Lakes / Nebraska / Dawson County / Johnson Lake
Johnson Lake, Dawson County, Nebraska
2,207 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Nebraska
40.69 degrees N, 99.85 degrees W - Dawson 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 Johnson Lake Stacks Up
- Ranks #8 for surface area among the Nebraska lakes counted so far - 2,207 acres.
- The largest lake in Dawson County among those counted.
- About 40 miles from Kearney, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philips Lake | Gosper | 4.0 mi | 139 acres |
| Elwood Reservoir | Gosper | 4.6 mi | 978 acres |
| East Midway Lake | Dawson | 11 mi | 76 acres |
| Whaley-Reynolds Reservoir Number 1 | Gosper | 12 mi | 28 acres |
| Central Midway Lake | Dawson | 13 mi | 239 acres |
| West Midway Lake | Dawson | 14 mi | 25 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Johnson Lake
How Big Is Johnson Lake?
Johnson Lake covers 2,207 acres in Dawson County, Nebraska.
What Is the Largest Lake in Dawson County?
Johnson Lake is the largest lake in Dawson County, at 2,207 acres.
Largest Lakes in Nebraska
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake McConaughy | Keith | 24,885 acres | - |
| 2 | Harlan County Lake | Harlan | 12,822 acres | - |
| 3 | Calamus Reservoir | Loup | 5,032 acres | - |
| 4 | Swanson Lake | Hitchcock | 4,661 acres | - |
| 5 | Sutherland Reservoir | Lincoln | 2,956 acres | - |
All 660 Nebraska lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS NHD (The National Map NHD MapServer layer 12) named waterbodies FTYPE 390/436; counties via Census point-in-polygon lake data (ID 150663982). Verified October 30, 2026.