Emerald Lake
Otsego County, Michigan53 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from EGLE for this lake.
- 30 ft max depth
- Public access
Emerald Lake in Otsego County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 52.6 acres.
Water clarity at Emerald Lake
Clear water. Across summers from 2018 to 2023, Emerald Lake averaged 3.64 m (12 ft) of visibility down into the water, so you can typically see several feet down in midsummer. This lake sits close to the line between clarity classes, so treat the label as approximate and the depth reading as the real number.
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 3.58 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.
Emerald Lake is a 53-acre lake in Otsego County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 30 feet (13-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 Emerald 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 readingNot rated
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Emerald 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 Emerald Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Emerald 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 Emerald Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
30 ft
Average depth
13 ft
Surface area
53 acres
Shoreline
1.1 mi
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Emerald 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 Emerald Lake
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Fishing Emerald Lake
Nearby Lakes in Otsego County
Frequently asked questions about Emerald Lake
Where is Emerald Lake?
- Emerald Lake is a lake in Otsego County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Emerald Lake?
- Emerald Lake in Otsego County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 52.6 acres.
Is Emerald Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Emerald Lake?
- Emerald Lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet and an average depth of 13 feet. The lake covers 52.6 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Emerald Lake?
- Emerald Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Emerald Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Emerald Lake?
- Emerald 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 Emerald Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for Emerald Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory