Michigan has 10 lakes named Otter Lake of 10 acres or more, in 10 counties. The largest is in Houghton County (863 acres); the deepest measured, in Genesee County (117 ft). 1 has been stocked by the DNR and 1 has a public launch.
How they differ: The clearest is in Genesee County, about 14 ft of visibility in the 2023 satellite estimate; the most recently stocked is in Houghton County (27 Jun 2025); public launches are listed on the ones in Houghton County; the other 9 have no public access site in the DNR list; 3 have a full page here with a depth map, linked below.
Circles sized by area and shaded by deepest measured point. Michigan DNR lake polygons and depth surveys.
Largest first. The nearest town is the closest place in the Census list to the middle of the lake.
| Lake | Near | Acres | Deepest | Clarity | Stockings | Launches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter LakeHoughton County, Portage Township | 10 mi north of Baraga | 863 | 29 ft | 8 ft | 31 times, last 2025 | 1 |
| Otter LakeOakland County, Waterford Township | at Sylvan Lake | 174 | 70 ft | 9 ft | ||
| Otter LakeGenesee County | at Otter Lake | 67 | 117 ft | 14 ft | ||
| Otter LakeBenzie County, Lake Township | 5 mi south of Empire | 64 | about 35 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Otter LakeAlger County, Au Train Township | 10 mi southwest of Munising | 62 | 15 ft | 5 ft | ||
| Otter LakeKeweenaw County, Houghton Township | 51 mi northwest of Eagle Harbor | 50 | 11 ft | |||
| Otter LakeClare County, Grant Township | 2 mi northeast of Farwell | 21 | about 20 ft (est.) | 9 ft | ||
| Otter LakeIron County, Crystal Falls Township | 11 mi north of Crystal Falls | 20 | about 20 ft (est.) | 7 ft | ||
| Otter LakeSchoolcraft County, Seney Township | 20 mi east of Munising | 15 | about 25 ft (est.) | |||
| Otter LakeLuce County, McMillan Township | 18 mi northwest of Newberry | 14 | about 20 ft (est.) | 6 ft |
Depth: Michigan DNR survey soundings; "about" figures are older Michigan EGLE estimates. Clarity: Michigan EGLE satellite estimate, 2023 average. Stockings: Michigan DNR Fisheries. Launches: Michigan DNR public access sites. Towns: US Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer. How we measure