North Bar Lake
Leelanau County, Michigan31 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for North Bar Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 43 ft max depth
North Bar Lake in Leelanau County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 9.3 µg/L. Surface area: 30.8 acres.
North Bar Lake is a 31-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Leelanau County, Michigan with an estimated average depth of about 43 feet. Compared to the 11 other monitored lakes in Leelanau County, North Bar Lake ranks #9 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2024-09-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
North Bar Lake covers about 31 acres in Leelanau County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around North Bar Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What North Bar Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12.7 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether North Bar 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 North Bar Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for North Bar 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 12.7 ft. Phosphorus 9.3 µg/L. TSI 38.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 9.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 38 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about North Bar Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
North Bar Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 68°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 70°F) and coldest in Oct (about 58°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (58°F) to its warmest (70°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 555 field readings (2010–2024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full North Bar Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 ft est.
Surface area
31 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Michigan has not published bathymetry for North Bar Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
581 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 North Bar Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near North Bar Lake in Leelanau 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 North Bar Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Follow North Bar Lake’s readings
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Fishing North Bar Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 9 years of monitoring (2016–2024).
Water clarity
Stable9 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.14 µg/L/yr7 years
Nearby Lakes in Leelanau County
Frequently asked questions about North Bar Lake
Where is North Bar Lake?
- North Bar Lake is a lake in Leelanau County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of North Bar Lake?
- North Bar Lake in Leelanau County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 9.3 µg/L. Surface area: 30.8 acres.
Is North Bar Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of North Bar Lake?
- North Bar Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October, from 555 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is North Bar Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers North Bar Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 30.8 acres.
Explore North Bar Lake across LakeQuality
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Planning a trip around Sleeping Bear Dunes?
North Bar Lake is about 6 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
48 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- National Park Service Water Resources Division
11NPSWRD_WQX48 samples · 2016–2024
Analytical methods
- Secchi Disk
- Alkaline Persulfate Digestion for Total N and P in Water
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)