Updated 9 Oct 2026, 1:41 am EDT. Get alerts for Berrien County lakes
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).
53 lakes · 3,320 acres · 2 with measured depth · 2 with a public launch · 5 stocked
Berrien County has 53 lakes of 10 acres or more, 42 of them named, covering 3,320 acres of water. The largest is Paw Paw Lake at 922 acres, which is also the deepest measured, at 90 ft. Michigan DNR has surveyed the depth of 2 lakes here.
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.
5 lakes in Berrien County cover 100 acres or more. The 12 largest are listed here; the full register of 42 named lakes follows.
| Lake | Acres | Deepest | Clarity | Launches | Last stocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw Lake | 922 | 90 ft | 8 ft | 2 | 2023 |
| Lake Chapin | 485 | ||||
| Dayton Lake | 140 | about 10 ft (est.) | 10 ft | ||
| Pipestone Lake | 115 | about 20 ft (est.) | 5 ft | ||
| Little Paw Paw Lake | 101 | about 90 ft (est.) | 7 ft | 2024 | |
| Smith Lake (northwest) | 96 | about 25 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Clear Lake | 79 | about 55 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Little Indian Lake | 75 | about 20 ft (est.) | |||
| Webster | 70 | about 20 ft (est.) | |||
| North Grand Mere Lake | 68 | about 15 ft (est.) | |||
| Smith Lake (southeast) | 66 | about 25 ft (est.) | 12 ft | ||
| South Clear Lake | 62 |
| Lake | Acres | Deepest | Clarity | Launches | Last stocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw Lake | 922 | 90 ft | 8 ft | 2 | 2023 |
| Lake Chapin | 485 | ||||
| Dayton Lake | 140 | about 10 ft (est.) | 10 ft | ||
| Pipestone Lake | 115 | about 20 ft (est.) | 5 ft | ||
| Little Paw Paw Lake | 101 | about 90 ft (est.) | 7 ft | 2024 | |
| Smith Lake (northwest) | 96 | about 25 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Clear Lake | 79 | about 55 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Little Indian Lake | 75 | about 20 ft (est.) | |||
| Webster | 70 | about 20 ft (est.) | |||
| North Grand Mere Lake | 68 | about 15 ft (est.) | |||
| Smith Lake (southeast) | 66 | about 25 ft (est.) | 12 ft | ||
| South Clear Lake | 62 | ||||
| St. Joseph River | 61 | 2026 | |||
| Madron Lake | 59 | about 15 ft (est.) | 4 ft | ||
| South Grand Mere Lake | 55 | about 10 ft (est.) | |||
| Brush Lake | 54 | about 25 ft (est.) | 9 ft | ||
| Middle Grand Mere Lake | 51 | about 15 ft (est.) | |||
| Murphy Lake | 48 | ||||
| Riggins Lake | 46 | about 20 ft (est.) | |||
| Yellow Lake | 35 | about 10 ft (est.) | 10 ft | 2025 | |
| Curtis Lake | 33 | about 30 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Wagner Lake | 31 | about 10 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Weaver Lake | 30 | about 15 ft (est.) | 6 ft | ||
| Rowe Lake | 30 | about 20 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Pike Lake | 28 | about 20 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Singer Lake | 26 | about 30 ft (est.) | 13 ft | 2026 | |
| Black Lake | 25 | 20 ft | 4 ft | 1 | |
| Boyle Lake | 25 | about 20 ft (est.) | 5 ft | ||
| Harris Lake | 21 | about 25 ft (est.) | 12 ft | ||
| Crescent Lake | 20 | about 20 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Jacobs Chapel Lake | 20 | ||||
| Jarvis Lake | 20 | about 20 ft (est.) | 6 ft | ||
| O'Brien Lake | 18 | about 20 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Shady Lake | 17 | about 15 ft (est.) | 10 ft | ||
| Judy Lake | 16 | about 10 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Hibbard Lake | 15 | about 20 ft (est.) | 10 ft | ||
| Hess Lake | 15 | ||||
| Damon Lake | 14 | 10 ft | |||
| Sherwood Lake | 12 | ||||
| Kibler Lake | 11 | ||||
| Boot Lake | 11 | ||||
| Garwood Lake | 11 |
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.
Clarity is the depth at which a black-and-white Secchi disk disappears from view. Across 26 lakes with satellite readings, the middle value in Berrien County is 9 ft. The clearest is Smith Lake (northwest) at about 13 ft, then Clear Lake (13 ft), Wagner Lake (13 ft) and Curtis Lake (13 ft). The least clear is Madron Lake at about 4 ft. Clarity is not a test for bacteria or algae toxins.
Michigan EGLE satellite-derived Secchi depth, averages 2018–23, fetched 7 Oct 2026.
Michigan DNR lists 3 public access sites on 2 lakes in Berrien County; 3 require a Recreation Passport. The other 40 named lakes have no public access site listed by Michigan DNR.
| Lake | Site | Facilities |
|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw Lake | Paw Paw West | 1 ramp lane · 20 trailer spaces · vault toilet · accessible restroom · Recreation Passport required |
| Paw Paw Lake | Paw Paw East | 2 ramp lanes · 16 trailer spaces · vault toilet · accessible restroom · Recreation Passport required |
| Black Lake | Black Lake | 1 ramp lane · 6 trailer spaces · vault toilet · accessible restroom · Recreation Passport required |
Michigan DNR boating access sites, fetched 8 Oct 2026.
Michigan DNR has stocked 5 lakes in Berrien County 245 times since 1979. Walleye went into 3 lakes: Little Paw Paw Lake, Paw Paw Lake and St. Joseph River. The most recent stocking was 19,427 walleye in St. Joseph River on 9 June 2026. Singer Lake is designated trout lake (Type C), with their own seasons and limits. Rivers and smaller waters stocked in the county: Big Meadow Drain, Blue Creek, Brandywine Creek, Dowagiac River, Farmers Creek, Galien River, Hickory Creek and Lake Michigan and 9 more.
| Species | Lakes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Walleye | 3 | Little Paw Paw Lake, Paw Paw Lake and St. Joseph River |
| Rainbow trout | 2 | Singer Lake and St. Joseph River |
| Yellow perch | 1 | Yellow Lake |
| Hybrid sunfish | 1 | Yellow Lake |
| Brown trout | 1 | St. Joseph River |
| Chinook salmon | 1 | St. Joseph River |
| Coho salmon | 1 | St. Joseph River |
| Lake trout | 1 | St. Joseph River |
2026: 2 stockings, 21,927 fish in 2 lakes.
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
Michigan DHHS has records for 2 lakes in Berrien 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.
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.
53 lakes of 10 acres or more, 42 of them named, in Michigan's hydrography layer. Smaller ponds are not counted.
Paw Paw Lake, at 922 acres.
Paw Paw Lake, 90 ft at its deepest point by Michigan DNR survey.
Smith Lake (northwest), with an average Secchi depth of about 13 ft (satellite readings, 2018–23).
Michigan DNR lists public access sites on Paw Paw Lake and Black Lake.
Little Paw Paw Lake, Paw Paw Lake and St. Joseph River, by Michigan DNR stocking records.
Michigan DHHS has algae records for 2 lakes here; 0 measured at or above the EPA swimming guideline of 8 ppb at least once.