Avery Lake
Montmorency County, Michigan322 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Avery Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
- Limited data
Avery Lake in Montmorency County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 27 ft visibility. Surface area: 322 acres.
Avery Lake is a 322-acre lake in Montmorency County, Michigan. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 9 documented fish species including Bluntnose minnow, Creek chub, and Hornyhead chub. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-08-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Avery Lake covers about 320 acres in Montmorency County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Avery Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Avery Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water27 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing9 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Avery Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Avery Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Avery Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Avery Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 27 ft down. TSI 30.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 27ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 30 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Avery Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
322 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
No bathymetric survey has been published for Avery Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Avery Lake State Forest CampgroundPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Avery Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Avery Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Avery Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 7 years of monitoring (2016–2023).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.17 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.06 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Avery Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Avery Lake Dam (completed 1970), built primarily for recreation on the Crooked Creek; earth-type dam, 15 ft tall and 200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 322 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,140 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,420 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 11.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Montmorency Co. Drain Commissioner
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MI00056 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Avery Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040700060304-02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Montmorency County
Frequently asked questions about Avery Lake
Where is Avery Lake?
- Avery Lake is a lake in Montmorency County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Avery Lake?
- Avery Lake in Montmorency County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 27 ft visibility. Surface area: 322 acres.
Is Avery Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Avery Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
What fish are in Avery Lake?
- Fish species found in Avery Lake include Bluntnose minnow, Creek chub, Hornyhead chub, Iowa darter, Least darter, Northern longear sunfish, Rock bass, White sucker, Yellow perch. Avery Lake is located in Montmorency County, Michigan.
Are there boat ramps on Avery Lake?
- Avery Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Avery Lake State Forest Campground. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Avery Lake?
- Avery Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Michigan's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Avery Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Fish species and the cleanest lakes across Michigan
Fish species and best lakes in Montmorency County
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
86 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS86 samples · 2016–2022
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory