Portage Lake
Houghton County, Michigan9,324 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from EGLE for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 28 ft max depth
- Public access
Portage Lake in Houghton County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 28 ft. Surface area: 9323.8 acres.
Water clarity at Portage Lake
Moderate clarity. Across summers from 2018 to 2023, Portage Lake averaged 2.93 m (10 ft) of visibility down into the water, so visibility is middling in midsummer, which is ordinary for a productive inland lake. This lake sits close to the line between clarity classes, so treat the label as approximate and the depth reading as the real number.
Nobody has taken a water sample here that we can find. Michigan's environmental agency measures clarity on lakes like this one from satellite images instead, which is why this page reports how clear the water is and no phosphorus or algae readings.
Clear is not the same as clean. A lake can be easy to see through and still carry high nutrient levels, and a naturally tea-stained lake can be perfectly healthy. The nutrient and algae readings on other lakes come from phosphorus and chlorophyll-a measured in a laboratory, and clarity alone cannot stand in for them.
The same satellite images put summer algae here at roughly 4.42 micrograms per litre. Estimating algae from orbit is far less exact than measuring clarity, so that figure is worth knowing and is not part of any rating.
Portage Lake is a 9,324-acre lake in Houghton County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 28 feet (13-foot average). Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Portage Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water9,324 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingNot rated
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Portage Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pFAS, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Portage 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 Portage Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Portage Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. TSI undefined.
Ask about Portage Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
28 ft
Average depth
13 ft
Surface area
9,324 acres
Shoreline
0.8 mi
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Portage 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 Portage Lake
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Fishing Portage Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Portage 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 MI040201030307-08 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Houghton County
Frequently asked questions about Portage Lake
Where is Portage Lake?
- Portage Lake is a lake in Houghton County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Portage Lake?
- Portage Lake in Houghton County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 28 ft. Surface area: 9323.8 acres.
Is Portage Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Portage Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pFAS, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Portage Lake?
- Portage Lake has a maximum depth of 28 feet and an average depth of 13 feet. The lake covers 9323.8 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Portage Lake?
- Portage Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Portage Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Portage Lake?
- Portage 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.
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for Portage Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory