Every Lake
Hoover Reservoir
No gas motors, ever — 2,508 acres held for sailboats, saugeye, and Columbus tap water.
- 10 ft · first step
- 21 ft
- 31 ft
- 41 ft
- 51 ft
- 62 ft · bottom
About Hoover Reservoir
The City of Columbus dammed Big Walnut Creek in the 1950s to build a backup drinking-water supply north of the city. The reservoir stretches roughly 21 miles of shoreline through Delaware and Franklin counties, past Westerville, Sunbury, and the unincorporated crossroads of Galena. Because Columbus still draws from it, the lake has never allowed gasoline motors — only sail and electric power are permitted, a rule that has held since the dam went in and shaped who ends up on the water.
That restriction turned Hoover into one of the busiest inland sailing lakes in Ohio; the Hoover Sailing Club has raced dinghies off its coves for decades. Anglers work the flooded creek channels for saugeye and crappie, casting from electric trolling motors rather than outboards. Columbus Recreation and Parks manages the surrounding shoreline as parkland, with trails and launch ramps at Oxbow and Galena rather than private cottages, so most of the traffic is day-use rather than year-round lake residents.
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Hoover Reservoir depth chart, in wood
This is a Hoover Reservoir depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 21 ft, 31 ft, 41 ft, 51 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 62 ft. The lake covers about 4.1 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Hoover Reservoir map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Hoover Reservoir for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Hoover Reservoir.
Hoover Reservoir map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Hoover Reservoir; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Hoover Reservoir is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 62 ft
- 4.1 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
