Bronson Lake

Benzie County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

38ft Max
depth

46 acres 6 contours 36% weedy

Paddling Index87Very GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry · whole-lake slow-no-wake · wooded shoreline

Get directions

Depth scale

051015203038

The lake

Survey readout

Bronson Lake is mapped to a depth of 38 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 46 acres in Benzie County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 38 ft
Mean depth: 18.4 ft · estimated
Surface area: 46 acres
Estimated volume: 854 acre-ft · 278M gal
Shoreline: 1.16 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 36% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details6 contours

Contour depths: 0–38 ft
Recorded point soundings: 38 ft

26.5% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 49.7% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

Compare with another lake

Location

Benzie County, Michigan · all 15 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

Spot an error? Send a correction

Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 44.69085, -85.88026
MI DNR lake ID: L36652
Vertical exaggeration: 2.39×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR

Slow — no wakewhole lake, as mapped

Official rule details1 rule

Slow — no wake“Slow--no wake speed”

Where the mapped control areas and the official regulation language differ, the language governs. Official county watercraft controls.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

87 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Bronson Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Whole-lake slow-no-wake.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	29.4 of 35	82% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (33% forest, 48% wetland; 10% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	27.4 of 29	mean fetch 522 m · 43% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	Whole-lake slow-no-wake	16.2 of 18	Slow — no wake
Public access	Not listed	—	No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Very Good	13.8 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 12 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 478 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: High — approximately 36% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: High — 33% forest and 48% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches

1 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Bluegill

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 1 species found here — 1 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 2022

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 10.2″ bluegill in 2022 on live bait.

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campground≈1.5 mi

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Cherryland Grocery Inc≈3.8 mi19114 US-31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Buc's Aqua Farm & Wholesale Bait≈5.5 mi10035 US - 31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Long Lake Grocery≈7 mi9352 N Long Lake Rd, Traverse City · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Bronson Lake — common questions

How deep is Bronson Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Bronson Lake is 38 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Bronson Lake?

Bronson Lake covers about 46 acres in Benzie County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Bronson Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Bronson Lake is 18.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Bronson Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include bluegill. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Bronson Lake?

No public launch for Bronson Lake appears in the Michigan DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.

More lakes in Benzie County