Michigan

Alger County

Its lakes, by the record · 179 lakes · 11,534 acres

Today in Alger County

Updated 9 Oct 2026, 1:33 am EDT. Get alerts for Alger County lakes

WEATHERNear Au Train Lake: Overnight: mostly clear, 36°F, wind W 5 mph. Friday: sunny, 60°F, wind N 5 mph.

WARNINGSNo weather or fire warnings in effect for Alger County.

FIRENo wildfires or prescribed burns reported within 25 miles of the county's centre.

BURNINGCampfires and debris burning: check today's status with Michigan DNR.

ALGAECAUTION Satellite detected cyanobacteria on Au Train Lake (about 4% of the lake, 27 Sep 2026). None detected on the other 7 lakes in their latest clear-sky images. Blooms reported in the last 60 days, not tested: Au Train Lake (28 Aug 2026) and Powell Lake (28 Sep 2026).

LAUNCHES3 public access sites on 3 lakes: 3 open.

National Weather Service; National Interagency Fire Center; U.S. EPA CyAN satellite; Michigan DHHS; Michigan DNR. Weather, warnings, fires and satellite refresh when you open the page (checked at most hourly).

The lakes of Alger County

179 lakes · 11,534 acres · 87 with measured depth · 3 with a public launch · 32 stocked

Alger County has 179 lakes of 10 acres or more, 169 of them named, covering 11,534 acres of water. The largest is Cleveland Cliffs Basin at 1,489 acres; the deepest measured is Grand Sable Lake at 85 ft. Michigan DNR has surveyed the depth of 87 lakes here. Several names repeat: 2 lakes are called Deer Lake, 2 lakes are called Moccasin Lake and 2 lakes are called Pickerel Lake.

Shaded by deepest measured point

not measuredunder 101020305075100+deepest, feet

Lake outlines: Michigan hydrography (lakes of 10 acres or more). Depths: Michigan DNR lake surveys, fetched 7 Oct 2026. County line: U.S. Census TIGER. Not for navigation.

Largest lakes

17 lakes in Alger County cover 100 acres or more. The 12 largest are listed here; the full register of 169 named lakes follows.

Lake	Acres	Deepest	Clarity	Launches	Last stocked
Cleveland Cliffs Basin	1,489
Au Train Lake	845	30 ft	12 ft		2026
Beaver Lake	783	39 ft	12 ft		2000
Grand Sable Lake	656	85 ft	9 ft		2005
Sixteenmile Lake	449	10 ft	5 ft		2017
Nawakwa Lake	442			1	1990
Lake Stella	332	15 ft	5 ft		2013
Nevins Lake	274	16 ft	8 ft
Deer Lake, Onota Township	266	70 ft	8 ft	1
Echo Lake	224	14 ft	8 ft
West Branch Lake	148	20 ft	6 ft
Fish Lake	134	40 ft	10 ft		2025

All 169 named lakes, plus 10 unnamed

Lake	Acres	Deepest	Clarity	Launches	Last stocked
Cleveland Cliffs Basin	1,489
Au Train Lake	845	30 ft	12 ft		2026
Beaver Lake	783	39 ft	12 ft		2000
Grand Sable Lake	656	85 ft	9 ft		2005
Sixteenmile Lake	449	10 ft	5 ft		2017
Nawakwa Lake	442			1	1990
Lake Stella	332	15 ft	5 ft		2013
Nevins Lake	274	16 ft	8 ft
Deer Lake, Onota Township	266	70 ft	8 ft	1
Echo Lake	224	14 ft	8 ft
West Branch Lake	148	20 ft	6 ft
Fish Lake	134	40 ft	10 ft		2025
Cook Lake	132	15 ft	4 ft		2024
Kingston Lake	122			1	2024
Perch Lake	117	30 ft	8 ft		1987
Au Train River	106				2009
Lost Lake	106	15 ft	10 ft		1991
Mitchell Lake	98	30 ft	6 ft
Hovey Lake	91	about 20 ft (est.)	2 ft		1987
Howe Lake	89	about 5 ft (est.)	3 ft
North Lake	86	about 25 ft (est.)	5 ft
Moccasin Lake, Munising Township	81	20 ft	17 ft		2010
Sullivan Lake	80	about 25 ft (est.)	7 ft
Joe Lake	79	35 ft	12 ft
Noble Lake	73	6 ft	2 ft
Powell Lake	71	50 ft	16 ft
East Bay Lake	71	46 ft	8 ft
Pickerel Lake, Burt Township	70	15 ft	6 ft		1986
Ready Lake	68	15 ft	5 ft
Chapel Lake	66
Laughing Whitefish Lak	65	about 20 ft (est.)	9 ft
Weber Lake	64	30 ft			2019
Baldy Lake	63	25 ft	6 ft
Otter Lake	62	15 ft	5 ft
Bunting Lake	61	15 ft	7 ft
Sand Lake, Onota Township	61	8 ft	6 ft
Trout Lake	61	11 ft	2 ft
Sand Lake, Burt Township	59	20 ft	6 ft		2011
McKay Lake	59	12 ft	2 ft
Bar Lake	59	40 ft	7 ft		1981
Dam Lake	56	15 ft	3 ft
Grass Lake	56	about 25 ft (est.)	4 ft
Slowfoot Lake	56	10 ft	5 ft
Big Twin Lake	54	5 ft
McComb Lake	54	25 ft	9 ft
Saul Lake	51
Wheelbarrow Lake	50	15 ft	4 ft
Trappers Lake	50	15 ft	4 ft		1984
Tie Lake	49	25 ft	16 ft
Deadman Lake	48	12 ft	2 ft
Moccasin Lake, Burt Township	47	about 30 ft (est.)	6 ft
Triangle Lake	47	27 ft	6 ft		1992
Crooked Lake	45	4 ft
Preacher Lake	44	about 30 ft (est.)
Grimes Lake	44	about 20 ft (est.)	12 ft
Teal Lake	44	21 ft	12 ft
Ionia Lake	41	9 ft	3 ft
Paquette Lake	41	5 ft	6 ft
Town Lake	41	31 ft	16 ft
SW West Branch Lake	40	about 20 ft (est.)	5 ft
Bass Lake	40	15 ft	5 ft
Little Beaver Lake	40	30 ft	7 ft
Gypsy Lake	38	8 ft	2 ft
Muddy Lake	37	5 ft	4 ft
Davies Lake	36	about 25 ft (est.)	3 ft
Blue Lake	36
Deerfoot Lake	36	13 ft	7 ft
Legion Lake	36	35 ft	10 ft
Lambert Lake	36	34 ft	4 ft
Hemlock Lake	35	29 ft	11 ft
Upper Shoe Lake	34	about 30 ft (est.)	12 ft		2005
Mirror Lake	34	40 ft	14 ft		2026
Dorsey Lake	34
Sitka Lake	34	40 ft	7 ft		2026
Halfmoon Lake	34	20 ft
Doe Lake	33	10 ft	6 ft
Island Lake	32				1996
Bearfoot Lake	32	10 ft	3 ft
Thornton Lake	31	15 ft	11 ft		1996
Lake Seventeen	30	10 ft	3 ft
Wetmore Lake	28
Little Round Lake	28	15 ft	9 ft
Nugent Lake	28
Casey Lake	28	about 20 ft (est.)
Loon Lake	28	15 ft	3 ft
Owl Lake	26	10 ft
Kennedy Lake	26	about 25 ft (est.)
Moose Lake	25	about 25 ft (est.)
Niemi Lake	25	19 ft
Newton Lake	25	about 35 ft (est.)	5 ft
Lower Shoe Lake	24	35 ft	8 ft
Wise Lake	24	about 35 ft (est.)	10 ft
Aleck Lake	23	15 ft	7 ft
N West Branch Lake	22	about 40 ft (est.)	4 ft
Cloverleaf Lake (centr	22	about 30 ft (est.)	8 ft
McNeil Lake	21	about 25 ft (est.)	7 ft
Mitchell Lake West	21
Wolf Lake	21	about 20 ft (est.)
Mallard Lake, Burt Township	21	about 15 ft (est.)	4 ft
Kinsey Lake	20	about 30 ft (est.)	5 ft
Silver Lake	20
Furnace Lake	20	about 30 ft (est.)	10 ft
Johns Lake (northeast)	20	about 30 ft (est.)	4 ft
Man Lake	20	about 25 ft (est.)	6 ft
Ewatt Lake	20	about 35 ft (est.)	9 ft
Shallow Lake	19
Ames Lake	19	about 25 ft (est.)	4 ft
Cluster Lakes	19	about 20 ft (est.)	5 ft
Buck Lake	19
Lavender Lake	18	about 25 ft (est.)	6 ft		2015
Pelican Lake	18	about 30 ft (est.)
Duck Lake	18	about 25 ft (est.)	6 ft
Carter Lake	18	about 25 ft (est.)	7 ft
Mallard Lake, Burt Township	17	about 20 ft (est.)	2 ft
Burrell Lakes (#2)	17	about 30 ft (est.)
Anna Marsh	17
Wetmore Lake (North)	17
Deer Lake, Burt Township	17	about 70 ft (est.)	4 ft
Lion Lake	17	30 ft	11 ft
Teal Lake (northeast)	17	about 30 ft (est.)	9 ft
Section Thirtysix Lake	17	about 30 ft (est.)	12 ft
Johns Lake (northwest)	17	about 30 ft (est.)	5 ft
Temple Lake	16	about 30 ft (est.)	6 ft
Council Lake	16	25 ft	11 ft
Cranberry Lake	16	about 15 ft (est.)	4 ft
Gopher Lake	15	about 35 ft (est.)	4 ft
Skeels Pond	15				2024
Panther Lake	15	about 30 ft (est.)	4 ft
Claypit Lake	15
Miners Lake	15	15 ft	8 ft
Kitten Lake	15
Line Lake	15	about 25 ft (est.)
Paulson Lake	15	about 25 ft (est.)	3 ft
Grants Lake	15	30 ft	8 ft
Mervin Lake	14		11 ft
Swede Lake	14		5 ft
Upper Twin Lake	14	25 ft	8 ft
Sister Lake	14	35 ft	11 ft
Ackerman Lake	14	49 ft	15 ft		2026
Second Lake	13	about 25 ft (est.)
Carp Lake	13	50 ft	13 ft
Little Chapel Lake	13		5 ft
Cloverleaf Lake (west)	13		8 ft
East Lake	13	6 ft	2 ft
Ginpole Lake	13
Hammond Lake	12
Clyde Lake	12		9 ft
Porky Lake (North)	12	26 ft
Rock Lake	12	25 ft	8 ft		2025
Horseshoe Lake	12
Scout Lake	12	10 ft	7 ft
Section Seventeen Lake	12
Burrell Lakes (#3)	11
Palmer Lake	11	10 ft
Cherry Lake	11	30 ft	6 ft		1991
Cloverleaf Lake (east)	11		7 ft
Als Lake	11	15 ft	5 ft
Johns Lake (southeast)	11		4 ft
Pickerel Lake, Burt Township	11
SE West Branch Lake	11		4 ft
Hike Lake	11	38 ft	9 ft		2025
Fox Lake	11	30 ft	4 ft
Coles Pond	11		4 ft
Lake Nita	10	17 ft	5 ft
Pan Lake	10	24 ft	5 ft
Spruce Lake	10	18 ft
Irwin Lake	10				2025
Red Jack Lake	10	35 ft	13 ft
Marshman Lake	10	25 ft	4 ft

Acres: Michigan hydrography. Deepest: Michigan DNR survey; "est." marks an older Michigan EGLE estimate, rounded to 5 ft. Clarity: Michigan EGLE satellite averages 2018–23. Launches: Michigan DNR. Stocking: Michigan DNR Fisheries. Fetched 7–8 Oct 2026.

Deepest lakes

4 lakes in Alger County are 50 ft deep or more by Michigan DNR survey. Grand Sable Lake is the deepest at 85 ft, then Deer Lake, Onota Township (70 ft), Powell Lake (50 ft) and Carp Lake (50 ft). The depth of the other 82 named lakes has not been surveyed; where an older state estimate exists, the register gives it as an estimate.

Deepest measured point, feet

Grand Sable Lake85 ft

Deer Lake, Onota Township70 ft

Powell Lake50 ft

Carp Lake50 ft

Ackerman Lake49 ft

East Bay Lake46 ft

Fish Lake40 ft

Bar Lake40 ft

Mirror Lake40 ft

Sitka Lake40 ft

Michigan DNR lake survey deep points, fetched 7 Oct 2026.

Clearest water

Clarity is the depth at which a black-and-white Secchi disk disappears from view. Across 124 lakes with satellite readings, the middle value in Alger County is 6 ft. The clearest is Moccasin Lake, Munising Township at about 17 ft, then Powell Lake (16 ft), Town Lake (16 ft) and Tie Lake (16 ft). The least clear is Gypsy Lake at about 2 ft. Clarity is not a test for bacteria or algae toxins.

Moccasin Lake, Munising Township17.1 ft

Powell Lake16.4 ft

Town Lake15.7 ft

Tie Lake15.6 ft

Ackerman Lake14.8 ft

Mirror Lake13.8 ft

Carp Lake13.2 ft

Red Jack Lake12.7 ft

Teal Lake12.2 ft

Section Thirtysix Lake11.9 ft

Michigan EGLE satellite-derived Secchi depth, averages 2018–23, fetched 7 Oct 2026.

Public access

Michigan DNR lists 3 public access sites on 3 lakes in Alger County; 3 require a Recreation Passport. The other 166 named lakes have no public access site listed by Michigan DNR.

Lake	Site	Facilities
Nawakwa Lake	Nawakwa Lake	1 ramp lane · 10 trailer spaces · vault toilet · accessible restroom · Recreation Passport required
Deer Lake, Onota Township	Deer Lake	1 ramp lane · 8 trailer spaces · vault toilet · accessible restroom · Recreation Passport required
Kingston Lake	Kingston Lake SFCG	1 ramp lane · 6 trailer spaces · vault toilet · Recreation Passport required

Michigan DNR boating access sites, fetched 8 Oct 2026.

Stocked lakes

Michigan DNR has stocked 32 lakes in Alger County 588 times since 1979. Walleye went into 12 lakes: Au Train Lake, Bar Lake, Beaver Lake, Fish Lake, Kingston Lake, Lake Stella, Moccasin Lake, Munising Township, Nawakwa Lake, Perch Lake, Sand Lake, Burt Township, Skeels Pond and Weber Lake. The most recent stocking was 9,990 walleye in Au Train Lake on 18 June 2026. Upper Shoe Lake, Mirror Lake, Sitka Lake, Johns Lake (northwest), Ackerman Lake, Rock Lake, Hike Lake and Irwin Lake are designated trout lakes (Type A, Type B), with their own seasons and limits. Rivers and smaller waters stocked in the county: Anna River, Au Train Basin (Forest Lake), Camp R Creek, Chapel Creek, Cloverleaf Lake, East Branch Whitefish River, East Johns Lake and Hurricane River and 19 more.

Species	Lakes	Where
Walleye	12	Au Train Lake, Bar Lake, Beaver Lake, Fish Lake, Kingston Lake and Lake Stella and 6 more
Largemouth bass	12	Au Train Lake, Cherry Lake, Cook Lake, Hovey Lake, Island Lake and Kingston Lake and 6 more
Brook trout	7	Hike Lake, Irwin Lake, Kingston Lake, Mirror Lake, Rock Lake and Sitka Lake and 1 more
Smallmouth bass	4	Au Train Lake, Kingston Lake, Lavender Lake and Skeels Pond
Brown trout	4	Ackerman Lake, Au Train River, Irwin Lake and Mirror Lake
Rainbow trout	3	Ackerman Lake, Mirror Lake and Upper Shoe Lake
Bluegill	3	Cook Lake, Lost Lake and Moccasin Lake, Munising Township
Lake trout	3	Ackerman Lake, Au Train River and Grand Sable Lake
Splake	3	Ackerman Lake, Mirror Lake and Upper Shoe Lake
Northern pike	3	Cook Lake, Pickerel Lake, Burt Township and Triangle Lake
Tiger muskellunge	3	Au Train Lake, Kingston Lake and Sixteenmile Lake
Muskellunge	1	Kingston Lake
Fathead minnow	1	Cook Lake
Lake sturgeon	1	Au Train River
Arctic grayling	1	Ackerman Lake

588 stockings, 1979 to 2026, fish stocked per year on a log scale

2026: 4 stockings, 13,418 fish in 4 lakes.

18 Jun 2026STOCKED9,990 walleye, Au Train Lake

20 May 2026STOCKED748 brook trout, Sitka Lake

5 May 2026STOCKED1,900 rainbow trout, Mirror Lake

5 May 2026STOCKED780 rainbow trout, Ackerman Lake

28 Oct 2025STOCKED750 brook trout, Irwin Lake

24 Oct 2025STOCKED1,000 brook trout, Rock Lake

24 Oct 2025STOCKED825 brook trout, Hike Lake

25 Jun 2025STOCKED3,884 walleye, Fish Lake

Michigan DNR Fisheries stocking records, fetched 8 Oct 2026. Each stocking is placed by its survey section, so lakes that share a name are kept apart. How we measure

Algae and water testing

CAUTION Blooms were reported, not tested, on Powell Lake and Au Train Lake. Check current advisories before swimming.

Michigan DHHS has records for 2 lakes in Alger County: water samples tested for the toxin microcystin, and bloom reports from the public that may not have been tested. 0 lakes have measured at or above the EPA swimming guideline of 8 ppb at least once.

28 Sep 2026REPORTEDPowell Lake: bloom reported 28 Sep 2026, not tested.

28 Aug 2026REPORTEDAu Train Lake: bloom reported 28 Aug 2026, not tested.

Michigan DHHS harmful algal bloom records, fetched 7 Oct 2026; U.S. EPA 2019 recreational criteria. Beach E. coli testing is not yet covered here.

Common questions

How many lakes are in Alger County?

179 lakes of 10 acres or more, 169 of them named, in Michigan's hydrography layer. Smaller ponds are not counted.

What is the largest lake in Alger County?

Cleveland Cliffs Basin, at 1,489 acres.

What is the deepest lake in Alger County?

Grand Sable Lake, 85 ft at its deepest point by Michigan DNR survey.

Which lake in Alger County has the clearest water?

Moccasin Lake, Munising Township, with an average Secchi depth of about 17 ft (satellite readings, 2018–23).

Which Alger County lakes have public access?

Michigan DNR lists public access sites on Nawakwa Lake, Deer Lake, Onota Township and Kingston Lake.

Which Alger County lakes are stocked with walleye?

Au Train Lake, Bar Lake, Beaver Lake, Fish Lake, Kingston Lake, Lake Stella, Moccasin Lake, Munising Township, Nawakwa Lake, Perch Lake, Sand Lake, Burt Township, Skeels Pond and Weber Lake, by Michigan DNR stocking records.

Have Alger County lakes had toxic algae?

Michigan DHHS has algae records for 2 lakes here; 0 measured at or above the EPA swimming guideline of 8 ppb at least once.