Largest lakes & reservoirs in California 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 75 articles we have published for California lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US West Region > California > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in California, only the 75 California lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Castaic Lake, CA (California, Los Angeles County, CA, US West Region, USA) |
32 mi | Also known as Lake Castaic Almost every lake promises something for everyone, but Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County, California delivers. With separate sections of its 2,427 ac … |
| Lake Pillsbury, CA (California, North Coast Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
31 mi | Surrounded by the Mendocino National Forest and approachable only by gravel roads, Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, California is an exciting destinatio … |
| Diamond Valley Lake, CA (California, Inland Empire Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
26 mi | Also known as Diamond Valley Reservoir Diamond Valley Lake lies between two mountains in California’s Inland Empire tourism region. The 4,500-acre lake is Southern California’s newest and l … |
| Topaz Lake, CA/NV (California, High Sierra Region, CA, Nevada, Renoe-Tahoe Territory, NV, US West Region, USA) |
25 mi | Also known as Topaz Reservoir Topaz Lake is a man-made reservoir located on the border of Nevada and California, about 75 miles south of Reno, Nevada. The reservoir was built on th … |
| Lake Kaweah (California, Central Valley Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
22 mi | Also known as Kaweah Lake, Kaweah Reservoir Lake Kaweah, located about halfway between the City of Visalia and Sequoia National Park in California’s Central Valley region, is an engineering marv … |
| Big Bear Lake, CA (California, Inland Empire Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
22 mi | Located just 100 miles from Los Angeles but wrapped in an entirely different environment, Big Bear Lake is both convenient and escapist. Surrounded by … |
| Shaver Lake, CA (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
17 mi | Also known as Shaver Reservoir Sixty miles east of Fresno, hidden in the High Sierra Region, Shaver Lake is one of California’s favorite recreation destinations. There have been man … |
| Lewiston Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
15 mi | A great blue heron intent on catching fish for his breakfast stands undisturbed as a canoe glides by, holding an angler with the same idea. With nothi … |
| Lake Mendocino, CA (California, North Coast Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
15 mi | With the gateway to the redwoods on one side and California’s wine country on the other, Lake Mendocino is an extraordinary vacation destination. The … |
| Huntington Lake, CA (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
14 mi | Huntington Lake is located high in the Sierra Mountain Range, just below the Alpine level, at 6,950 feet. The lake covers 1,435 acres and extends 4 mi … |
| Bucks Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
14 mi | A peregrine falcon, perched in the top of a silvery, windswept pine, watches a sailboat tack back and forth across the clear cool water of Bucks Lake. … |
| Lake Arrowhead, CA (California, Inland Empire Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
13 mi | Also known as Little Bear Lake In 1891 a group of Ohio businessmen formed a company to construct a reservoir to provide water to irrigate the southern California lowlands. Lake Arro … |