Where is Shafer Lake?

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

How deep is Shafer Lake?

Shafer Lake has a maximum depth of 70 feet and an average depth of 10 feet. The lake covers 72.2 acres.

Are there boat ramps on Shafer Lake?

Shafer Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Shafer Lake. Public access is listed as yes.

Can I fish at Shafer Lake?

Shafer 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.

Shafer Lake

Van Buren County, Michigan72 acresView map Directions

No nutrient or algae sampling on record from EGLE for this lake.

Max depth

70 ft

Bathymetric survey

Area

72 acres

Surface area

Shoreline

0.9 mi

Measured length

70 ft max depth
Public access

See the measurements Directions Where to stay

Shafer Lake in Van Buren County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 70 ft. Surface area: 72.2 acres.

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Water clarity at Shafer Lake

Clear water. Across summers from 2018 to 2023, Shafer Lake averaged 3.75 m (12 ft) of visibility down into the water, so you can typically see several feet down in midsummer. 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 3.21 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.

Shafer Lake is a 72-acre lake in Van Buren County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 70 feet (10-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 Shafer Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

Boat launch1 documented ramp
Deep water70 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Not rated

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

Whether Shafer 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 Shafer Lake

These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Shafer 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 Shafer Lake

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

Lake Details

Max depth

70 ft

Average depth

10 ft

Surface area

72 acres

Shoreline

0.9 mi

Public access

Yes

Listed by EGLE

Recreation & Access

Boat Landings

Yes

Public Access

Shafer 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 Shafer Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Shafer Lake in Van Buren 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 Shafer Lake

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Follow Shafer Lake’s readings

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Fishing Shafer Lake

→ Shafer Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)

Nearby Lakes in Van Buren County

Haney Lake4.4 miView →Baker Lake4 miView →Duck Lake5.1 miView →Pine Lake—View →Pond Lily Lake5 miView →School Lake5.7 miView →

Frequently asked questions about Shafer Lake

Where is Shafer Lake?: Shafer Lake is a lake in Van Buren County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Shafer Lake?: Shafer Lake in Van Buren County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 70 ft. Surface area: 72.2 acres.
Is Shafer Lake safe to swim in?: Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Shafer Lake?: Shafer Lake has a maximum depth of 70 feet and an average depth of 10 feet. The lake covers 72.2 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Shafer Lake?: Shafer Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Shafer Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Shafer Lake?: Shafer 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.