake | Day | 9.6 mi | 607.13 acres |
| Pierpont Lake | Day | 11 mi | 76.11 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Bitter Lake
How Big Is Bitter Lake?
Bitter Lake covers 85.5 acres in Day County, South Dakota.
What Is the Largest Lake in Day County?
Bitter Lake is the largest lake in Day County, at 7,865.28 acres.
Largest Lakes in South Dakota
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Oahe | Dewey | 309,912.57 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Francis Case | Charles Mix | 82,166.92 acres | - |
| 3 | Lake Sharpe | Hughes | 58,419.67 acres | - |
| 4 | Lewis and Clark Lake | Bon Homme | 25,141.99 acres | - |
| 5 | Lake Thompson | Kingsbury | 13,887.93 acres | - |
All 533 South Dakota lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS National Hydrography Dataset (The National Map) lake data (ID 145090583). Verified October 30, 2026.