Sand Lake
Lake County, Michigan35 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Sand Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 50 ft max depth
- Limited data
Sand Lake in Lake County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 35 acres.
Sand Lake is a 35-acre lake in Lake County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 50 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 7 documented fish species including Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, and Bluntnose minnow.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2018-09-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Sand Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water19 ft of visibility
- Fishing7 species recorded
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
- 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 Sand 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 Sand Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Sand Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 19 ft down. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 19ft | 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. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Sand Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
50 ft
Surface area
35 acres
Recreation & Access
Public campgrounds near Sand Lake
- Sand Lake Recreation Area0.5 km
- Sand Lake Campground1.0 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Sand Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Sand Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2017–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.2 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Sand Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Midget Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Tributary to Stronach Creek; concrete-type dam, 8 ft tall and 46 ft long.
- Surface area
- 35 ac
- Normal storage
- 64 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 152 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Twin Lakes Property Owners Assoc.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MI00888 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.71 km)
Nearby Lakes in Lake County
Frequently asked questions about Sand Lake
Where is Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake is a lake in Lake County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake in Lake County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 19 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 35 acres.
Is Sand Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake has a maximum depth of 50 feet. The lake covers 35 acres.
What fish are in Sand Lake?
- Fish species found in Sand Lake include Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, Bluntnose minnow, Iowa darter, Largemouth bass, White sucker, Yellow perch. Sand Lake is located in Lake County, Michigan.
Are there campgrounds on Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Sand Lake Recreation Area, Sand Lake Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Sand Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
16 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS16 samples · 2017–2018
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles