Cable Lake
Iron County, Michigan331 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Cable Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 30 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Cable Lake in Iron County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 331.3 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Cable Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 30 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Michigan DNR.
Cable Lake is a 331-acre lake in Iron County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 30 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-09-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Cable Lake covers about 330 acres in Iron County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Cable Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Cable Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Deep water30 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cable Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pFAS. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cable 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 Cable Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Cable Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.3 ft. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.3ft | 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. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Cable Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
30 ft
Surface area
331 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Cable LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Cable Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Cable Lake in Iron County, Michigan — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Cable Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Cable Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Cable 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 MI040301060205-02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Iron County
Frequently asked questions about Cable Lake
Where is Cable Lake?
- Cable Lake is a lake in Iron County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cable Lake?
- Cable Lake in Iron County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 331.3 acres.
Is Cable Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cable Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pFAS. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Cable Lake?
- Cable Lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet. The lake covers 331.3 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Cable Lake?
- Cable Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cable Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cable Lake?
- Cable 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 Cable Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
21 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS21 samples · 2021–2022
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