Highlandtown Lake
Highlandtown Lake is a man‑made reservoir in Washington Township, Columbiana County, Ohio. It was created in 1966 when a dam on the upper Little Yellow Creek flooded 170 acres of land. The lake has about 5 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 26 feet, sitting roughly 1,073 feet above sea level.
The dam is earthen with rock fill, 44 feet high and 1,476 feet long. It can discharge up to 4,196 cubic feet per second. The lake’s capacity is 5,710 acre‑feet, with normal storage of 2,700 acre‑feet. It drains a 5.8‑square‑mile area.
Highlandtown Lake is part of the Highlandtown Wildlife Area (2,265 acres) and lies in Wildlife District Three of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. It is located near Highlandtown, about 4 miles northeast of Salineville, 9 miles south of Lisbon, and 11 miles northwest of Wellsville. A portion of the Steubenville Pike Road was submerged by the lake and now ends at the water. Osborne Road crosses the northwest arm, and Charles Mill Road crosses the northern arm.
The surrounding forest is an Appalachian mixed mesophytic type, and the lake sits at the headwaters of Little Yellow Creek.
Fishing and wildlife: The lake was stocked in 1967 with muskellunge, largemouth bass, bluegill, and channel catfish. Today you can also find black crappie, brown bullheads, pumpkinseeds, and other sunfish. Around 2000, American gizzard shad appeared, which caused bass to grow bigger while bluegills got smaller. Grass carp (white amur) were introduced to control weeds, but they removed weed beds that were good for bass fishing.
Amenities include parking, boat ramps, and a handicap-access fishing dock. Camping is not allowed in the wildlife area.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:33 (CET).