Clark Lake

Gogebic County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

74ft Max
depth

870 acres 16 contours Public access

Paddling Index68MixedMedium confidencewooded shoreline · away from major roads

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Depth scale

051730435474

The lake

Survey readout

Clark Lake is mapped to a depth of 74 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 870 acres in Gogebic County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 74 ft
Mean depth: 28.2 ft · estimated
Surface area: 870 acres
Estimated volume: 24,546 acre-ft · 7,998M gal
Shoreline: 11.73 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details16 contours

Contour depths: 0–74 ft
Recorded point soundings: 74 ft, 54 ft, 51 ft, 43 ft, 34 ft, 25 ft

Other waters with a public launch on this map: Crooked Lake. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Clark Lake’s own are.

16.2% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 65.1% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Gogebic County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 135 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

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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: 46.22429, -89.32011
MI DNR lake ID: L44753
Vertical exaggeration: 1.4×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.6 MB

Paddling

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

68 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Clark Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, moderate open-water exposure, limited nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	33.6 of 35	94% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (81% forest, 12% wetland; 1% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	14.6 of 29	mean fetch 1,375 m · 7% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	8.8 of 18	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
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	11.2 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 17 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 156 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: Low — approximately 4% 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 — 81% forest and 12% 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).

Bullhead

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.

BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 10 (FO-212.19 · Sylvania Wilderness Area) 10 singly or in any combination of species

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.

Sylvania Wilderness Area — Statewide seasons apply, except that no fishing is allowed before the last Saturday in April or after October 31. Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass must be returned immediately to the water without injury. Possession of any bass is prohibited on these waters, regardless of where it was caught. Hook-and-line fishing only. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. (FO-212.19, effective 2018-09-13)

BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 10 (FO-212.19 · Sylvania Wilderness Area) 10 singly or in any combination of species

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 · 1999

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 16.1″ bullhead in 1999 on nightcrawler.

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

2 records

Plants & algae

Purple Loosestrife
Reed Canarygrass

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

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

⛻ Campgroundon the lake

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 4 mapped

🥪 Picnic areaon the lake

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

Wilderness Bay Lodge & Resort≈2.9 mi · (800) 445-5370E20060 Thousand Island Lake Rd, Watersmeet · 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

Clark Lake — common questions

How deep is Clark Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Clark Lake is 74 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 Clark Lake?

Clark Lake covers about 870 acres in Gogebic County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Clark Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Clark Lake is 28.2 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Clark Lake?

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

Is there public access to Clark Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Clark Lake, including Clark Lake.