Best Kayaking Lakes in Michigan, Clean Water + Public Access

Kayaking-friendly rankings prefer lakes with low motor-boat congestion, interesting shoreline, decent water clarity, and public access. Bass Lake tops the Michigan list.

Kayaking favors lakes with shoreline interest — bays, islands, undeveloped stretches — which tends to correlate with the larger, more remote Michigan lakes rather than the small, residential ones.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Bass Lake	Dickinson	MI	21.5 ft	62 acres	58 ft
2	Little Bass Lake	Lake	MI	18.3 ft	53 acres	-
3	Moon Lake	Gogebic	MI	18 ft	95 acres	-
4	Indian Lake	Osceola	MI	18 ft	63 acres	50 ft
5	Lake View	Benzie	MI	18 ft	55 acres	-
6	Ellen Lake	Iron	MI	17.3 ft	140 acres	73 ft
7	Margrethe Lake	Crawford	MI	16 ft	1,920 acres	65 ft
8	Mary Lake	Dickinson	MI	14.5 ft	230 acres	-
9	Barnes Lake	Lapeer	MI	14.5 ft	110 acres	-
10	Long Lake	Iosco	MI	14 ft	487 acres	62 ft
11	Cedar Lake	Van Buren	MI	14 ft	275 acres	84 ft
12	Gun Lake	Mason	MI	14 ft	232 acres	22 ft
13	Rennie Lake	Grand Traverse	MI	14 ft	226 acres	27 ft
14	Derby Lake	Montcalm	MI	14 ft	113 acres	87 ft
15	Hanbury Lake	Dickinson	MI	14 ft	79 acres	-
16	Sunset Lake	Iron	MI	13.5 ft	531 acres	54 ft
17	Louis Lake	Dickinson	MI	13.5 ft	230 acres	-
18	Crystal Lake	Oceana	MI	13.5 ft	86 acres	34 ft
19	Whitefish Lake	Montcalm	MI	13.5 ft	-	-
20	Bills Lake	Newaygo	MI	13 ft	198 acres	90 ft
21	Little Long Lake	Barry	MI	13 ft	168 acres	30 ft
22	North Lake	Washtenaw	MI	12.5 ft	224 acres	58 ft
23	Chain Lakes	Iosco	MI	12.5 ft	85 acres	-
24	Diamond Lake	Cass	MI	12.3 ft	1,040 acres	64 ft
25	Round Lake	Lenawee	MI	12.3 ft	507 acres	67 ft
26	Spider Lake	Grand Traverse	MI	12 ft	445 acres	-
27	Loon Lake	Benzie	MI	12 ft	94 acres	-
28	Otter Lake	Benzie	MI	12 ft	64 acres	-
29	School Section Lake	Mecosta	MI	11.8 ft	122 acres	33 ft
30	Perch Lake	Otsego	MI	11.3 ft	62 acres	-
31	Duck Lake	Muskegon	MI	11 ft	265 acres	-
32	Devils Lake	Lenawee	MI	11 ft	-	-
33	Coldwater Lake	Isabella	MI	11 ft	-	-
34	Au Sable Lake	Ogemaw	MI	10.5 ft	269 acres	52 ft
35	Jewell Lake	Alcona	MI	10.5 ft	184 acres	30 ft
36	Clear Lake	Jackson	MI	10.5 ft	130 acres	34 ft
37	Lake Lansing	Ingham	MI	10.3 ft	453 acres	~47 ft est.
38	Sylvan Lake	Oakland	MI	10.3 ft	387 acres	-
39	Crystal Lake	Montcalm	MI	10 ft	709 acres	70 ft
40	Indian Lake	Kalamazoo	MI	9.5 ft	790 acres	75 ft
41	Mecosta Lake	Mecosta	MI	9.5 ft	312 acres	39 ft
42	Sugarloaf Lake	Washtenaw	MI	9.5 ft	280 acres	10 ft
43	Lake George	Clare	MI	9.5 ft	129 acres	25 ft
44	Crystal Lake	Hillsdale	MI	9.5 ft	125 acres	-
45	Big Pine Island Lake	Kent	MI	9.3 ft	194 acres	40 ft
46	Big Star Lake	Lake	MI	9 ft	892 acres	-
47	Iron Lake	Iron	MI	9 ft	390 acres	45 ft
48	Murray Lake	Kent	MI	9 ft	313 acres	-
49	Lancelot Lake	Gladwin	MI	9 ft	250 acres	~34 ft est.
50	Ore Lake	Livingston	MI	9 ft	229 acres	81 ft

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Where to stay near Michigan kayaking lakes

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Top-rated places to stay near Michigan paddling lakes

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.