Lake James
Roscommon County, Michigan900 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake James. Here is what has been measured.
- 37 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake James in Roscommon County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.8 ft visibility. Surface area: 900 acres.
Lake James is a 900-acre lake in Roscommon County, Michigan with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 12 documented fish species including Bluntnose minnow, Common shiner, and Hornyhead chub. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-10-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake James covers about 900 acres in Roscommon County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Lake James, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lake James is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Fishing12 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake James 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 Lake James
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Lake James, 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 6.8 ft. TSI 50.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.8ft | 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. | 50 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake James
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Surface area
900 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Michigan has not published bathymetry for Lake James.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
50 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,148 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake James
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake James 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 Lake James
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Lake James
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake James is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake James Dam (completed 1962), built primarily for recreation on the Denton Creek; earth-type dam, 18 ft tall and 810 ft long.
- Surface area
- 900 ac
- Normal storage
- 750 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,465 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 41 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lake James Property Owners Assoc
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MI00347 · Operator website
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
3 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Lake James under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Denton Twp WwtpHoughton Lake · 2.7 mi away · NPDES MI0053317Recent violation
- Basils ServicePrudenville · 1.6 mi away · NPDES MIG080681
- Total Station #2588Prudenville · 1.8 mi away · NPDES MIG080907
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 Roscommon County
Frequently asked questions about Lake James
Where is Lake James?
- Lake James 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 Lake James?
- Lake James in Roscommon County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.8 ft visibility. Surface area: 900 acres.
Is Lake James safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake James?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake James, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 900 acres.
What fish are in Lake James?
- Fish species found in Lake James include Bluntnose minnow, Common shiner, Hornyhead chub, Johnny darter, Mimic shiner, Northern logperch, Rock bass, Rosyface shiner, Sand shiner, Spottail shiner, Walleye, Yellow perch. Lake James is located in Roscommon County, Michigan.
Can I fish at Lake James?
- Public access to Lake James is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Lake James across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
30 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
NALMS30 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)