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LakeQuality

Paw Paw Lake

Hillsdale County, Michigan14 acresView mapDirections

EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Paw Paw Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
8 ft
Typical for Michigan
Secchi · sampled 2023
Area
14 acres
Surface area
  • Limited data

Paw Paw Lake in Hillsdale County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Surface area: 14.3 acres.

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Paw Paw Lake is a 14-acre lake in Hillsdale County, Michigan. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 4 documented fish species including Bluegill, Bowfin, and Brook silverside.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2023-07-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Paw Paw Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Fishing4 species recorded

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Paw Paw 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.

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Water quality measurements for Paw Paw Lake

These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Paw Paw Lake, 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 8 ft. TSI 47.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)8ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo 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.47Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Paw Paw Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Surface area

14 acres

No bathymetric survey has been published for Paw Paw Lake, so its depth is not documented here.

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Paw Paw Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Paw Paw Lake in Hillsdale 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 Paw Paw Lake

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Fish Species

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Paw Paw Lake

3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.

  • Water clarity

    Worsening

    3 years

Nearby Lakes in Hillsdale County

Frequently asked questions about Paw Paw Lake

Where is Paw Paw Lake?

Paw Paw Lake is a lake in Hillsdale County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Paw Paw Lake?

Paw Paw Lake in Hillsdale County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Surface area: 14.3 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Paw Paw Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

What fish are in Paw Paw Lake?

Fish species found in Paw Paw Lake include Bluegill, Bowfin, Brook silverside, Grass pickerel. Paw Paw Lake is located in Hillsdale County, Michigan.

Fish on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

23 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.

Collected and reported by

  • North American Lake Management SocietyNALMS23 samples · 2021–2023
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.