Dog Lake
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Dog Lake is mapped to a depth of 8 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 193 acres in Cheboygan County, Michigan.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey (depths read from the survey's isobath field; this lake's summary-depth column is blank in the source).
- Deepest mapped contour
- 8 ft
- Mean depth
- 3.5 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 193 acres
- Estimated volume
- 674 acre-ft · 220M gal
- Shoreline
- 3.53 mi · irregular
- Aquatic vegetation
- 5% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details4 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–8 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 8 ft
100% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.
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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
- 45.28489, -84.40075
- MI DNR lake ID
- L8500
- Vertical exaggeration
- 12.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.2 MB
Watercraft rules
county-enforced local controls · MI DNROfficial rule details1 rule
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Dog Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, generally sheltered geometry, little 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 | 35.3 of 35 | 94% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (4% forest, 89% wetland; 0% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Very Good | 18.6 of 29 | mean fetch 989 m · 4% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch |
| Watercraft controls | None identified | 8.8 of 18 | Local control |
| 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 | Excellent | 17.6 of 18 | relatively isolated from major roads · 4 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 143 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 5% 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 — 4% forest and 89% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →
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.
Bait & tackle nearby
licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distanceDog Lake — common questions
How deep is Dog Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Dog Lake is 8 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 Dog Lake?
Dog Lake covers about 193 acres in Cheboygan County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Dog Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Dog Lake is 3.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
Is there public access to Dog Lake?
No public launch for Dog 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.
