Crystal Lake

Houghton County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

20ft Max
depth

16 acres 4 contours Public access 26% weedy

Paddling Index79GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry · wooded shoreline · away from major roads

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Depth scale

05101520

The lake

Survey readout

Crystal Lake is mapped to a depth of 20 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 16 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 20 ft
Mean depth: 9.9 ft · estimated
Surface area: 16 acres
Estimated volume: 155 acre-ft · 50M gal
Shoreline: 0.84 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 26% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details4 contours

Contour depths: 0–20 ft
Recorded point soundings: 20 ft

48.2% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 7.5% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Houghton County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 32 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: 46.50229, -88.76218
MI DNR lake ID: L37054
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 0.9 MB

Paddling

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

79 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Crystal Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, 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	29.5 of 35	86% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (75% forest, 11% wetland; 13% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	29.4 of 29	mean fetch 265 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
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	11.7 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 2 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,418 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: Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Moderate — approximately 26% 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 — 75% forest and 11% 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 active stocking

No recent catch, survey, or stocking data for this lake.

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Brown Trout (last planted 1996) — not shown above.

Compiled from Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–1996

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Brown trout23,370 stocked · 1979–1996 · 15 plantings

No stockings recorded since 1996 — shown as history.

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Quick answers

Crystal Lake — common questions

How deep is Crystal Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Crystal Lake is 20 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 Crystal Lake?

Crystal Lake covers about 16 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Crystal Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Crystal Lake is 9.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

Is there public access to Crystal Lake?

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