Mill Pond
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Mill Pond is mapped to a depth of 5 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 52 acres in Hillsdale County, Michigan. Coverage is sparse: about 73% of this lake lies well away from any surveyed contour, so most of the shape shown there is interpolated between distant measurements rather than mapped.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.
- Deepest mapped contour
- 5 ft
- Mean depth
- 0.7 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 52 acres
- Estimated volume
- 38 acre-ft · 12M gal
- Shoreline
- 2.21 mi · irregular
- Aquatic vegetation
- 86% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details1 contour
- Contour depths
- 0–5 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 5 ft
100% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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
- 41.96693, -84.65862
- MI DNR lake ID
- L11948
- Vertical exaggeration
- 12.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.2 MB
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Mill Pond has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, well sheltered geometry, 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 | Very Good | 22.7 of 35 | 68% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (30% forest, 38% wetland; 20% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Excellent | 25.6 of 29 | mean fetch 595 m · 35% 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 | Mixed | 5.4 of 18 | nearby higher-volume roads · 46 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 13,872 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
- High — approximately 86% 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 — 30% forest and 38% 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.
At the lake
community-mapped amenities · straight-line distanceBait & tackle nearby
licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distanceMill Pond — common questions
How deep is Mill Pond?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Mill Pond is 5 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 Mill Pond?
Mill Pond covers about 52 acres in Hillsdale County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Mill Pond?
The estimated mean depth of Mill Pond is 0.7 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
Is there public access to Mill Pond?
No public launch for Mill Pond 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.
