Lost Lake

Alger County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

15ft Max
depth

117 acres 3 contours

Paddling Index72GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry · away from major roads · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

051015

The lake

Survey readout

Lost Lake is mapped to a depth of 15 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 117 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 15 ft
Mean depth: 6.3 ft · estimated
Surface area: 117 acres
Estimated volume: 736 acre-ft · 240M gal
Shoreline: 3.89 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 7% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details3 contours

Contour depths: 0–15 ft
Recorded point soundings: 15 ft

71.9% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Alger County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 105 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: 46.29610, -86.65770
MI DNR lake ID: L32861
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.5 MB

Paddling

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

72 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Lost Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed 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	Very Good	22.2 of 35	70% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (47% forest, 22% wetland; 25% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	27.8 of 29	mean fetch 510 m · 45% 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	13.3 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 4 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 489 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 7% 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 — 47% forest and 22% 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 & active stocking

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

Largemouth Bassstocked

Crappie

Bluegillstocked

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 3 species found here — 3 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).

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).

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.

Largemouth 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 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 · 2011

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 16.8″ crappie in 2011 on perch.

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.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1982–1991

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

Largemouth bass10,262 stocked · 1984–1991 · 4 plantings

Bluegill198 stocked · 1982

No stockings recorded since 1991 — shown as history.

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

1 record

Plants & algae

Purple Loosestrife

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

⛻ Campground≈1.4 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

Denman's Hardware Inc.≈7.8 mi320 E Superior St, Munising · Google · Apple

Hillside Party Store East LLC≈8.8 miE9825 Co Rd H15, Munising · Google · Apple

Midway General Store≈9.2 mi · (906) 573-2450N251 Federal Forest Hwy 13, Wetmore · 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

Lost Lake — common questions

How deep is Lost Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Lost Lake is 15 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 Lost Lake?

Lost Lake covers about 117 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Lost Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Lost Lake is 6.3 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Lost Lake?

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

Is there public access to Lost Lake?

No public launch for Lost 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 Alger County