Cranberry Lake
Clare County, Michigan163 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from EGLE for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 20 ft max depth
- Public access
Cranberry Lake in Clare County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 20 ft. Surface area: 163 acres.
Water clarity at Cranberry Lake
Clear water. Across summers from 2018 to 2023, Cranberry Lake averaged 4.22 m (14 ft) of visibility down into the water, so you can typically see several feet down in midsummer.
Nobody has taken a water sample here that we can find. Michigan's environmental agency measures clarity on lakes like this one from satellite images instead, which is why this page reports how clear the water is and no phosphorus or algae readings.
Clear is not the same as clean. A lake can be easy to see through and still carry high nutrient levels, and a naturally tea-stained lake can be perfectly healthy. The nutrient and algae readings on other lakes come from phosphorus and chlorophyll-a measured in a laboratory, and clarity alone cannot stand in for them.
The same satellite images put summer algae here at roughly 2.87 micrograms per litre. Estimating algae from orbit is far less exact than measuring clarity, so that figure is worth knowing and is not part of any rating.
Cranberry Lake is a 163-acre lake in Clare County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 20 feet (8-foot average). Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Cranberry Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingNot rated
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cranberry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cranberry 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 Cranberry Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Cranberry Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. TSI undefined.
Ask about Cranberry Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
20 ft
Average depth
8 ft
Surface area
163 acres
Shoreline
1.5 mi
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Cranberry 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 Cranberry Lake
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Fishing Cranberry Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Cranberry Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040802010201-07 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Clare County
Frequently asked questions about Cranberry Lake
Where is Cranberry Lake?
- Cranberry Lake is a lake in Clare County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cranberry Lake?
- Cranberry Lake in Clare County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 20 ft. Surface area: 163 acres.
Is Cranberry Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cranberry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Cranberry Lake?
- Cranberry Lake has a maximum depth of 20 feet and an average depth of 8 feet. The lake covers 163 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Cranberry Lake?
- Cranberry Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cranberry Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cranberry Lake?
- Cranberry 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 Cranberry Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for Cranberry Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory