Oligotrophic Lakes in Michigan

183 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, 183 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.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth	TSI
1	Windover Lake South Basin; Freeman Township	Clare	A	15 ft	-	39
2	Glen Lake	Leelanau	A	15.5 ft	-	38
3	Sanford Lake	Benzie	A	15.8 ft	-	37
4	Camp Lake; Deep Basin; Stambaugh Township	Iron	A	16 ft	-	37
5	Moon Lake	Gogebic	A	18 ft	-	35
6	Squaw Lake	Kalkaska	A	16 ft	-	37
7	Moon Lake Central Basin; Watersmeet Township	Gogebic	A	18 ft	-	39
8	Camp Lake	Iron	A	16 ft	-	37
9	Second Fortune Lake; Crystal Falls Township	Iron	A	21.8 ft	-	33
10	Corey Lake	St. Joseph	A	16 ft	-	37
11	Sunset Lake West Central Basin; Bates Township	Iron	A	15.5 ft	-	38
12	Windover Lake	Clare	A	15 ft	-	38
13	Lake Ellen	Iron	A	18 ft	-	35
14	Corey Lake Southeastern Basin; Fabius Township	St. Joseph	A	16 ft	-	37
15	Ellen Lake South Central Basin; Mansfield Township	Iron	A	17 ft	-	38
16	Smoky Lake	Iron	A	24 ft	-	33
17	Second Lake	Iron	A	22.5 ft	-	32
18	First Lake	Iron	A	21 ft	-	33
19	Blue Lake	Iron	A	20.5 ft	-	34
20	Whitefish Bay Deep Lake	Chippewa	A	34.4 ft	-	37
21	Little Bass Lake	Lake	A	18.3 ft	-	38
22	Twin Lake	Kalkaska	A	23 ft	-	32
23	Little Twin Lake	Kalkaska	A	20 ft	-	34
24	Indian Lake	Kalkaska	A	16.5 ft	-	37
25	Chicagon Lake	Iron	A	20.3 ft	-	34
26	Bills Lake	Newaygo	A	16 ft	-	37
27	Arbutus Lake	Grand Traverse	A	17 ft	-	36
28	Whitefish Lake Southeast Basin; Pierson Township	Montcalm	A	16 ft	-	40
29	Whitefish Lake	Montcalm	A	16.8 ft	-	37
30	Mickey Lake	Grand Traverse	A	15 ft	-	38
31	Arnold Lake	Clare	A	17.5 ft	-	36
32	Eagle Lake	Kalkaska	A	17 ft	-	36
33	Island Lake	Grand Traverse	A	15 ft	-	38
34	Chancellor Lake	Mason	A	26 ft	-	30
35	Cobb Lake Central Basin	Barry	A	16 ft	-	37
36	Center Lake	Osceola	A	15 ft	-	38
37	Big Twin Lake Southeast Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	23 ft	-	35
38	Arbutus Lake North Basin	Grand Traverse	A	15.8 ft	-	37
39	Bills Lake Central Basin	Newaygo	A	15.5 ft	-	37
40	Arbutus Lake South Central Basin	Grand Traverse	A	19 ft	-	36
41	Cub Lake Central Basin	Kalkaska	A	19 ft	-	35
42	Pickerel Lake	Kalkaska	A	15 ft	-	38
43	Lake Mary Northwest Basin; Mastodon Township	Iron	A	18 ft	-	38
44	Lake Mary	Iron	A	19.5 ft	-	34
45	Round Lake	Benzie	A	15 ft	-	39
46	Lake Leelanau; North Basin	Leelanau	A	18 ft	-	35
47	Higgins Lake	Roscommon	A	34 ft	-	26
48	Bear Lake Southeast Basin	Kalkaska	A	36.5 ft	-	32
49	Square Lake Central Basin; Bloomfield Township	Oakland	A	25 ft	-	31
50	Center Lake	Osceola	A	15 ft	-	38
51	Square Lake	Oakland	A	23 ft	-	32
52	Round Lake	Emmet	A	-	-	26
53	Lake Margrethe	Crawford	A	16 ft	-	37
54	Higgins Lake East Basin	Roscommon	A	35 ft	-	28
55	Mcnearney Lake	Chippewa	A	18.5 ft	-	35
56	Lake Gratiot	Keweenaw	A	17.8 ft	-	36
57	Long Lake North Central Basin; Long Lake Township	Grand Traverse	A	23.8 ft	-	33
58	Town Line Lake Northeast Basin; Chester Township	Otsego	A	16.5 ft	-	37
59	Tie Lake	Alger	A	15 ft	-	38
60	Lake Lancer	Gladwin	A	15.5 ft	-	38
61	Avery Lake	Montmorency	A	27 ft	-	30
62	Cobb Lake	Barry	A	16 ft	-	37
63	Higgins Lake Northwest Basin	Roscommon	A	34.5 ft	-	26
64	Eagle Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	17 ft	-	36
65	Tie Lake; Deep Basin; Munising Township	Alger	A	15 ft	-	38
66	Town Line Lake	Otsego	A	16.5 ft	-	37
67	Clark Lake	Gogebic	A	15.7 ft	-	37
68	Crystal Lake	Benzie	A	32 ft	-	27
69	Long Lake	Grand Traverse	A	24 ft	-	31
70	Gratiot Lake	Keweenaw	A	19 ft	-	35
71	Lake Ottawa	Iron	A	25 ft	-	31
72	Little Bass Lake	Lake	A	19.5 ft	-	34
73	Beaver Lake Central Basin; Ossineke Township	Alpena	A	16 ft	-	36
74	Margrethe Lake	Crawford	A	16 ft	-	37
75	Beaver Lake	Alpena	A	16 ft	-	37
76	Eagle Lake East Basin; Paw Paw Township	Van Buren	A	17 ft	-	40
77	Ottawa Lake Central Basin; Stambaugh Township	Iron	A	20 ft	-	34
78	Cub Lake	Kalkaska	A	19.5 ft	-	34
79	Opal Lake	Otsego	A	18.5 ft	-	35
80	Chancellor Lake Central Basin	Mason	A	25 ft	-	31
81	Chicagon Lake Central Basin; Stambaugh Township	Iron	A	20.3 ft	-	34
82	Eagle Lake	Van Buren	A	15 ft	-	38
83	Bear Lake	Kalkaska	A	33 ft	-	27
84	Round Lake	Benzie	A	15 ft	-	38
85	Arbutus Lake North Central Basin	Grand Traverse	A	16.8 ft	-	37
86	Mickey Lake	Grand Traverse	A	15 ft	-	38
87	Diamond Lake	Osceola	A	16 ft	-	37
88	Arbutus Lake Central Basin	Grand Traverse	A	17.3 ft	-	36
89	Monocle Lake	Chippewa	A	16 ft	-	37
90	Twilight Lake	Schoolcraft	A	15.5 ft	-	38
91	Brush Lake	Newaygo	A	25.5 ft	-	30
92	Lake View; Almira Twp	Benzie	A	18 ft	-	38
93	Geneserath Lake	Charlevoix	A	16.5 ft	-	37
94	Oxbow Lake	Oakland	A	15 ft	-	38
95	Shag Lake	Marquette	A	15.3 ft	-	38
96	Lower Herring Lake East Basin; Blaire Township	Benzie	A	16 ft	-	38
97	Burt Lake	Cheboygan	A	15.5 ft	-	38
98	Twin Lakes; Grayling Twp	Crawford	A	19 ft	-	40
99	Papoose Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	21 ft	-	33
100	Papoose Lake	Kalkaska	A	20 ft	-	34

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 →All Michigan lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.