Michigan DNR lists 1,203 public boating access sites: 798 on inland lakes, 315 on rivers and streams and 90 on the Great Lakes. We matched 767 of the inland-lake sites to 710 lakes of 10 acres or more, each site to one lake. That is 710 of Michigan’s 6,463 lakes of that size, or 11%.
Lake Charlevoix in Charlevoix County has the most, 8 sites, then Portage Lake in Houghton County (5), Muskegon Lake in Muskegon County (5) and Torch Lake in Antrim County (4). 20 lakes have three or more:
| Lake | Sites | Acres | Site names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charlevoix Charlevoix County | 8 | 17,268 | Boyne City Municipal; Camp Sea-Gull Park; Dutchman's Bay; Ferry Beach; Ironton; Tourist Park; Whiting County Park; Young State Park |
| Portage Lake Houghton County | 5 | 10,808 | Bootjack; Chassell; Hancock Municipal Park; Houghton-Hancock Marina; Old Sandy |
| Muskegon Lake Muskegon County | 5 | 4,232 | Cottage Grove; Giddings Street Ramp; Grand Trunk; Hartshorn Municipal Marina; Muskegon State Park - Snug Harbor |
| Torch Lake Antrim County | 4 | 18,722 | Eastport; Forest Home Township Park; Torch River Bridge; Waring Road |
| South Manistique Lake Mackinac County | 4 | 4,133 | Dunkles Landing; Portage Township Park; South Manistique Lake; Wolfe Bay |
| Manistee Lake Manistee County | 4 | 1,051 | Arthur Street Ramp; Bridge Street; East Lake Village Park; Stronach |
| Houghton Lake Roscommon County | 3 | 20,075 | Houghton Lake East; Houghton Lake South (fisherman's Paradise); Houghton Lake West |
| Mullett Lake Cheboygan County | 3 | 16,704 | Aloha State Park; Jewell Rd; Mullett Lake Village |
| Lake Gogebic Ontonagon County | 3 | 13,127 | Bergland Dock; Lake Gogebic State Park; Lake Gogebic- East Side |
| Manistique Lake Mackinac County | 3 | 10,346 | Cooks Bay; County Line - Manistique Lake; Curtis |
| Higgins Lake Roscommon County | 3 | 10,186 | North Higgins Lake State Park; South Higgins Lake State Park; West Higgins Lake |
| Hubbard Lake Alcona County | 3 | 8,768 | East Bay Hubbard Lake; North Shore Hubbard Lake; South Bay Hubbard Lake |
| Indian Lake Schoolcraft County | 3 | 8,647 | Indian Lake State Park- South Unit; Indian Lake State Park- West Unit; Palms Book SP |
| Lake Leelanau Leelanau County | 3 | 5,693 | Lake Leelanau East; Lake Leelanau West; The Narrows |
| Lake Michigamme Marquette County | 3 | 4,292 | Lake Michigamme; Michigamme Township Park; Van Riper State Park |
| Lake Bellaire Antrim County | 3 | 1,789 | Fisherman's Paradise; Lake Bellaire North; Steiner Road |
| Martiny Lake Mecosta County | 3 | 1,663 | Big Evans Lake; Lower Evans Lake; Winchester Dam |
| Intermediate Lake Antrim County | 3 | 1,571 | Central Lake; Deep Water Point; Openo Park |
| Alcona Dam Pond Alcona County | 3 | 975 | Alcona County Park #1 (west); Alcona County Park #2 (south); Alcona County Park #3 (east) |
| Mio Dam Pond Oscoda County | 3 | 670 | Camp Ten Bridge; Mio Pond SFCG; Mio Pond State Forest Campground |
Source: Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, Boating Access Sites (the Michigan Boating Facility Finder layer), fetched 26 Oct 2026; record last edited 15 Sep 2026. Each site is assigned to one lake within 200 m: the lake its record names, else the nearest.
The bigger the lake, the likelier a listed launch. 431 of the 1,128 lakes of 100 acres or more have at least one site (38%), and 72 of the 98 lakes of 1,000 acres or more (73%).
The largest lakes with no site in the DNR layer, matched or named nearby, are Michigamme Reservoir in Iron County (4,867 acres), Siskiwit Lake in Keweenaw County (4,008 acres), Douglas Lake in Cheboygan County (3,727 acres), Peavy Pond in Iron County (2,347 acres) and Bond Falls Flowage in Ontonagon County (2,127 acres). No listed site is not the same as no public access: the layer covers Michigan DNR-administered facilities and those sponsored under the DNR Waterways Grant Program by local governments, so a township park or a private marina may not be in it.
Glen Lake, Lake Skegemog and Gull Lake each have a site the record names for them, but the site’s point lies more than 200 m from the lake’s outline or nearer another lake, so it is not counted for them here or on our lake and county pages.
Source: Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, Boating Access Sites (the Michigan Boating Facility Finder layer), fetched 26 Oct 2026; record last edited 15 Sep 2026. Item description of the layer, read 26 Oct 2026.
Oakland County has the most sites on inland lakes, 39, followed by Marquette (31), Barry (26) and Montcalm (26). Arenac County, Bay County, Delta County, Gratiot County, Huron County, Macomb County, Saginaw County, Sanilac County, St. Clair County and Tuscola County have sites only on rivers or the Great Lakes. Midland County and Shiawassee County have none in the layer.
| County | Inland lakes | All sites |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 39 | 40 |
| Marquette | 31 | 40 |
| Barry | 26 | 30 |
| Montcalm | 26 | 26 |
| Van Buren | 25 | 27 |
| Luce | 21 | 25 |
| Allegan | 19 | 24 |
| Antrim | 19 | 23 |
| Iron | 18 | 24 |
| Ogemaw | 18 | 24 |
| Washtenaw | 18 | 19 |
| Montmorency | 18 | 18 |
| County | Inland lakes | All sites |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 39 | 40 |
| Marquette | 31 | 40 |
| Barry | 26 | 30 |
| Montcalm | 26 | 26 |
| Van Buren | 25 | 27 |
| Luce | 21 | 25 |
| Allegan | 19 | 24 |
| Antrim | 19 | 23 |
| Iron | 18 | 24 |
| Ogemaw | 18 | 24 |
| Washtenaw | 18 | 19 |
| Montmorency | 18 | 18 |
| Grand Traverse | 17 | 25 |
| Dickinson | 17 | 21 |
| Kalamazoo | 17 | 18 |
| St. Joseph | 17 | 18 |
| Presque Isle | 16 | 21 |
| Houghton | 16 | 20 |
| Charlevoix | 16 | 19 |
| Cass | 15 | 17 |
| Otsego | 15 | 15 |
| Branch | 14 | 14 |
| Benzie | 13 | 22 |
| Schoolcraft | 13 | 22 |
| Mecosta | 13 | 17 |
| Clare | 13 | 15 |
| Calhoun | 13 | 14 |
| Cheboygan | 12 | 22 |
| Kent | 12 | 21 |
| Manistee | 12 | 18 |
| Mackinac | 12 | 17 |
| Crawford | 11 | 26 |
| Livingston | 11 | 14 |
| Baraga | 10 | 17 |
| Newaygo | 10 | 17 |
| Gladwin | 10 | 10 |
| Kalkaska | 9 | 23 |
| Lake | 9 | 23 |
| Gogebic | 9 | 10 |
| Lenawee | 9 | 9 |
| Mason | 8 | 12 |
| Osceola | 8 | 11 |
| Lapeer | 8 | 10 |
| Muskegon | 8 | 10 |
| Hillsdale | 8 | 8 |
| Roscommon | 8 | 8 |
| Chippewa | 7 | 24 |
| Leelanau | 7 | 12 |
| Jackson | 7 | 10 |
| Keweenaw | 7 | 9 |
| Menominee | 6 | 20 |
| Iosco | 6 | 10 |
| Oscoda | 6 | 10 |
| Alcona | 6 | 9 |
| Emmet | 5 | 10 |
| Clinton | 5 | 9 |
| Wexford | 5 | 9 |
| Missaukee | 5 | 6 |
| Oceana | 5 | 6 |
| Ionia | 4 | 15 |
| Ottawa | 4 | 12 |
| Eaton | 4 | 10 |
| Wayne | 3 | 14 |
| Berrien | 3 | 10 |
| Alger | 3 | 9 |
| Alpena | 3 | 9 |
| Genesee | 3 | 3 |
| Ingham | 2 | 8 |
| Ontonagon | 2 | 7 |
| Isabella | 2 | 2 |
| Monroe | 1 | 7 |
| Delta | 0 | 15 |
| Huron | 0 | 11 |
| Bay | 0 | 10 |
| St. Clair | 0 | 8 |
| Gratiot | 0 | 7 |
| Arenac | 0 | 6 |
| Saginaw | 0 | 6 |
| Macomb | 0 | 3 |
| Sanilac | 0 | 2 |
| Tuscola | 0 | 1 |
Source: Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, Boating Access Sites (the Michigan Boating Facility Finder layer), fetched 26 Oct 2026; record last edited 15 Sep 2026. County as the site record gives it.
Each site record carries a status. 1,167 sites are listed open, 8 closed and 28 have no status. The status is the DNR’s record as last edited, not a live report: check the site before you tow a boat to it. The sites listed closed are Bankson Lake (Van Buren County), Dewey Lake (Cass County), Finn and Feather (Huron County), Indian River (Cheboygan County), Lake Hudson (Lenawee County), Lincoln Lake (Kent County), Ludington State Park (Mason County) and Mason Road (Eaton County). For current closures the record points to the DNR’s closures page, Michigan.gov/dnrclosures.
977 sites require a Recreation Passport, 151 do not and 75 do not say. The DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division administers 947; 142 are administered by municipalities, 44 by counties and 67 by other DNR offices (recorded as DNR-WLD and DNR-FRD).
The records count 1,561 ramp lanes and 17,526 trailer parking spaces in all. 68 sites list flush toilets and 721 more a vault toilet; 419 list an accessible restroom, 35 a fish-cleaning station and 79 are staffed. 615 are recorded as open at all times.
Source: Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, Boating Access Sites (the Michigan Boating Facility Finder layer), fetched 26 Oct 2026; record last edited 15 Sep 2026.
The layer gives each site a point and the name of its water. We assign a site to a lake when its point lies within 200 m of the lake’s outline, and to one lake only: the lake its record names, else the nearest. 31 inland-lake sites lie more than 200 m from any lake of 10 acres or more in our records and are not matched to a lake; 34 sites the layer files under rivers or the Great Lakes lie within 200 m of a lake and are counted for it.
Two sites near a county line were matched to a lake in each county on our county pages; here each is counted once, for the lake its record names.
Lake pages on this site show each lake’s sites on its depth map, with ramp, parking and toilet details from the same record.
Source: Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, Boating Access Sites (the Michigan Boating Facility Finder layer), fetched 26 Oct 2026; record last edited 15 Sep 2026. Lake outlines: Michigan DNR hydrography.