Douglas Lake
Cheboygan County, Michigan3,727 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Douglas Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 80 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Douglas Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 80 ft. Surface area: 3726.6 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Douglas Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 80 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Michigan DNR.
Douglas Lake is a 3,727-acre lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 80 feet. The lake supports 22 documented fish species including Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, and Brown bullhead. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-08-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Douglas Lake covers about 3,700 acres in Cheboygan County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Douglas Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Douglas Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing22 species recorded
- Deep water80 ft surveyed max depth
- Big water3,727 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Douglas Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Douglas 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 Douglas Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Douglas Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 12 ft. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12ft | 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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Douglas Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
80 ft
Surface area
3,727 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
36 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
14.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
702 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- Douglas 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 Douglas Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Douglas Lake in Cheboygan 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 Douglas Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Douglas Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Douglas 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 MI040700040205-04 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Douglas Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Um Biological StationPellston · 1.8 mi away · NPDES MI0050598Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Cheboygan County
Frequently asked questions about Douglas Lake
Where is Douglas Lake?
- Douglas Lake is a lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Douglas Lake?
- Douglas Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 80 ft. Surface area: 3726.6 acres.
Is Douglas Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Douglas Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Douglas Lake?
- Douglas Lake has a maximum depth of 80 feet. The lake covers 3726.6 acres.
What fish are in Douglas Lake?
- Fish species found in Douglas Lake include Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, Brown bullhead, Central mudminnow, Common shiner, Creek chub, Golden shiner, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, Lake herring, Largemouth bass, Mottled sculpin, Northern logperch, Northern pike, Pumpkinseed, Rock bass, Sand shiner, Smallmouth bass, Spottail shiner, Trout-perch, White sucker, Yellow perch. Douglas Lake is located in Cheboygan County, Michigan.
Are there boat ramps on Douglas Lake?
- Douglas Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Douglas Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Douglas Lake?
- Douglas 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 Douglas Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS6 samples · 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory