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LakeQuality

Oligotrophic Lakes in Michigan

51 oligotrophic lakes in Michigan. Low nutrients, clear water, excellent for swimming.

An oligotrophic lake is what most people picture when they think of pristine northern lake country: clarity to depth, no algal scum, cold water that holds dissolved oxygen all the way to the bottom even in August. Across Michigan, 51 lakes register as oligotrophic — 0% of them break 50 feet of depth, which is the structural condition that underwrites the trophic class. Without depth and a low-nutrient watershed, oligotrophy is hard to sustain.

On the LakeGrade rubric, oligotrophic lakes almost always pull an A or B — the same low-nutrient conditions that produce the trophic class also produce the high grade.

#LakeCountyGradeClarityDepthTSI
1West Twin Lake East Basin; Albert TownshipMontmorencyA13 ft-36
2Sunset Lake West Central Basin; Bates TownshipIronA15.5 ft-36
3Horsehead Lake Northwest Basin; Martiny TownshipMecostaA10 ft-41
4Cobb Lake Central BasinBarryA16 ft-32
5Round LakeBenzieA15 ft-34
6Bills Lake Central BasinNewaygoA15.5 ft-36
7Bear Lake Southeast BasinKalkaskaA36.5 ft-31
8Arbutus Lake South Central BasinGrand TraverseA19 ft-34
9Cub Lake Central BasinKalkaskaA19 ft-35
10Otter LakeBenzieA12 ft-38
11Paw Paw Lake East Central Basin; Texas TownshipKalamazooA9.5 ft-37
12Higgins Lake East BasinRoscommonA35 ft-29
13Long Lake North Central Basin; Long Lake TownshipGrand TraverseA23.8 ft-32
14Higgins Lake Northwest BasinRoscommonA34.5 ft-30
15Oneida Lake East Central BasinLivingstonA8.5 ft-40
16Eagle Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake TownshipKalkaskaA17 ft-36
17Pearl Lake Central BasinBenzieA13 ft-35
18Coldwater Lake Southeast Basin; Nottawa TownshipIsabellaA10.5 ft-40
19Beaver Lake Central Basin; Ossineke TownshipAlpenaA16 ft-34
20Chain Lakes East BasinIoscoA12 ft-39
21Lancer Lake SoutheastGladwinA13.2 ft-40
22Wakeley Lake; Central Basin; Grayling TownshipCrawfordA6.5 ft-42
23Upper Long Lake Northwest Basin; Bloomfield TownshipOaklandA8 ft-45
24Upper Woodcock Lake; Almira TwpBenzieA11 ft-37
25O'Rourke Lake; Bagley TwpOtsegoA15 ft-35
26Houghton LakeRoscommonA5 ft-45
27Sugarloaf Lake; Lyndon TwpWashtenawA9.5 ft-40
28Black Lake Southwest Basin; Grant TownshipCheboyganA13 ft-38
29Lime LakeBenzieA17.5 ft-32
30Cedar Lake Central Basin; Porter TownshipVan BurenA13 ft-38
31Tippy Pond by DamManisteeA--34
32Tippy Pond Pine ArmManisteeA--35
33Manistee North LakeManisteeA--38
34Tippy Pond Manistee ArmManisteeA--35
35Manistee Lake SouthManisteeA--34
36Fisher LakeLeelanauA--33
37Big Blue Lake North Basin; Blue Lake TownshipKalkaskaA--33
38Cordley Lake Central Basin; Hamburg TownshipLivingstonA--34
39Loon LakeBenzieB12.1 ft-40
40Second Fortune Lake; Crystal Falls TownshipIronB21.8 ft-33
41Smoky LakeIronB24 ft-33
42Beaver LakeAlgerB14.7 ft-35
43Siskiwit LakeKeweenawB19.3 ft-35
44Newcomb LakeMontcalmB11 ft-39
45Sylvan Lake West Central Basin; Brooks TownshipNewaygoB12.8 ft-38
46Gratiot LakeKeweenawB19 ft-36
47Ottawa Lake Central Basin; Stambaugh TownshipIronB20 ft-36
48Chicagon Lake Central Basin; Stambaugh TownshipIronB20.3 ft-36
49Stager Lake Central BasinIronB13 ft-39
50Papoose Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake TownshipKalkaskaB21 ft-33
51Golden Lake Central Basin;Iron River TownshipIronB--39
All oligotrophic lakes →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →South Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →All Michigan lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.