Lakes / California / San Luis Obispo County / Santa Margarita Lake
Santa Margarita Lake, California
146 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - California
35.33 degrees N, 120.49 degrees W - San Luis Obispo 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 Santa Margarita Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 62% of the 1,147 lakes counted in California.
- About 105 miles from Fresno, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lopez Lake | San Luis Obispo | 9.4 mi | 586 acres |
| Lopez Reservoir | San Luis Obispo | 11 mi | 29 acres |
| Laguna Lake | San Luis Obispo | 12 mi | 100 acres |
| Atascadero Lake | San Luis Obispo | 14 mi | 27 acres |
| White Lake | San Luis Obispo | 20 mi | 45 acres |
| Oso Flaco Lake | San Luis Obispo | 22 mi | 40 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Santa Margarita Lake
How Big Is Santa Margarita Lake?
Santa Margarita Lake covers 146 acres in San Luis Obispo County, California.
What Is the Largest Lake in San Luis Obispo County?
Lake Nacimiento is the largest lake in San Luis Obispo County, at 2,985 acres.
Largest Lakes in California
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salton Sea | Imperial | 233,096 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Tahoe | Placer | 122,975 acres | - |
| 3 | Goose Lake | Modoc | 93,048 acres | - |
| 4 | Honey Lake | Lassen | 59,917 acres | - |
| 5 | Mono Lake | Mono | 45,124 acres | - |
All 1,147 California 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 37352803). Verified October 30, 2026.