Higgins Lake
Roscommon County, Michigan10,187 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Higgins Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Higgins Lake in Roscommon County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 34 ft visibility. Surface area: 10187.1 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Higgins Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 130 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Michigan DNR.
Higgins Lake is a 10,187-acre lake in Roscommon County, Michigan. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 3 documented fish species including Lake herring, Lake whitefish, and Mottled sculpin.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2021-09-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
At about 10,000 acres, Higgins Lake is large enough that where you stay decides which shore you see most of. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Higgins Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Higgins Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water34 ft of visibility
- Fishing3 species recorded
- Big water10,187 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Higgins Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pesticides, pFAS, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Higgins 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 Higgins Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Higgins 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 34 ft down. TSI 26.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 34ft | 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. | 26 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Higgins Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Jul 6, 2026, 5:00 AM from gauge 442805084411001 (Higgins Lake Near Roscommon, MI). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
Lake Details
Surface area
10,187 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Higgins Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Higgins Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Higgins Lake in Roscommon 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 Higgins Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Higgins Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2016–2021).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Higgins 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 MI040601020101-02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Roscommon County
Frequently asked questions about Higgins Lake
Where is Higgins Lake?
- Higgins Lake is a lake in Roscommon County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Higgins Lake?
- Higgins Lake in Roscommon County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 34 ft visibility. Surface area: 10187.1 acres.
Is Higgins Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Higgins Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pesticides, pFAS, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
What fish are in Higgins Lake?
- Fish species found in Higgins Lake include Lake herring, Lake whitefish, Mottled sculpin. Higgins Lake is located in Roscommon County, Michigan.
What is the water level at Higgins Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Higgins Lake is 1153.9 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Jul 6, 2026, 5:00 AM at gauge 442805084411001. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Explore Higgins Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
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Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
76 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS76 samples · 2016–2021
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