Lower Herring Lake
Benzie County, Michigan446 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lower Herring Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 50 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lower Herring Lake in Benzie County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 445.8 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Lower Herring Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 50 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Michigan DNR.
Lower Herring Lake is a 446-acre lake in Benzie County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 50 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 25 documented fish species including Black crappie, Bluegill, and Bluntnose minnow. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-09-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lower Herring Lake covers about 450 acres in Benzie County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lower Herring Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Lower Herring Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water13 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing25 species recorded
- Deep water50 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lower Herring 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 Lower Herring Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Lower Herring 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 13 ft. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 13ft | 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. | 40 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lower Herring Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
50 ft
Surface area
446 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Lower Herring 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 Lower Herring Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lower Herring Lake in Benzie 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 Lower Herring Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Lower Herring Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2016–2023).
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.55 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.07 µg/L/yr4 years
Nearby Lakes in Benzie County
Frequently asked questions about Lower Herring Lake
Where is Lower Herring Lake?
- Lower Herring Lake is a lake in Benzie County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lower Herring Lake?
- Lower Herring Lake in Benzie County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 445.8 acres.
Is Lower Herring Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lower Herring Lake?
- Lower Herring Lake has a maximum depth of 50 feet. The lake covers 445.8 acres.
What fish are in Lower Herring Lake?
- Fish species found in Lower Herring Lake include Black crappie, Bluegill, Bluntnose minnow, Brown bullhead, Common shiner, Creek chub, Emerald shiner, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, Mimic shiner, Northern logperch, Northern longear sunfish, Northern pike, Pumpkinseed, Rock bass, Sand shiner, Smallmouth bass, Spottail shiner, Trout-perch, Walleye, Western banded killifish, White bass, White sucker, Yellow bullhead, Yellow perch. Lower Herring Lake is located in Benzie County, Michigan.
Are there boat ramps on Lower Herring Lake?
- Lower Herring Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lower Herring Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lower Herring Lake?
- Lower Herring 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 Lower Herring Lake across LakeQuality
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Planning a trip around Sleeping Bear Dunes?
Lower Herring Lake is about 27 miles from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Sleeping Bear Dunes →More lakes in Michigan
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Where this data comes from
30 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS30 samples · 2016–2022
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory