Green Lake

Grand Traverse County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

102ft Max
depth

2,025 acres 21 contours Public access

Paddling Index47Modestcarry-in access

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Depth scale

0318406080102

The lake

Survey readout

Green Lake is mapped to a depth of 102 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 2,025 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 102 ft
Mean depth: 36.1 ft · estimated
Surface area: 2,025 acres
Estimated volume: 73,095 acre-ft · 23,818M gal
Shoreline: 10.71 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 2% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch · Rec Passport

Additional depth details21 contours

Contour depths: 0–102 ft
Recorded point soundings: 102 ft, 101 ft, 80 ft, 77 ft, 69 ft, 59 ft

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

26.6% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 64.2% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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

Grand Traverse County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 37 lakes and 1 bay · 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: 44.61300, -85.77987
MI DNR lake ID: L19923
Vertical exaggeration: 3.41× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.5 MB

Paddling

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

47 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Green Lake has a partly natural setting, notable open-water exposure, substantial nearby higher-volume roads. 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	Good	16.9 of 30	65% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (36% forest, 27% wetland; 27% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Mixed	5.3 of 25	mean fetch 2,689 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · long fetch in some directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Excellent	15.0 of 15	3 sites with DNR boating-facility records · carry-in launch · 5 ramp lanes · 49 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Modest	2.1 of 15	substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 26 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 6,964 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 2% 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: Moderate — 36% forest and 27% 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 Boating Access Sites (2026-08), 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, DNR surveys & active stocking

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

Longnose Gar

Northern Pike

Bowfin

Lake Trout

Smallmouth Bass

Crappie

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Rainbow Smelt

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Brown Trout (last planted 1991), Splake (last planted 1988) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 9 species found here — 9 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).

BowfinOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other 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.

Designated Type B trout lake — season open for the entire year; tackle: all types of natural bait and artificial lures may be used.

BowfinOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

CrappieOpen 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).

Lake TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type B) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

Longnose GarOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 2 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

Rainbow SmeltOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 2 gallons (2026 DNR digest · Smelt) See the digest's General Netting Regulations table for netting.

Rock BassOpen 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).

Smallmouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 5 is in any combination of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, not 5 of each (FO-215.23A).

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, Michigan DNR fishery surveys and 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.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 1994–2025

Trophy-size fish anglers caught here and registered with the DNR — what people have actually caught, distinct from what a survey netted or the state stocked below.

130Catches recorded

9Species

Rock Bass74 recorded · to 14″

Smallmouth Bass24 recorded · to 22.8″

Bluegill12 recorded · to 11.9″

Bowfin5 recorded · to 30″

Catch details by species9 species

Rock Bass74 recorded · to 14″ · latest 2023

Smallmouth Bass24 recorded · to 22.8″ · latest 2024

Bluegill12 recorded · to 11.9″ · latest 2023

Bowfin5 recorded · to 30″ · latest 2021

Lake Trout5 recorded · to 40″ · latest 2023

Longnose Gar4 recorded · to 41.5″ · latest 2006

Northern Pike3 recorded · to 38″ · latest 2025

Smelt2 recorded · to 10.2″ · latest 2015

Crappie1 recorded · to 14.5″ · latest 2022

Biggest on record

Longnose Gar41.5″ · 2000 · still fishing · minnow

Longnose Gar40.2″ · 1998 · still fishing · minnow

Lake Trout40″ · 2007 · drift fishing · minnow

Longnose Gar38.5″ · 1997 · spincasting

Northern Pike38″ · 2025 · ice fishing · live bait

Bait: minnow (17) · artificial lure (12) · worm (12)
Method: spincasting (54) · still fishing (36) · drift fishing (19) · trolling (10)

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.

Fishery

DNR SFR 2014-179

87Fish sampled

8Species

Gamefish Smallmouth Bass 22 · Bowfin 3 · Lake Trout 2 · Northern Pike 1

Panfish Rock Bass 49 · Bluegill 5

All survey species8 species

Gamefish

Smallmouth Bass22 caught

Bowfin3 caught

Lake Trout2 caught

Northern Pike1 caught

Panfish

Rock Bass49 caught

Bluegill5 caught

Forage & nongame

Longnose Gar4 caught

Rainbow Smelt1 caught

Stocking: Duck Lake was most recently surveyed in 2008 (Tonello 2012) and hosts good fishing for panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and stocked lake trout.

This survey reported catch counts without lengths. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report (counts summed across survey years).

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–2026

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

Lake trout499,773 stocked · 1982–2026 · 47 plantings

Brown trout174,323 stocked · 1979–1991 · 16 plantings

Splake42,000 stocked · 1985–1988 · 3 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

3 records

Mussels & snails

Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Narrow-leaved Cattail

Fish

Brown TroutMichigan DNR stocking records also document Brown Trout stocking in this lake.

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 · 4 mapped

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 14 mapped

🏖 Beach / swim areaon the lake

🎢 Playgroundon the lake · 3 mapped

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

Buc's Aqua Farm & Wholesale Bait≈3.2 mi10035 US - 31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Cherryland Grocery Inc≈3.7 mi19114 US-31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Long Lake Grocery≈9.4 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

Green Lake — common questions

How deep is Green Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Green Lake is 102 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 Green Lake?

Green Lake covers about 2,025 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Green Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Green Lake is 36.1 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Green Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include lake trout, northern pike, smallmouth bass, bluegill, bowfin, crappie. The page lists all 9 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Green Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 2 public access sites on Green Lake, including Green Lake.