Lakes / South Dakota / Codington County / Cottonwood Lake
Cottonwood Lake, Codington County, South Dakota
594.85 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - South Dakota
45.11 degrees N, 97.22 degrees W - Codington 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 Cottonwood Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 83% of the 533 lakes counted in South Dakota.
- About 15 miles from Watertown, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lonesome Lake | Day | 4.8 mi | 215.23 acres |
| Still Lake | Codington | 5.1 mi | 339.73 acres |
| Sumner Slough | Codington | 5.6 mi | 682.25 acres |
| Arneson Slough | Day | 6.4 mi | 53.37 acres |
| Dry Lake | Codington | 6.6 mi | 153.95 acres |
| Foldager Slough | Day | 8.1 mi | 171.74 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Cottonwood Lake
How Big Is Cottonwood Lake?
Cottonwood Lake covers 594.85 acres in Codington County, South Dakota.
What Is the Largest Lake in Codington County?
Lake Kampeska is the largest lake in Codington County, at 5,066.63 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 126757059). Verified October 30, 2026.